Miami Open 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Viktorija Golubic preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Iga Swiatek vs Viktorija Golubic

Date: 25 March 2022.

Tournament: Miami Open presented by Itau.

Round: Second Round (Round of 64).

Venue: Miami, Florida, USA.

Category: WTA 1000.

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.

Prize money: $8,584,055.

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

Iga Swiatek vs Viktorija Golubic preview

Second seed Iga Swiatek will take on Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic in the second round of the 2022 Miami Open on Friday.

Swiatek comes into the tournament in Florida in some of the best form of her life. The Pole won back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in Doha and Indian Wells, taking her to World No. 2 in the rankings. She also had a solid Australian summer, reaching the semifinals in Adelaide and the Australian Open.

The Pole has already defeated players like Aryna Sabalenka, Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, and Simona Halep this year and her confidence is sky-high at the moment.

After an opening-round bye in Miami, she will launch her campaign against Golubic.

Viktorija Golubic at the 2021 US Open

Golubic also made a decent start to the season and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 35 in February.. The Swiss' best performance this year came at the Melbourne Summer Set, where she reached the quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old earned a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Kirsten Flipkens in the first round in Miami to set up a meeting with Swiatek.

Iga Swiatek vs Viktorija Golubic head-to-head

The second-round encounter in Miami will be the third match between Swiatek and Golubic, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. Golubic defeated Swiatek in the first round of Wimbledon back in 2019. The Pole prevailed in three sets in their match in Doha last month.

Iga Swiatek vs Viktorija Golubic prediction

Iga Swiatek with the 2022 BNP Paribas Open trophy

Swiatek is in red-hot form at the moment and is the overwhelming favorite to win this encounter. The Pole has put to bed any questions that lingered over whether her powerful, top-spin game could be as effective on hardcourt as it has been on clay in the past.

Golubic, meanwhile, has a versatile game and is capable of blending accurate groundstrokes from the baseline with dropshots and slices, particularly off her backhand wing. She will look to use these tools to upset the World No. 2's rhythm.

Swiatek has played a lot of tennis over the past month and may come into the match physically and mentally fatigued. However, even if she does suffer some lapses in the match, she has enough firepower to douse the Swiss' challenge and move to the next round.

Prediction: Swiatek to win in three sets.

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Also Check Out: Miami Open 2022 Results