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Match details
Fixture: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Misaki Doi
Date: 1 February 2021
Tournament: Yarra Valley Classic 2021
Round: First round (Round of 64)
Venue: Melbourne, Australia
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $565,530
Match timing: 11 am local time, 5.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Misaki Doi preview
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is all set to open her Yarra Valley Classic campaign with a first-round encounter against Japan's Misaki Doi.
Playing in her first match of the 2021 season, the 10th-seeded Pavlyuchenkova will look to recreate the form that saw her equal her best result at the Australian Open last year.
The 29-year-old Doi meanwhile had an underwhelming 2020 season, facing some tough losses towards the end. She showed some great fighting spirit playing against the likes of Naomi Osaka, Marketa Vondrousova and Petra Martic, but was unable to break through.
Doi moved to the ITF tour at the conclusion of the regular tour, and now enters the new season with more match practice than many others. The Japanese enjoys playing on quicker surfaces and has a WTA title to her name too, so she definitely has the game to win big.
That said, Doi will have very little time to settle into the match against someone who hits as big as Pavlyuchenkova.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Misaki Doi head-to-head
This will be the third career meeting between Misaki Doi and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. The Japanese player had upset Pavlyuchenkova at the 2016 Wuhan open, but the Russian levelled the head-to-head by scoring a win at the 2019 Osaka Open.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Misaki Doi prediction
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has an impeccable record at Melbourne Park, and will enter this contest as a firm favorite. She is, however, still prone to the occasional lapse in concentration, and can go through some rough patches in her matches.
It will be up to Misaki Doi to be on the lookout for that, and to make the best of the opportunities that come her way.
Doi has upset Pavlyuchenkova before, and there's no reason why she can't produce a repeat of that. But the Japanese will have to at her absolute best to overcome the Russian's power-packed game.
Prediction: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win in three sets.
