Miami Open 2024: Victoria Azarenka vs Katie Boulter; Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

Tighten your seatbelts. Katie Boulter is all set to take on the former world one, Victoria Azarenka in the R16 match in the Miami Open at Butch Buchholz stadium in just a few hours from now. Both the players are heading into this high-octane match on the back of some good run of form. Who do you think has the edge in this contest?

Victoria Azarenka will look forward to clinching her fourth title in Miami. Katie Boulter, on the other hand, will try to sneak in her second title of this season in the US. Will the 34-YO tennis star be a major blockade to Boulter’s goal in Miami? Well, we’ll have to wait a few more hours to get this answer. But till then, let’s have a look at who’s ahead when it comes to statistics.

Victoria Azarenka vs. Katie Boulter: Preview

Victoria Azarenka is currently placed at the 32nd spot in the women’s singles ranking. She started her season this year at the Brisbane International. Here, she reached the SF but was eventually defeated by Aryna Sabalenka by a 2-6,4-6 margin. In the AO, she reached the fourth round but Azarenka managed to make it to the QF in the Qatar Open. Her Dubai trip didn’t go the way she would have wanted and even in the Indian Wells, she looked in complete disarray.

Nevertheless, in Miami, she defeated the AO finalist Qinwen Zheng in her previous match. Can she carry forward this momentum in the match against Boulter? Well, the 27-YO British tennis star has been in scintillating form this year. Although, she faced some early exits from the tournament earlier this year. But she clinched her second title of her career recently at the San Diego Open by defeating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the finals. She is currently looking in good touch, comfortably sailing through in her opening two matches in Miami.

Victoria Azarenka had last played in Miami in 2019. She has won 12 of her 17 matches this season. While Katie Boulter has won 13 of her last 17 matches. So the Brit looks slightly ahead in this. What about their previous meetings?

Azarenka vs Boulter: Head-to-Head

Error 404: Page not found! Well, the two tennis stars haven’t met each other earlier in their careers. So, this would be their first meeting. Who looks ahead by the stats? Well, in the last 6 months, Victoria Azarenka has won 43.42% of her second serve and Boulter has won 45.01% of it. Azarenka has saved 61.04% of her breakpoints in the last few matches, whereas the Brit has saved 61.38%. So, even here, Katie Boulter is slightly ahead.

In the past 12 months, Azarenka has won 58.84% (24-17) of her matches. While Katie Boulter has won 69.84% (44-19) of her matches. The Belarusian tennis star favors the hard court and she has a win percentage of 73% on it (379-140). Even Katie Boulter has the best record on this surface with a win percentage of 63% (62-37). So, Azarenka is ahead on this, looking at her experience in the hard courts. Who will have the last laugh in this intriguing contest?

Prediction: Katie Boulter to win this contest against the experienced campaigner

Katie Boulter has won 7 out of the last 8 matches whereas, Azarenka has been defeated 3 times in her last 6 outings. Azarenka’s last 5 defeats have all come on the hard courts. Boulter, on the other hand, has recorded 12 out of 13 wins this year on the hard courts.

So looking at these statistics, the British tennis star looks slightly ahead when it comes to picking up the favorite in this epic contest. Who’s your pick for this one?

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