With a star studded lined up on day three at the WTA Adelaide International, including the world #1, there should be plenty of entertaining action to enjoy for the fans in South Australia. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for all four matches on the schedule, but who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Adelaide Day 3 Predictions
Kaja Juvan vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-head: first meeting
Aryna Sabalenka looks to have finally made the step up that her potential so long suggested she would after a stellar 2021 season that included semifinal showing at Wimbledon and the US Open. There were still reasons for the Belarusian to be disappointed, not least the manner in which she faded mentally against Leylah Annie Fernandez in the last four in New York, but that should not be allowed to detract from the overall positives.
She faces a potentially tough opening test in 2022, however, up against Kaja Juvan in the second round at the WTA Adelaide International. The 21-year-old picked up some impressive wins of her own last season and started this year with a comprehensive 6-4 6-2 win over Chloe Pacquet. Still, although Australia has not been the happiest hunting ground for Sabalenka, the conditions should suit her game and, if she plays anything like her best tennis, expect her to have too much for Juvan.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
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Shelby Rogers vs Maria Sakkari
Head-to-head: Rogers 1-0 Sakkari
Maria Sakkari was another player to enjoy a breakthrough campaign in 2021. The Greek got her ranking down into single digits for the first time in her career and qualified for the WTA Finals, where she reached the semifinals. She also made the last four at the French Open and the US Open. In fact, one of the only tournaments where she can be said to have had a truly disappointing week was at Wimbledon where she crashed out in the second hand.
She suffered that defeat at the hands of none other than Shelby Rogers and will doubtless be keen to avenge it here. Rogers, however, looked very sharp in her first-round victory over Maddison Inglis, losing just four games in a dominant win, and this is far from an easy assignment for the Greek. But Sakkari has established herself as a top-ten player for a reason, namely her ability to match aggression with consistency. Rogers is capable of the former, but rarely the latter.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
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Elena Rybakina vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: Rybakina 1-0 Bouzkova
Marie Bouzkova has plenty of talent, but failed to make use of it with any regularity in 2021. The result was that she ended the season on the verge of falling out of the top 100 at world #90 and with plenty of rebuilding to do heading into this year. She got that process off to a good start with a successful qualifying campaign at the Adelaide International before thrashing Despina Papamichail of Greece in the first round.
But that may be hard to back up against the hard-hitting world #14 Elena Rybakina, who unlike Bouzkova enjoyed a memorable 2021 and started this season by beating Storm Sanders 6-4 1-6 6-1. That second-set wobble will be a concern for the Kazakh, but expect her to put such concerns to rest with another win here.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
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Ash Barty vs Coco Gauff
Head-to-head: Gauff 1-0 Barty
This is some match to get so early in the season. Ash Barty may well be slightly disappointed with her 2021 campaign, she retained her #1 ranking and won the title at Wimbledon so it was hardly a poor return for her efforts, but she failed to really establish herself as a dominant force on the WTA Tour with injuries not helping her cause. Coco Gauff, meanwhile, delivered plenty of reminders about why her future is so bright as well as a few that she is still just 17-years-old.
This pair have met once before, with that meeting coming last May at the WTA Italian Open where Barty won the first set before injury forced her to retire, costing her a shot at defending her French Open crown, where she withdrew in the second round. Hopefully fit and firing ahead of a summer on home turf, she should have the beating of Gauff here. The American is a good enough player to keep this competitive, but Barty excels at making life difficult for her opponents.
Prediction: Barty in 3
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