Ashleigh Barty vs Petra Kvitova
28th February 1530hrs
Tennis – Doha – WTA
Pick Draw
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: 11/8 odds taken 2254 GMT, Thursday 27th February
Even though Ashleigh Barty played in just one of the first three rounds in Doha, she is still not having an easy route to the final. In the last round, it was Garbine Muguruza that she had to deal with. Now it’s Petra Kvitova in the final four.
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Barty’s early rest may pay dividends
Because of a bye in the first round and then a walkover in the third round, it was a relatively relaxed opening to the tournament for world number one Ashleigh Barty.
The only match that she did play in the first three rounds was against Laura Siegemund which Barty won 2-0. After her third-round opponent, Elena Rybankina withdrew it put the Australian through to the quarter-finals where she would meet Australian Open losing finalist Garbine Muguruza.
Barty stormed the first set in that one but lost the second on a tie-break. But then, perhaps telling with fresher legs, Barty swept to a 6-2 win in the final set to move through to the semi-finals.
Barty does look in pretty good shape as he has done all year apart from her obvious nerves in the Australian Open semi-final. She lost that Grand Slam final four match against Sofia Kenin.
She came into the WTA Doha event with a 9/2 win/loss match record for the season, including one title win. She’s now improved that record and given that she has won the last four in a row against Kvitova, it wouldn’t be a surprise to set Barty in the final.
Kvitova may struggle against Barty again
Ashleigh Barty and Petra Kvitova met in the quarter-finals of the 2020 Australian Open. That didn’t turn out to be quite the epic battle that it had been penned as Kvitova lost in straight sets.
Kvitova has lost her last two matches against Barty in straight sets now, on both occasions just being totally unable to match the Australian in the second sets. So this may be a more routine success for Barty than it looks on paper.
The overall head to head is four wins each from their eight previous matches, but all of the current form is with the Australian in the meetings.
A semi-final place at the Brisbane International and then a quarter-final berth at the Australian has seen Kvitova get 2020 off to a decent start.
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Kvitova started this campaign in the second round. She came through a couple of tough matches in the third round and the quarter-finals.
The Czech player needed three sets to see off Jelena Ostapenko and then held her nerve to claim a 2-0 win over Ons Jabeur in the quarters, Kvitova winning both sets on tie-breaks.
Ashleigh Barty vs Petra Kvitova Betting Advice
The pattern in the last two meetings between these two players has been a tight first set won by Barty and then an easy second set success for her. Will this one follow suit? Either way, a 2-0 sets win for Barty looks a solid proposition.
Key Facts – Ashleigh Barty vs Petra Kvitova Betting Tip
- Ashleigh Barty has won the last four matches against Kvitova
- Ashleigh Barty and Kvitova met in the Australian Open 2020 quarter-finals
- Petra Kvitova is W4 L4 in the head to head
Ashleigh Barty is the stronger of the two players and is well worth backing. Again, you may go back to that advantage of her having rested for an extra round. It looked to have served her well in the deciding set against Muguruza in the last round. Barty 2-0.
The best betting odds for Ashleigh Barty vs Petra Kvitova
Ashleigh Barty to win: 8/15 at Bet365
Petra Kvitova: 6/4 at Bet365
