The second round of the WTA Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne will be concluded on Tuesday. Day 3 sees big names such as Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Johanna Konta enter the fray, while Coco Gauff will play her second match. Who will progress to the third round? We also have a second article predicting Tuesday’s five other matches.
WTA Gippsland Trophy Day 3 Predictions
Elise Mertens vs Mayo Hibi
Head-to-head: First meeting
Seventh seed Elise Mertens will be playing her first match of 2021, and first since finishing as runner-up in Linz in November. World #182 Mayo Hibi beat Varvara Lepchenko in three sets in the opening round, and qualified for the Australian Open without dropping a set last month. Despite her form, it is difficult to see the Japanese 24-year-old troubling the ultra consistent Belgian. The 20th-ranked Mertens lost her opening match of a tournament just once last year, and should reach the next round here.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Cori Gauff vs Katie Boulter
Head-to-head: First meeting
Cori “Coco” Gauff battled past Jil Belen Teichmann 7-6 in the third set in the opening round. The 16-year-old world #48 also reached the second round in Abu Dhabi in January. Britain’s Katie Boulter is ranked #371 after being plagued by injuries but reached as high as #82 in 2019. The 24-year-old comfortably saw off Anna Kalinskaya in the first round – her first tour-level match since Acapulco last year. The American should have the edge, but it could be another battle.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Irina-Camelia Begu
Head-to-head: Begu 1-0 Sasnovich
Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu won 6-3, 6-1 in the pair’s only previous meeting – in the WTA Seoul final in 2015. Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich – ranked #90 – defeated Lesia Tsurenko in a three-set opening round affair, while 79th-ranked Begu fought past Saisai Zheng in three sets. Sasnovich also reached the second round in Abu Dhabi last month. Both had mixed 2020 seasons, and are well below their career-high rankings (Begu: #22, Sasnovich: #30). Having played an extra event this year, Sasnovich may hold a slight advantage.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Destanee Aiava vs Laura Siegemund
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Head-to-head: Siegemund 1-0 Aiava (ITF level)
Germany’s Laura Siegemund won the pair’s previous encounter at the Launceston ITF event in 2019. Australian wild card Destanee Aiava defeated Chloe Paquet in three sets in her opening match, while Siegemund beat Monica Niculescu in straight sets. WTA #51 Siegemund also fell in the first round in Abu Dhabi last month to Kirsten Flipkens. The 32-year-old German should be too strong for her 218th-ranked 20-year-old opponent.
Prediction: Siegemund in 2
Alize Cornet vs Naomi Osaka
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is perhaps surprisingly a first meeting between two such established players. World #53 Alize Cornet beat Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round, and also reached the second round in Abu Dhabi. It will be a tricky first match for Naomi Osaka, who has not played a WTA-level match since winning the US Open final in September. The world #3 did, though, lose to Serena Williams in an exhibition in Adelaide last week. Now having recovered from injury, the Japanese star should come through and build on her Australian Open preparation.
Prediction: Osaka in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
