Eastbourne International 2021: Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske
Date: 23 June 2021
Tournament: Viking International Eastbourne 2021
Round: Second round (Round of 16)
Venue: Eastbourne, Great Britain
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Grass
Prize money: $565,530
Match timing: Not before 3 pm local time, 2 pm GMT, 10 am EST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske preview
Aryna Sabalenka will be desperate to put her underwhelming Roland Garros campaign behind her and get some wins under her belt in Eastbourne in the lead up to Wimbledon.
The Belarusian has had an excellent year with titles in Abu Dhabi and Madrid, and a runners-up finish in Stuttgart. However, she failed to carry that momentum into Roland Garros, where she was surprisingly eliminated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round.
Sabalenka began her grass season in Berlin, where she fell at the very first hurdle to Madison Keys. After defeating Bernarda Pera in her Eastbourne opener, she will now face World No. 31 Alison Riske in the second round on Wednesday.
Riske's 2021 season has been far from stellar. Injuries have plagued her ever since the tour restarted last year after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the American entered the grasscourt swing winless.
She picked up her first win of the year against Xiyu Wang in Nottingham last week, before bowing out to Lauren Davis in three sets in the last 16.
She looked in good touch in her Eastbourne opener, registering an impressive straight-sets win over Veronika Kudermetova to set up a clash with Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske head-to-head
This will be the fourth meeting between the two players, with Aryna Sabalenka leading the head-to-head 3-0.
Sabalenka beat the American in back-to-back three-set finals in Wuhan and Shenzhen two years ago. The Belarusian also defeated Riske in the third round of the 2018 Italian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske prediction
Aryna Sabalenka comes into this encounter as the favorite on paper. The World No. 4 is in the form of her life and would be determined to get a string of wins under her belt going into Wimbledon.
The Belarusian's attacking style of play has yielded rewards this year. While grass may not be her strongest surface, she is still capable of hitting opponents off the court. Her groundstrokes and serve looked sharp against Bernarda Pera, who had no answer to the power directed at her from the other end of the court.
Riske has a well-rounded game that has worked well on grass in the past. She registered arguably her most memorable win on this surface, defeating top seed Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round at Wimbledon two years ago.
When Riske finds her range, like she did in the first round, she can be a force to be reckoned with. However, with the American lacking match sharpness, it is unlikely she will be able to eke out a result against Sabalenka. If the top seed stays focused and keeps her error-count low, she should make it to the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.