Australian Open 2021: Hsieh Su-wei vs Sara Errani preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: Hsieh Su-wei vs Sara Errani

Date: 12 February 2021

Tournament: Australian Open 2021

Round: Third round (Round of 32)

Venue: Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: AUD 80 million

Match timing: 12 pm local time, 6.30 am IST

Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | India - Sony Six

Hsieh Su-wei vs Sara Errani preview

Surprise winners Hsieh Su-wei and Sara Errani have set up an enticing third-round match, set to be played in the morning session on Day 5 of the 2021 Australian Open.

Hsieh staged the tournament's first big upset by taking out eighth seed Bianca Andreescu in the second round. The Taiwanese will look to carry the same kind of form deep into the tournament.

Sara Errani

Meanwhile Errani, who came through the qualifiers, has also notched up a couple of good wins - over Wang Qiang and Venus Williams. She was aided by an unfortunate ankle suffered by Venus in the latter, but she would still be feeling good about being back in third round of a Grand Slam.

Errani is a former Roland Garros finalist and was once ranked a high as No. 5 in the world. She has admitted to having struggled with her confidence and serving abilities in recent years though, which has caused her to drop out of the top 100.

Errani's serving woes have been a feature of her game since the start of her career, but the tenacious Italian has managed to overcome them with some lightning-quick foot speed and intelligent variety. Against Hsieh, she will need all of that to come together if she hopes to remain alive in the tournament.

Hsieh Su-wei vs Sara Errani head-to-head

Hsieh Su-wei has reached the fourth round in Melbourne twice.

Sara Errani leads Hsieh Su-wei in the head-to-head 3-0. The Italian has been clinical in all her matches against her opponent, having dropped a total of just six games combined.

That said, the two players haven't faced each other in over three years.

Hsieh Su-wei vs Sara Errani prediction

Given the duo's current form, you have to feel that Hsieh Su-wei enters this as a slight favorite. But as can be seen from their head-to-head record, she has had a lot of trouble against Sara Errani in the past.

One of the reasons for the lopsided head-to-head could be Errani's style of play. The Italian doesn't impart much pace on the ball, so the onus of generating pace off the ground falls on Hsieh - something that she is not the most comfortable doing.

The Taiwanese relies on her masterful redirecting skills and ability to use her opponent's power against them. But in the absence of such impetus from Errani, it will be interesting to see how Hsieh approaches the match.

The past record notwithstanding, this is a fairly well-balanced match-up. Hsieh has made huge improvements to her game since 2017, the last time the two players met.

If she can manage to stay aggressive and put pressure on Errani's serve, she will be in with a chance to post her first win over the Italian.

Prediction: Hsieh Su-wei to win in two tight sets.