TennisSection previews the 2021 WTA Miami Open as Ashleigh Barty (1) meets Elina Svitolina (5) in the Semi-finals on Thursday, April 1st 2021.
Will Elina Svitolina continue to put on extremely solid performances in Miami as she looks to make her biggest Final of a WTA Tour event in a long time? Will Ashleigh Barty continue to improve her game as she looks to get back on top of her game and retain her title here in Miami? Both players have shown great composure all tournament through the extremely tight matches they have come through, but only one will come through this one to book a spot in the Final of the 2021 Miami Open. Who will it be?
Elina Svitolina came through an easy Quarter-final encounter against Anastasija Sevastova, beating her in straight sets 6-3.6-2. Svitolina has finally gotten an easy match under her belt here in Miami, and this will help her both gain confidence, but also save energy before this tough match she is about to enter in the Semi-finals against the defending champion, Ashleigh Barty. Svitolina started out last week slowly with an injury to her right-wrist, but now that seems to be far behind her, and she is getting back to her best. If Elina continues to improve and maintain this level of consistency, there is no reason why she cannot win some big titles in 2021.
Ashleigh Barty came through yet another tight 3-set encounter here in Miami, beating the very in form Aryna Sabalenka 6-4/(5)6-7/6-3. Barty has played 4 matches here, and she has only won 1 of them in straight sets. Barty is still trying to get back on top of her game, and she is definitely getting there. Now, Ashleigh Barty will want to defend her title here in Miami as she is only two victories away from doing so. However, she will have to ensure she is at her absolute best as she meets a very in form, determined, and powerful player in Elina Svitolina. Will Ashleigh Barty come out here strongly and on top of her game in order to prevent the upset and keep her title defence hopes alive here at the 2021 Miami Open?
Ashleigh Barty and Elina Svitolina have met 6 times before, with Elina Svitolina leading the head to head 5-1. The last time they met was in the Final of the 2019 WTA Finals where Barty got her only victory over Svitolina in straight sets 6-4/6-3. This is definitely going to be a tight match where both players will come out and give it their all. However, going off of form this week and their past matches, it is hard for me to go against Elina Svitolina. Svitolina seems to know how to play Ashleigh Barty, and she has had less tough matches than Barty here, and she has met tougher opponents than Barty. I expect this to be a tight match, but one which Elina Svitolina should win to book herself a spot in the Final of the 2021 Miami Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Elina Svitolina to Win.
Want more Free Tennis Picks from our Experts? Check out our latest Tennis Predictions now!
