Maria Sakkari vs Bianca Andreescu Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Miami

Prediction published on 23/03/2023, 15:22  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 24/03/2023 at 06:03 in Tennis Predictions

Seventh seeded Maria Sakkari looks for some revenge against Bianca Andreescu. The pair met in the 2021 Miami Masters semi-final with Andreescu getting the win. Two years on they face each other in the second round of this Master tournament. The winner faces either unseeed Sofia Kenin or 28th seeded Anhelina Kalinina. Sakkari started this tournament ranked tenth in the world but is up to ninth in the live list. The Greek player has reached the semi-final in three of her last four tournaments. The most recent was at Indian Wells last week when losing to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. It was a tough time for her in Indian Wells with her first four matches all going to a final set. That's happened in eight of her last 11 matches and another close battle looks possible here.

Bianca Andreescu had a tough first round match as she defeated Emma Raducanu in three sets, losing the middle one. That win kept her in 28th position in the world rankings and that's 18 places higher than at the start of 2023. In the Live WTA Race, the Canadian is 45th but a win over Sakkari could take her up to 39th. Her only other meeting with Sakkari was in the 2021 US Open. That saw her win the first set but end up losing the match. That's two previous meetings and both went to a deciding set. Andreescu reached the semi-finals of the Thailand Open earlier this year. This looks like being a close match, go for over 21.5 games to be played.