Qatar Ladies Open 2020: Ashleigh Barty vs Petra Kvitova, semifinal preview and prediction

A burgeoning rivalry will see two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and world No.1 Ashleigh Barty take on each other for the sixth time in the last one year for the second semifinal of the 2020 Qatar Ladies Open.

The head to head record for the two women is tied at 4-4, with Kvitova having beaten Barty in the duo's first hour meetings. However, it has been all Barty since the 2019 Sydney final.

Their matches have been tight, highly entertaining and have been played in very good spirit. Great friends off the court, both women always have to say good things about the other, but on the court, there can only be one winner.

Ashleigh Barty has made a solid start to the new season.

Checkout: 2020 Qatar Ladies Open Schedule

Barty, for one, has quickly bounced back from the slow start to the year. Following a first-round exit in Brisbane, she won a title in Adelaide, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and has done well in Qatar.

The world No.1 was able to outsmart a slightly wayward Garbine Muguruza in the last eight match and will be looking to continue in much the same vein against Kvitova.

The Czech has struggled against Barty slicing and dicing and is visibly uncomfortable against the Australian's style of play. She has the power to outhit Barty on any given day, but her younger opponent has often pushed her to the breaking point by getting just that one extra ball back.

The consistency of Kvitova's groundstrokes will play a major role in swaying the result.

Also Checkout: 2020 Qatar Ladies Open Results

Kvitova has already had an up and down tournament so far. After two tipsy turvy three-set matches, she was finally able to close out a match in straight sets against local hero Ons Jabeur. But even that match was hardly straightforward.

She has definitely played a lot of tennis this week and that might have left her exhausted. But her recent results would also have inspired confidence in her to close out tight matches.

Kvitova needs to win in Qatar to get back into the top 10 of the world rankings, and that might be somewhere in the back of her mind. She has shown immense promise in extremely unfavourable conditions.

If she can manage to exhibit the same amount of restrain that she has in big moments throughout the week, she could be well on her way there.

Prediction: Kvitova to win in three sets