Iga Swiatek, the World No. 1 on the women’s tour, will face Victoria Azarenka at the 2024 WTA Doha tennis tournament. This will be a quarterfinal match at the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open. Swiatek enters the match as a very large favorite, priced at -900 on the moneyline (bet365(. Azarenka is the biggest underdog of the quarterfinal round, set at +550 (bet365). My Swiatek vs Azarenka prediction focuses on a betting prop in this match.
Schedule: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Iga Swiatek vs Victoria Azarenka Head-to-Head Series
The Swiatek vs Azarenka h2h is 2-1 in the former player’s favor. Their history goes back to 2020, with Azarenka winning a US Open match that season. They did not meet in 2023. But Swiatek won two matches against Azarenka in the 2022 season, one of which was on clay. The head-to-head series is not too important. A lot of the matches were played before Swiatek became the powerhouse she is now.
She is into the quarterfinals before two blazing matches. Firstly, she beat Sorana Cirstea very easily. In the round of sixteen, Swiatek dispatched Ekaterina Alexandrova. On total games so far, Swiatek is 24-7 against her two opponents. As solid as that looks, last season she won the title with a 36-5 rampage against her draw at the same event. The World No. 1 has done nothing but display the superb tennis that you’d expect for a player of her ranking.
But the problem with taking Swiatek at -900 is that she did lose a match this season. When you are constantly coming in as an enormous favorite, just one loss eliminates the value of your odds. Swiatek fell at the Australian Open in a shocking upset that would have served as a huge bankroll draw for anyone who took her (she was priced at about -1900).
Azarenka has played well this week in Doha. She is 6-1 on sets played with a win over Jelena Ostapenko. That result was a key one in the tournament: it kept the Latvian from playing Swiatek (Ostapenko is undefeated against her).
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open
Swiatek vs Azarenka Prediction: Azarenka not to break in 1st set
Azarenka is more capable of figuring out how to slow Swiatek down than the other two players the World No. 1 has faced in Doha this season. Azarenka used to be No. 1. While she has long past her best tennis, the mental side of the game isn’t something that you get too old for. That said, the way Swiatek has been playing, a 4-6 4-6 result from Azarenka would be a moral victory.
Swiatek has held her serve in all games this week. A good bet is for her to not be broken against Azarenka. A betting prop for that in the first set is at +175 (bet365). You go to the “Player” section and “First Set Player to Break Serve.” Take “No” on Azarenka.
Azarenka vs Swiatek prediction: Draw at the 2024 Qatar TotalEnergies Open
This section of the draw is loaded with No. 1 talent. Swiatek is the current No. 1, Azarenka is the No. 1 from years ago, and in the other semifinal two former No. 1s are going to collide — Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova. Despite all the talent, it’s still hard to picture anyone but Swiatek plowing through to the final on the top half of the draw.
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