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, Jakub Bobro, 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, Jelena Ostapenko vs Dayana Yastremska, Victoria Azarenka vs Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff vs Katerina Siniakova, Emma Raducanu vs Tamara Korpatsch, and Amanda Anisimova vs Marta Kostyuk.
Australian Open Day 1 Women’s Predictions
Kaja Juvan vs Selena Janicijevic
Yesh:
Janicijevic came through qualifying in decently impressive form, but Juvan has such huge potential. The Slovenian is inconsistent, so she could lose this, but the match will be on her racket.
Prediction: Juvan in 2
Jakub:
Juvan failed to qualify for Hobart last week, beating Julia Grabher but only getting two games against Tereza Martincova. Janicijevic had a decent run to qualify for slam main draw debut but I expect Juvan to hold her ground as a main tour player here.
Prediction: Juvan in 2
Manuel:
Juvan is the favorite on paper, but Janicivejic showed some good form in qualifying and might just have enough confidence and momentum to make an upset here.
Prediction: Janicivejic in 3
Leolia Jeanjean vs Nadia Podoroska
Yesh:
Don’t be fooled by Podoroska’s relatively low ranking. The Argentine is extremely talented and has huge potential. She’s been stuck in a bit of a slump recently, but she’ll break through again soon.
Prediction: Podoroska in 2
Jakub:
Jeanjean comes in as a lucky loser after Ajla Tomljanovic’s withdrawal and takes a very lucky spot as she has a winnable match ahead of her. The 27-year-old performed decently in qualifying, beating Irina Bara and Kayla Day before losing to Lesia Tsurenko. Podoroska enters with a special ranking but did not impress at the United Cup in losses to Caroline Garcia and Petra Martic. It should be a battle but I see Jeanjean coming out on top.
Prediction: Jeanjean in 3
Manuel:
Jeanjean only made the draw as a lucky loser but she’s really the definition of a “lucky” loser; with this draw, she has a huge chance to actually win a round in the main draw against an opponent who’s actually ranked much lower than herself.
Prediction: Jeanjean in 3
Danielle Collins vs Anna Kalinskaya
Yesh:
Collins was runner-up here last year, and the courts in Melbourne seem to fit her game perfectly. She always does well in Australia, and I expect this year to be no different.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Jakub:
Collins, a defending finalist here, comes in with a 2-2 record from warm-up events. The American was a set up on both Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova in her losses, so the level of her play has been quite high. Kalinskaya has been impressive in 2023, holding a match point over Linda Noskova in Adelaide qualifying before the Czech’s run to the final. In the second week, the Russian beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Alison Riske-Amritraj, and Jelena Ostapenko to make the second round out of qualifying. An exciting match but Collins should see it through.
Prediction: Collins in 3
Manuel:
Collins is back to the venue of her greatest career run and achievement and will be eager to make another big run. It’ll be very hard to get back to the final given her draw, but she should be able to navigate through this first round matchup.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Elena Rybakina vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Yesh:
Cocciaretto actually had an impressive run in Hobart last week, and Rybakina has not looked at all great since winning Wimbledon last year. Still, the Grand Slam champion is more likely to advance.
Prediction: Rybakina in 3
Jakub:
Rybakina has not had a strong run in Melbourne yet and has not been the most convincing in warm-ups, beating Danielle Collins while losing to Marta Kostyuk and Petra Kvitova. Cocciaretto could be dangerous, coming in with high confidence after a final run in Hobart that included wins over Alize Cornet and Sofia Kenin. I believe Rybakina will pass this test though.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Manuel:
Rybakina’s relatively low ranking is a result of no ranking points being awarded at Wimbledon, where she won the title, but she does tend to be a bit of an inconsistent performer. Still, she should be able to prevail over Cocciaretto here.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
