WTA Dubai Open: Iga Swiatek vs. Misaki Doi 3/9/2021 Tennis Prediction

Eighth seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland meets unseeded Japanese Misaki Doi in the Second Round of the 2021 Dubai Open WTA event. The match is scheduled to take place on Tuesday March 9th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined. This will be the first meeting between the two players. 

Iga Swiatek is currently ranked a career high #15 in the world and is one of the brightest young stars on the WTA Tour. Having announced herself to the world by winning the 2020 French Open she has began 2021 strongly, winning the title in Adelaide in February. Still only 19 years of age, she is considered by many to be a future top 5 player and with the tennis that she has displayed over the past year it seems to be only a matter of time before that happens. With a strong serve, great court awareness and powerful groundstrokes, she is a huge threat on any surface and is considered one of the strong favorites to claim the title here at the Dubai Open. 

Misaki Doi is ranked #77 but is a former top 30 player with a wealth of experience. She started the year slowly with some poor results but has since recovered nicely, reaching the Round of 16 in her past three events. While she is the clear underdog here, she was very impressive in her First Round win over Polona Hercog, displaying some very consistent tennis and cannot be taken lightly here by Swiatek. She is certainly good enough to ask some questions of the young superstar and will have to be beaten, as she is unlikely to give anything away. 

Despite Doi being in good form lately, there is simply too big of a gulf in class and ability here. Iga Swiatek is one of the best players in the world and has been playing some fantastic tennis. While some young players tend to struggle mentally, that is one of her strengths and she is always intensely focused. I expect Doi to put up a challenge as she has acclimatized to the courts but ultimately this will be a straight sets win for Iga Swiatek.