Day two at the 2021 WTA Gippsland Trophy will feature a host of top players and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Elina Svitolina vs Andrea Petkovic and Alize Cornet vs Ajla Tomljanovic. But who will advance in Melbourne?
WTA Gippsland Trophy Day 2 Predictions
Katie Boulter vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: Boulter 1-0 Kalinskaya
Katie Boulter resumes her career that has been blighted by bad luck. She is a better player than what her current ranking of World No.369 suggests, but a succession of injuries and a fatigue syndrome caused her to miss a huge chunk of 2019 season.
The Brit has made encouraging steps in her comeback, finishing runner-up at Sharm El Sheikh ITF event in Egypt at the tail end of last season. She has also been handed a wild card into the Australian Open main draw. Unlike Boulter, Kalinskaya won’t play at next week’s Grand Slam after falling in the qualifying rounds and one would suspect she will invest every drop of her energy in this match. Boulter’s body holding up is also another factor, and it shouldn’t come as surprise if she falls here.
Prediction: Kalinskaya in 3
Destanee Aiava vs Chloe Paquet
Head-to-head: first meeting
The onus is on Destanee Aiava to try and break new ground at her home tournament after earning a wild card. This will not come easy especially against an in-form Chloe Paquet. The Frenchwoman reached the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time after navigating her way past three rounds of qualifying. It is also the first time she has made the main draw of a Grand Slam outside her home Slam, the French Open. Form is certainly a key measure here in what should be an even contest and Paquet might shade it.
Prediction: Paquet in 3
Qiang Wang vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: first meeting
Wang has played very little tennis in the last nine months, largely due to coronavirus restrictions affecting Chinese players and a recurrence of an injury. She is healed now and I don’t think fitness will be a cause for concern considering she played a few events in her native China during the off season. Paolini is a fierce competitor and recorded a great result over Rebecca Marino, but on the slick Melbourne court, the pendulum swings in favor of the higher-ranked Chinese woman. In recent seasons, Wang has played exceptionally well Down Under, notching up her biggest win at last year’s Australian Open when she upset Serena Williams. I expect her to roll into the next round.
Prediction: Wang in 3
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Simona Halep vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Simona Halep cracked a major milestone on the eve of this tournament. She celebrates her 346th week inside the Top 10 of the WTA rankings. That is seven years of endurance and perseverance. It is a testament to her resilience and fighting qualities that even in Grand Slam final defeats, she still picked herself up to go again. I think she will have another great season and is in good shape to challenge this week.
Halep has warmed up nicely for the Gippsland Trophy with victory over Ash Barty at the Adelaide exhibition. The top seed will play Anastasia Potapova who brushed aside Whitney Osuigwe of the United States in her opening round match. It seems the Russian teenager hasn’t lost a step despite undergoing ankle surgery last October and only just returned at the start of this year. Potapova is a fearless puncher and if given time to measure her groundstrokes, she can hit through most opponents. Halep though is a different caliber of opponent and this should be smooth sailing for her.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
