The second week of the WTA season kicks off in Hobart, Australia, and Day 1 of the event’s main draw is Monday. The tournament’s top seed Marie Bouzkova is the highlight of the first day. Talia Gibson will also be a big draw for home fans looking to root on one of their local players. We predict all seven of the days matches here at Last Word on Tennis, including the rest of them in a second article.
WTA Hobart Day 1 Predictions
Tereza Martincova vs Laura Siegemund
Head to head: 3-0 Siegemund
This match pits two veterans against each other who have played three times before though not since 2019. Siegemund lost both her United Cup matches but she did face tough matchups both times. Martincova lost her first round in Auckland but rebounded in qualifying, losing a total of just seven games in her two matches. The players have different skillsets with Martincova using a big serve and plays great on grass and hard courts. Siegemund focuses more on her groundstrokes and has histroically been best on clay. Everything seems to lean toward Martincova; she has momentum on her side, is the better hard court player, and is younger and more energetic. Martincova should have no problem taking the match.
Prediction: Martincova in 2
Tatjana Maria vs Talia Gibson
Head to head: first meeting
Gibson is a teenager who received a wild card into the event to play her first career Tour-level match. She is facing her toughest opponent in Maria who is currently ranked #68. Gibson does love playing on hard courts, winning three ITF events on the surface last year and making two more finals. Maria is looking to get over a three-match losing streak, including last week at the United Cup against Coco Gauff. This is the biggest age differential in the event with the 35-year-old Maria 17 years older than Gibson. This will give Gibson some energy to fight along with a home crowd behind her. Maria is a strong hard-court player and her experience will give her a huge advantage, but Gibson will give her a bit of trouble though Maria will come out victorious in the end.
Prediction: Maria in 3
Patricia Maria Tig vs Jasmine Paolini
Head to head: 1-0 Tig
Tig is looking to make a comeback after taking more than a year off of tennis due to injuries. She has played several ITF events but was hurt by the rankings revamp and does not have a WTA ranking but plays off her protected ranking. Paolini began her career as mostly a clay-court specialist but has recently been a real threat on hard courts. She won an ITF title on hard last year, and made a Tour-level final in October in Transylvania. Tig is also a clay courter and while she was able to play 22 matches last year between injury breaks, all of them were on clay courts. Tig has mostly played lower-level tournaments during her comeback and has not faced players the caliber of Paolini. Paolini has shown that she can grind on hard courts and wear players down defensively. Tig does not have the tools or current form to hang with Paolini and this match will go the way of the Italian.
Predictions: Paolini in 2
Marie Bouzkova vs Jaqueline Cristian
Head to head: 2-0 Bouzkova
Bouzkova is the top seed in the tournament while enjoying her career-high ranking of world #24. She split her two matches at the United Cup, losing to talented American Madison Keys. Cristian failed to qualify for Auckland last week but did win her first qualifying match. Bouzkova is looking to begin a big first half of the season, and loves playing on hard courts. Her four career finals are all on hard including her first career title last year in Prague. Cristian likes hard courts as well and plays well on quicker courts due to a big serve. The on-paper matchup is similar with both players the same height and age with fairly similar skillsets. However, Bouzkova has simply been better and more successful and with the similar skillsets Cristian will have trouble exploiting a weakness of Bouzkova to try and score the upset. The top seed will score a big win to start her week.
Predictions: Bouzkova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
