Qatar Open 2022: Victoria Azarenka vs Yulia Putintseva preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (12) Victoria Azarenka vs Yulia Putintseva

Tournament: Qatar TotalEnergies Open.

Date: 20 February, 2022

Round: First round (Round of 64).

Venue: Doha, Qatar.

Category: WTA 1000.

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.

Match timing: Approx. 6.30 pm local time, 3.30 pm GMT, 10.30 am ET, 9 pm IST

Prize money: $2,331,698.

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.

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Victoria Azarenka vs Yulia Putintseva preview

Twelfth seed Victoria Azarenka will begin her quest for a third Qatar Open title against World No. 42 Yulia Putintseva in the first round in Doha on Sunday.

The former World No. 1 made a decent start to the season with a run to the quarterfinals in Adelaide and the fourth round at the Australian Open.

However, the Middle Eastern swing hasn't proven to be kind to the two-time Grand Slam champion. The 32-year-old was beaten by eventual runner-up Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-4 in the first round in Dubai this week.

With the tour now moving to Doha, the Belarusian will hope for a turnaround in fortunes, having previously lifted the trophy in the city in 2012 and 2013.

Yulia Putintseva strikes a forehand at BNP Paribas Open

Three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Yulia Putintseva's 2022 season got off to the worst possible start with a first-round loss at the Australian Open. She then bowed out in the final qualifying round in Dubai.

The 27-year-old's struggles this season come as quite a surprise, given the form she showed last year. The World No. 42 won the Hungarian Grand Prix and finished as runner-up in Astana, besides making at least the quarterfinals in four other tournaments.

The Kazakh will hope to draw inspiration from those results and bounce back in Doha with a first-round upset of Azarenka.

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Victoria Azarenka vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head

Azarenka leads the head-to-head against Putintseva 1-0. The Belarusian emerged a 6-4, 1-6, 11-9 winner in a tightly-contested pre-quarterfinal match at the Grampians Trophy last year.

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Victoria Azarenka vs Yulia Putintseva prediction

Victoria Azarenka in action at 2022 Adelaide International 1

The last time these two players met, Azarenka survived a couple of match points before eking out a win. The former Doha champion needs to be better prepared this time around.

Putintseva will look to employ a lot of variations to disrupt the rhythm of the Belarusian. Her slices and dropshots, coupled with her frequent variations in spin, put Azarenka in a spot of bother in their last meeting.

The two-time Grand Slam champion can't afford to rely solely on baseline aggression to tackle the Kazakh. She has to use sharp angles and move forward to finish points at the net whenever the opportunity presents itself.

If Azarenka can make early in-roads into the Putintseva serve with her strong returns and can keep her own unforced errors to a minimum, she should be able to advance to the second round.

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka to win in three sets.