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Match details
Fixture: (11) Petra Kvitova vs Ons Jabeur
Date: 19 August 2021
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2021
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Cincinnati, United States
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $1,835,490
Match timing: Approx. 4 pm local time, 8 pm GMT, 1.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Petra Kvitova vs Ons Jabeur preview
Petra Kvitova and Ons Jabeur cruised past their respective opponents on Wednesday to set up an exciting third-round encounter at the 2021 Western & Southern Open.
Kvitova, the 11th seed at this year's tournament, produced a clean serving performance to dispatch Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 21 minutes. The Czech fired 10 aces and won nearly 75% of points behind her first serve to close out a comfortable win.
Standing in Kvitova's path to a first quarterfinal since June is the the in-form Jabeur, who scored another upset win late last night.
Jabeur was ruthless in her dismissal of 6th seed Iga Swiatek, denying the youngster a win at a big tournament for the second time in as many months. Jabeur had beaten the Pole at the Wimbledon Championships in a three-set match, but she looked even stronger in her match yesterday.
The 26-year-old didn't drop serve once en-route to the 6-3, 6-3 win. Needless to say, she will be feeling confident about her game.
Petra Kvitova vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head
Petra Kvitova leads Ons Jabeur in their current head-to-head with a 2-0 margin. The Czech is yet to drop a set against her opponent, but she needed two tiebreakers to fend off Jabeur at Doha 2020.
Petra Kvitova vs Ons Jabeur prediction
Petra Kvitova wasn't in the best of form coming into the tournament, but the southpaw looks to have found her serving groove in Cincinnati.
Kvitova has used the serve to dig herself out of trouble on several occasions in her two matches this week. And she will need to rely on it again when pitted against an aggressive returner in the form of Ons Jabeur.
Jabeur was slightly off target in the serving department in her opener against Anett Kontaveit, but managed her service games exceptionally well against Swiatek. The Tunisian's crafty game was on full display in the second-round match and she will look to continue in the same vein on Thursday.
Both Kvitova and Jabeur are unlikely to back down from going for their shots, so we can expect a few entertaining rallies. The outcome would, however, depend on who executes better on the day.
Kvitova will want to avoid going the distance against a dogged opponent. But if she she can continue striking the ball as cleanly as she has in her first two matches here, the Czech should be able to power past Jabeur.
Prediction: Petra Kvitova to win in two tight sets.
