Ashleigh Barty vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Stuttgart Open

Prediction published on 24/04/2021, 18:06  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 24/04/2021 at 19:36 in Tennis Predictions

Ashleigh Barty may be the world number one but the Australian has only won one title on clay. She bids to double that tally with a win over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. That one sole clay court title does just happen to be the 2019 French Open and that year Barty won 11 out of 13 clay court matches. This year has seen her win two titles to strengthen her position as world number one. A win here will see her having earned more ranking points than anyone else on the WTA Circuit. It's not been the easiest of routes to the final with sets dropped against Karolina Pliskova and in the semi-final, Elina Svitolina. That semi-final was won on the 25th birthday but she had to come from behind to win that match. Six previous meetings between these two players have been shared. Barty got the most recent win though with a victory at the Miami Open.

Aryna Sabalenka reached this final after beating second seeded Simona Halep in straight sets. A big win and achieved after just five hours sleep. Friday had seen a late-night match against Anett Kontaveit that was won in three sets. Sabalenka is chasing her second title of the year having won in  Abu Dhabi in January. Clay isn't her most successful surface and she's also only been in one previous WTA Tour final. That was three years ago in Lugano and a long way from the Grand Slam that Barty has won. A win here would see Sabalenka move up one place in the rankings to sixth, that'd be her highest ever ranking. That will have to wait though, go for Barty to get the win over Sabalenka.