The 2023 Australian Open begins with Day 1 of Main Draw play on Monday (Sunday evening in the United States). The day will see a whopping 32 women’s matches, and–as always–we here at LastWordOnTennis will share our thoughts on all of them for you. Who do you think will win? Predicting this set of matches are Yesh Ginsburg, Shane Black, and Manuel Traquete. We split the rest of the day’s matches between seven other articles. They feature Iga Swiatek vs Jule Niemeier, Madison Keys vs Anna Blinkova, Coco Gauff vs Katerina Siniakova, Victoria Azarenka vs Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Emma Raducanu vs Tamara Korpatsch, and Amanda Anisimova vs Marta Kostyuk.
Australian Open Day 1 Women’s Predictions
Xinyu Wang vs Storm Hunter
Yesh:
Storm Hunter has never quite played up to her talent, but she always seems to try to bring her best in her home country. With a friendly audience, this match could get interesting.
Prediction: Hunter in 3
Shane:
Xinyu Wang defeated Storm Hunter 6-4 6-2 last year in Miami. Wang is the more consistent player, and her game only continues to grow. I believe she cruises past the Aussie.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Manuel:
The World #227 Australian might actually have a good chance to win a round here given the draw; with the home crowd support behind her, she might just have enough to make it past Wang.
Prediction: Hunter in 3
Jessica Pegula vs Jaqueline Cristian
Yesh:
Pegula is spectacular at nothing on the court but very good at everything. Maybe that combination isn’t good enough to win many Majors, but it’s certainly enough to go really deep in lots of them. She won’t struggle in this match.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Shane:
Jessica Pegula is on a mission to win her first Grand Slam title. The American won four of her five singles matches in the United Cup and is playing with a lot of confidence. I believe she will easily power her way through the world No. 143.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Manuel:
Pegula started the year in great form and is generally one of the most consistent players on tour. At Slam level, she’s reached three quarterfinals last year but is yet to have a truly big run and she’ll believe she has a chance to do just that here. She should breeze through this first round matchup.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Karolina Muchova vs Lesia Tsurenko
Yesh:
Muchova took the world by storm in her very first Tour-level win and her rise since then was meteoric. As long as she’s healthy, she’s a threat.
Prediction: Muchova in 2
Shane:
An injury-riddled 2022 season has dropped Karolina Muchova out of the Top 100. Now fully healthy, I expect her to have a strong 2023 campaign. Muchova was a semifinalist in Melbourne back in 2021 and should feel very comfortable over these next two weeks. Prediction: Muchova in 2
Manuel:
World #133 vs World #134. Like their rankings indicate, there’s very little to choose between both players. They never even faced before so it’s very hard to get a pulse on this matchup, it’ll depend on form on the day.
Prediction: Tsurenko in 3
Jelena Ostapenko vs Dayana Yastremska
Yesh:
Once upon a time, this would have been looked forward to as a blockbuster match of the future. But Yastremska has never been the same since a doping ban, and Ostapenko has never replicated her French Open magic from 2017. At the moment, Ostapenko is more consistent.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Shane:
Jelena Ostapenko has looked shaky in her two losses this season. That said, I believe her offensive game is perfectly suited for the courts of Melbourne. Dayana Yastremska won their only previous bout, a tight three-setter last June. I believe this match will also go the distance, but I favor Ostapenko to advance.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Manuel:
Ostapenko is arguably in her best form since her Slam title back in 2017 and should be able to prevail here against an opponent who did beat her on grass last year.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
