Dubai Tennis Championships 2021: Elina Svitolina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (1) Elina Svitolina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Date: 9 March 2021

Tournament: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2021

Round: Second round (Round of 32)

Venue: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $1,835,490

Match timing: Approx. 4 pm local time, 5.30 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel

Elina Svitolina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova preview

Top seed Elina Svitolina takes on Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

Svitolina comes into the tournament with a lot of matches under her belt in 2021, but not many significant results. The Ukrainian reached the quarterfinals in both Abu Dhabi and the Melbourne tuneup event, but fell to Jessica Pegula in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Svitolina also failed to take advantage of Victoria Azarenka's injury in Doha, losing to the Belarusian at the quarterfinal stage once again. The World No. 5 will now be looking to mount a title challenge in Dubai, but she faces a stern test at the very first step in the form of the experienced Kuznetsova.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Svetlana Kuznetsova has been a mainstay on the WTA tour for over a decade. But the former World No. 2 hasn't been in the best of form of late.

Kuznetsova currently sports a win-loss record of 2-3 in 2021, having lost to Jennifer Brady, Victoria Azarenka and Belinda Bencic so far. The 35-year-old defeated Qiang Wang in the first round of Dubai in three sets to set up the clash with Svitolina.

Elina Svitolina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova head-to-head

The second-round encounter in Dubai is the sixth professional meeting between the pair. Elina Svitolina currently leads the head-to-head 4-1 over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Svitolina has won each of the last three matches against the Russian - at Rome 2020, Wuhan 2019 and Cincinnati 2018 - in fairly routine fashion. Kuznetsova's only win against the World No. 5 came on home soil, in the Moscow semifinals back in 2016.

Elina Svitolina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova prediction

Elina Svitolina

Being the top seed, Elina Svitolina is the overwhelming favorite on paper for her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The Ukrainian's counterpunching has proven to be very effective over the past few years, and she can more than hold her own from the baseline. Kuznetsova, who has a similar playing style, will need to be aggressive early on to force Svitolina onto the defensive.

Svitolina has proven to be erratic under pressure in the recent past. But if she stays calm and produces her best stuff from the baseline, she should be able to win comfortably on Tuesday.

Prediction: Elina Svitolina to win in straight sets.