Maria Sakkari vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - Abu Dhabi Open

Prediction published on 11/01/2021, 14:27  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 11/01/2021 at 16:21 in Tennis Predictions

The WTA tour has made a welcome return as players prepare for the upcoming Australian Open. The Abu Dhabi women's tennis tournament is at its semi-final stage as Maria Sakkari takes on Aryna Sabalenka. Sakkari is ranked 22nd in the world and seeded ninth for this event. The Greek player made smooth progress through the first three rounds of this tournament not losing any sets. That took her into a fourth round tie against number one seed Sofia Kenin. Sakkari lost the first set but then rallied to win the next two for the loss of just two games. This is her second straight semi-final after reaching the last four in Ostrava last October. She'll hope to do better than in her last match against Sabalenka. They met in Qatar last February and she only won three games.

Aryna Sabalenka is the fourth seed and like her opponent made it to the last eight without losing a set. There'd been some tight sets though in her first three rounds with two tie-breaks. The third round saw her defeat 14th seeded Ons Jabeur in straight sets. In her quarter final, Sabalenka had to go to three sets (she lost the middle one) to get past sixth seeded Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka is ranked tenth in the world, just one place higher than she was this time last year. The 22-year-old had a successful end to last year, winning her last two tournaments. She can be backed to make the final of this first event of 2021 by beating an opponent she has beaten in three of their four previous meetings.