Photo by Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Petra Martic meets Barbora Strycova in the second-round of the 2020 WTA Dubai Open.
Barbora Strycova came through an amazing hard-fought match against Anisimova. Strycova was so close to losing the match so many times, but she fought back and eventually the pressure of not being able to close out the match became too much for Anisimova. Strycova is an extremely experienced player on the WTA Tour, and she is able to use that experience to her advantage in matches against younger or lower ranked players. Strycova will fancy her chances of going far here in Dubai, but first she needs to get past a strong Petra Martic.
Petra Martic booked her spot in the second-round thanks to her victory against Su-Wei Hsieh, beating her 6-4/6-3. Martic was not dominating as she usually is, but thanks to Hsieh only winning 42% of her first-serves, Martic was able to run away with the match, breaking Hsieh 6 times! Martic was great on break points, converting 6 out of 7 and saving 10 out of 13 on her own serve. Martic will look to improve her serving percentages and maintain her ability to convert break points as she meets Strycova.
This will be the 5th meeting between both players, with Martic leading the H2H 3-1. Martic will be the favourite to win this match, and rightfully so. However, Martic will need to improve her serving percentages as Strycova won't be as easily beaten like Hsieh was. Martic should win eventually.
Petra Martic to win.
Liam’s Pick Petra Martic
AUTHOR: Liam Elyes
