Day three at the Australian Open will see the round of 64 commence, with a number of star names set to take to the courts. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Iga Swiatek vs Camila Giorgi, Naomi Osaka vs Caroline Garcia and Serena Williams vs Nina Stojanovic, with our panel of Yesh Ginsburg, Steen Kirby and Jim Smith offering their picks for this slate of matches. But who will reach the third round?
Australian Open Day Three Predictions
Simona Halep vs Ajla Tomljanovic
Jim: Simona Halep made an assured start to her Australian Open campaign, dismissing Lizette Cabrera for the loss of only three games. Ajla Tomljanovic might be more competitive than her compatriot was, but it is still hard to see her winning a set against the second seed.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Yesh: Halep is just on a different level right now. She’s not unbeatable, but it’s going to take someone playing a lot better than Tomljanovic to take her out.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Steen: Halep is facing a player on home turf in Tomljanovic, but has dominated the pair’s head-to-head and is simply at a higher level. I don’t see this as much of a contest.
Prediction: Halep in 2
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Timea Babos vs Anastasia Potapova
Jim: Anastasia Potapova was excellent in the first round, thrashing the 24th seed Alison Riske 6-1 6-2. Admittedly, the American was far from her best, but it was still a very impressive performance from the 19-year-old, one that will surely give her real confidence heading into this match. She may never have been past the second round at a Major before, but that looks likely to change here.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
Yesh: Potapova is very quietly playing better and better, and she appears to be enjoying these faster Melbourne courts.
Prediction: Potapova in 2
The qualifier Babos is working her way back into the top 75 (peaked at 25) this is a winnable match against a player ranked outside the top 100 but I still think Potapova has more upside.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
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Ons Jabeur vs Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova
Jim: Ons Jabeur made her name with a run to the quarterfinals in Melbourne last season and, although it looks like she may struggle to return to the last eight, she made a solid start to her 2021 campaign. Her combination of power and court-craft should be too much for Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova to contend with.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
Yesh: Jabeur struggled more than I expected in her initial match. Maybe I’m a little too high on her because of how she’s been winning matches these past few years, but either way it’s hard to think that Schmiedlova beats her right now.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
Steen: The lucky loser Schmiedlova took advantage of her opportunity to reach the second round, but on a hard court I’m more confident in Jabeur being the one to reach round of 32.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
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Venus Williams vs Sara Errani
Jim: Sara Errani rolled back the years with a battling three-set win against Wang Qiang in the first round. But the Italian seems destined to struggle when confronted with the sort of power that Venus Williams can bring to bear.
Prediction: Williams in 2
Yesh: Errani has shown that her best days aren’t as far behind as we might think. Still, Williams will control this match. As long as she’s playing anywhere close to her best, she’ll win without trouble.
Prediction: Williams in 3
Steen: It’s a 3-1 head-to-head lead for Williams in a battle of veterans who were once top 5. Errani is tricky but I can’t go against Williams on a hard court based on how she looked in the first round.
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