Miami Open 2024 Final: Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins preview, head-to-head, prediction and pick
Match details
Fixture: (4) Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins
Date: 30 March 2024
Tournament: Miami Open 2024
Round: Final
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hardcourt (Outdoor)
Prize Money: $8,995,555
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN & TVA | Australia - beIN SPORTS | India - Sony Liv
Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins preview
Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins will lock horns in the Miami Open final on Saturday.
Rybakina, the fourth seed at this year’s tournament, will be playing in her second consecutive final in Miami. Petra Kvitova had stopped the Kazakh from completing a ‘Sunshine Double’ after beating her in the summit clash.
Having skipped Indian Wells this year, Rybakina came into the Miami Open refreshed. But she has been thoroughly tested by opponents like Clara Tauson, Maria Sakkari and most recently Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals, only for her to come through and improve her season’s win-loss to 22-3.
Collins has also played herself into top form this year, staging deep runs at the Qatar Open and Abu Dhabi Open.
Playing here in Miami, she has not dropped a single set en-route to the final, taking out the likes of Ekaterina Alexandrova, Caroline Garcia and Sorana Cirstea in her last three matches.
Collins triumphed over Garcia 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal clash against Alexandrova. She registered a similar scoreline to reach her maiden WTA 1000 final in what she claims to be the final season of her career.
Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins head-to-head
Rybakina leads Collins 3-1 in their head-to-head. The Kazakh already beat the American once this season in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Open.
Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins odds
(Odds will be updated when available)
Elena Rybakina vs Danielle Collins prediction
Given the huge gulf in the world ranking and their past head-to-head, Elena Rybakina will enter the contest as the favorite to lift the trophy.
The Kazakh was understandably rusty after not having played for a month, but has managed to conjure her best tennis in the big moments. Her serve was absolutely clinical in the final set tiebreaker against Azarenka in the semifinal and she will again rely on the weapon to win her a fair few easy points.
That said, playing against a mercurial opponent like Danielle Collins is never easy. The American likes to go for broke on each ball and does not allow her opponents to settle into any sort of rhythm.
She has been especially aggressive on return throughout the fortnight, winning over 50% of the points on return.
The contest will pit Rybakina’s serving skills against her opponent’s return prowess. The American likes to stay in control of rallies and will look to step into the baseline every chance she gets.
Rybakina, however, has come out on top in face of big baseline hitting in her matches against Azarenka and Madison Keys. Playing in her second consecutive final, she will also be extra motivated to get the win. Serving numbers will be key and doing well in that department should tilt the match in her favor.
Prediction: Rybakina to win in three sets