Briton Heather Weather is in action in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Australian Open. She got some good games under her belt recently at the Hobart International which she will be hoping to build momentum from.
Her first round opponent Kristyna Pliskova was also in action in that tournament, falling as early as the second round. Can Watson make progress at Melbourne Park?
Read our Kristyna Pliskova vs Heather Watson betting tip for more details.
Kristyna Pliskova v Heather Watson odds*
Kristyna Pliskova 4/5
Heather Watson Even Money
* (betting odds taken from Betfred on January 19th, 2019 at 4:48 pm)
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Table of Contents
Watson can build on positive 2020 start
At the Hobart International, Britain’s Heather Watson reached the semi finals. She has to have been happy with that. In the quarter finals Watson found a way to outlast the top seed Elise Mertens and that was after having dropped the first set.
Waston bowed out at the semi finals stage then against third seed Elena Rybakina. That was a long tournament for Watson as three of her four matches went to a deciding set. Watson is now ranked 75th in the world. Her previous best performance at the Australian Open was a round of 32 appearance back in 2013. She has bowed out at the fist stage five of her last six appearances.
Head to head
The two have met twice before
The head to head is level at one win each
The first meeting was won by Watson in the 2014 Cincinnati Masters semi’s
Pliskova then won a 2016 meeting in Katowice
Key-Facts – Kristyna Pliskova vs Heather Watson
- Watson reach the R32 at the 2013 Australian Open
- Pliskova has lost in the first round of six of her last eight Slams
- Both have been to tournament semi finals this season
Pliskova edges favouritism for first round fixture
Kristyna Pliskova, sister of one of the tournament frontrunners Karolina, has made appearances in two tournaments already this season. She went to the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open where she was beaten by Elena Rybakina (who beat Heather Watson in the Hobart semi’s). Plsikova then showed up at the Hobart International.
It was a second round exit for the world 64. In just two of her last eight appearances across the board at the Slams, has Pliskova made it to the second round. One of those was last year at the Australian Open, where her best return was a place in the third round of the 2017 edition.
Kristyna Pliskova v Heather Watson Prediction and tip
Heather Watson has a sniff in this one and isn’t a bad pick at even money in the outright. She can take positives from her run in Hobart without question* (betting odds taken from Betfred on January 19th, 2019 at 4:48 pm)
Watson did drop sets in that tournament though, and her defence is not the greatest, so if she were to get through it would more likely be a 2-1 win than blanking her opponent.
Betfred Free Bet Club Australian Open
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Place a single in-play bet (odds 1/2 or greater) on 3 different Australian Open tennis matches taking place across 20/01/20 or 21/01/20. Receive your average stake back as a free bet up to £10 before 12pm 22/01/20 to use before 9am 23/01/20.
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Multiple bets on the same match do not count separately but will be included in the average free bet refund.
Offer applies to In-Play singles only.
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