The fourth round of the Australian Open 2019 promises to be a nail-biting affair as the Czech superstar Karolina Pliskova will lock horns with the Spaniard ace Garbine Muguruza.
Watch & bet on Karolina Pliskova v Garbine Mugurza live with bet365 here* on Monday, January 21. The Pliskova v Muguruza match will start not before 4:00 pm local time (6:00 am BST).
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Is this Muguruza’s Resurgence?
Muguruza became the World No. 1 in 2017 after winning the Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open. In 2018, however, she struggled greatly with her form and consequently, fell out of the top 10.
In the first half of the season behind us, she was the runner-up at the WTA Doha and later won the WTA Monterrey. However, as the year went by, she started facing difficulties with her form and failed to move past the early rounds. While she was a semifinalist at the Roland Garros, she lost in the second round at the Wimbledon in a shocking upset.
The 25-year-old ended the season as the World No. 18. This year, she started her campaign in Sydney where she lost in the second round to Kiki Bertens.
However, it appears that she has turned all of that around ever since arriving in Melbourne. She has defeated Saisai Zheng, Johanna Konta in a remarkable late-night, three-set affair, and most recently, Timea Bacsinszkly to reach the fourth round.
Despite these well-deserved victories, there have been many instances where her performance was rather average and lacked consistency. For instance, her match against Bacsinszky saw her commit 37 unforced errors. While comparing this with her match against Konta a couple of nights ago, Mugurza made only 19 unforced errors.
Pliskova Continues Her Winning Run
The Czech started the year strong by winning the premier level event in Brisbane. She then arrived in Melbourne where her performance has been nothing short of excellent. Even though she has dropped a set in a couple of matches, Pliskova never really found herself in deep waters.
Most recently, she defeated the 27th seeded Italian Camila Giorgi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in two hours and 13 minutes. The Czech had 25 winners and 25 unforced errors, in contrast to Giorgi’s 43 and 53 respectively. Needless to mention, Giorgi could have very well knocked out Pliskova had it not been for her mistakes.
Last year, Pliskova won the Stuttgart Open and the Pan Pacific Open. She also reached the quarterfinal at the Australian Open and the US Open that helped her stay in the top 10.
Pliskova v Muguruza Head to Head
In the past, the two players have met each other only nine times. Of that, Pliskova has won on seven instances and presently leads by 7-2 against Muguruza.
They met four times in 2017 and the Spaniard won only once – it was the semifinal of the Cincinnati Open. They ended the season with a first-round meeting in the 2017 WTA Final, where Pliskova won in straight sets.
Pliskova v Muguruza Tips & Prediction?
While the two players are evenly matched for this fixture, Pliskova will start as the favourite owing to her form and momentum from winning in Brisbane.
You can watch & bet on Karolina Pliskova v Garbine Mugurza live with bet365 here* on Monday, January 20. The Pliskova v Muguruza match will start not before 4:00 pm local time (6:00 am BST).
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