Ashleigh Barty vs. Victoria Azarenka 3/29/21 - WTA Miami, USA Women Singles Picks & Predictions
Last Updated: 03/27/2021 at 10:27 PM ET
At the 2021 WTA Miami Open, Ashleigh Barty is set to play against Victoria Azarenka from Belarus.
Victoria Azarenka had a big win in the opening round where she defeated Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Victoria Azarenka impressed with her receiving as she won close to 55% of her receiving points which allowed her to break her opponent’s serve on 6 occasions. The serving was also solid from Azarenka as she won 70% of her service points. It has been a solid season for Victoria Azarenka as she made the semifinal of the Qatar Open prior to arriving in Miami. This is still expected to be a tough match for Victoria Azarenka as she is playing against the top seed.
Looking at Ashleigh Barty, the Australian superstar also won her previous match in straight sets by defeating Jelena Ostapenko. Barty was dominant as she won 89% of her service games and 4 return games. Barty has had a decent 2021 season as she won an event in Melbourne and made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open but she has failed on big occasions which is something she will wish to correct at this tournament. The Miami Open has been a strong tournament for Ashleigh Barty as she won the most recent edition which took place in 2019.
Ashleigh Barty and Victoria Azarenka have played each other twice in the past with both players winning on 1 occasion. The most recent match between these two players was in 2019 at the Fed Cup where Barty won for Team Australia. Victoria Azarenka defeated Ashleigh Barty in 2018 at WTA Tokyo. Both prior head-to-head matches ended in straight sets.
Taking everything into consideration, I am going to predict an upset and pick Victoria Azarenka to win this match. Victoria Azarenka has looked in top form while Barty seems to have struggled in recent months. I see Victoria Azarenka winning in 3 sets.
