The 2024 season gets underway in earnest on the first day at the Australian Open with 16 first-round matches on the slate in Melbourne. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Maria Sakkari vs Mai Hontama, Aryna Sabalenka vs Ella Seidel, and Magda Linette vs Caroline Wozniacki. But who will book their place in the second round?
Australian Open Day 1 Predictions
Barbora Krejcikova vs Mai Hontama
Yesh: Barbora Krejcikova hasn’t been at the level she’s been back to since her 2021 breakthrough, but she’s still a solid top player. She won’t struggle here.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Jordan: Krejcikova’s only match so far this season was a tight and slightly surprising loss to Anna Kalinskaya in Adelaide. The 2021 French Open champion was below her best, but she is still a comfortable favourite here. Hontama has never been ranked inside the Top 100. The Japanese player is talented, but the all-round game of Krejcikova is very likely to be too much for her to handle.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Damian: Krecjikova lost her only match previous match against Kalinskaya, but the Russian is one of the most in-form players at the moment. Nothing in that match suggested that she won’t be ready for the Australian Open and it doesn’t seem like Hontama has a big chance at stopping her.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Embed from Getty Images
Liudmila Samsonova vs Amanda Anisimova
Yesh: Amanda Anisimova is trying to find her way back to her enormous potential. She never got fully back on track after her father’s untimely death, and last season took a break from tennis to recharge. Unfortunately for her, her draw here isn’t very helpful.
Prediction: Samsonova in 3
Jordan: Anisimova is only returning to tennis this season after the long break she took from fine sport. But Samsonova needs to be careful here. She has started the season slowly, losing both her matches and playing poorly by her high standards. Anisimova has also reached the fourth round in Melbourne, while Samsonova has not been past the second round. Most will think it is too soon in her comeback for an Anisimova win. However, Samsonova seems off her game right now, and Anisimova is someone who can rise to the occasion.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Damian: Anisimova is just coming back and despite winning a match in Auckland, she then never had a shot at Bouzkova in the next round. Samsonova is looking for the first win of the season and hasn’t started that well either. This makes it an important match for both players and for now let’s stick to the Russian, who’s simply been healthy and doesn’t have as big a question mark over her head.
Prediction: Samsonova in 2
Ana Bogdan vs Brenda Fruhvirtova
Yesh: Ana Bogdan gets to meet the younger of the Fruhvirtova sisters. I would take Linda to win this match, but I’d favor Bogdan over Brenda.
Prediction: Bogdan in 3
Jordan: 15-year-old Fruhvirtova is a very exciting talent, although she has mostly struggled since the second half of last season. Bogdan is a very solid competitor, and her Czech opponent will need to play better than recent months against her. But I feel she will raise her game in Melbourne.
Prediction: Fruhvirtova in 2
Damian: Fruhvirtova looks like a more impressive talent than her sister with a superb backhand technique and the new coach in Nicolas Massu to guide her through the next stage of her career. This is a bit of a step up and while the 16-year-old probably won’t be contending for main tour titles yet, it seems opponents like Bogdan are more or less in her range at the moment.
Prediction: Fruhvirtova in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Alina Korneeva
Yesh: Alina Korneeva was impressive in qualifiers, but Sara Sorribes Tormo is too consistent. There won’t be enough weaknesses in the Spaniard’s game to exploit here.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 3
Jordan: 16-year-old Korneeva is making her Grand Slam main draw appearance after coming through qualifying. She was the Australian Open junior champion last year, and also the French Open junior champion. Watching her play will be fascinating, but I think a first Grand Slam main draw win will have to wait. Sorribes Tormo is a relentless competitor, and that consistent intensity of a player near the Top 50 could be tough to adjust too.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
Damian: This is a big one and perhaps an answer to one of the main questions in women’s tennis right now – “Is Korneeva as much of a talent as Andreeva?” Having won the Australian Open juniors title last year, the 16-year-old felt some nerves in the qualifying, but it seems like she might actually have a decent skillset to beat Sorribes Tormo if she can overcome the experience gap. Her complete set of tools should help her out.
Prediction: Korneeva in 3
Main photo credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
