Madrid Open 2021: Hsieh Su-wei vs Tamara Zidansek preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Hsieh Su-Wei vs Tamara Zidansek

Date: 29 April 2021

Tournament: Mutua Madrid Open 2021

Round: First round (Round of 64)

Venue: Madrid, Spain

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €2,549,105

Match timing: Approx. 3 pm local time, 6.30 pm IST

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

Hsieh Su-wei vs Tamara Zidansek preview

Hsieh Su-wei succumbed to a tame 1-6, 0-6 loss against Tamara Zidansek in the final round of qualification at the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday. However, she will now have another shot at getting a win over her opponent, as the two have been drawn to play each other in the first round.

Hsieh, who has been awarded an entry into the main draw as a lucky loser, will be keen on making the best of this opportunity.

Tamara Zidansek

Zidansek, on her part, looks to have struck her best form at the start of this year's claycourt season. She recently reached the final of the Copa Colsanitas, winning quite a few tough matches en-route. And while she did go on to lose the summit clash to home favorite Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, Zidansek had plenty to take away from her time in Bogota.

The Slovenian enjoys playing on clay, and most of her big results have in fact come on this surface. In addition to the final in Bogota, she also reached the final of the 2019 Nurenburg Cup, which is further testament to her prowess on red dirt.

Hsieh Su-wei vs Tamara Zidansek head-to-head

Hsieh Su-wei will need to come up with a better serving perfomance on Thursday.

Hsieh Su-wei and Tamara Zidansek have split their previous two meetings, so their current head-to-head stands at a 1-1 deadlock.

Hsieh Su-wei vs Tamara Zidansek prediction

Hsieh Su-wei will enter this contest looking to put up a far better performance than her last match against Tamara Zidansek. The 35-year old was unable to find any rhythm at all, and committed far too many easy errors to hand the opponent full control.

Hsieh also delivered a horrendous serving performance, managing to win just 40% of the points behind her first serve. She will need to improve her numbers considerably if she wishes to put up a bigger fight on Thursday.

Tamara Zidansek is not the biggest striker of the ball, but she plays a crafty brand of tennis that is not much different from her opponent's. In their previous encounter, she stepped out with a more aggressive mindset than Hsieh and did well to attack the Taiwanese's serve, which kept her from settling into the match.

Hsieh has beaten her opponent before and knows what it takes to flip a matchup completely. But if she is unable to find answers to her serving woes, she might well be heading for another defeat at the hands of the on-song Zidansek.

Prediction: Tamara Zidansek to win in two tight sets.