New Year’s Day in Australia will be heavy in excellent WTA matches in Brisbane. Peyton Stearns and Daria Kasatkina revive a fascinating rivalry that includes five encounters in the last two seasons, while Victoria Azarenka takes on perhaps the most exciting young Australian talent in Maya Joint. Who do you think will make it to the third round?
WTA Brisbane Day 4 Predictions
Liudmila Samsonova vs Polina Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Samsonova 1-0
Polina Kudermetova is slowly but surely heading towards the Top 100 and having three matches under her belt here can be a massive advantage. After all, she’s been barely losing games and fatigue definitely won’t come into play yet. Meanwhile, Liudmila Samsonova could be quite rusty with her last match coming back in Wuhan almost two months ago. While it’s the 13th seed that has the stronger game generally, this could be a great opportunity for Kudermetova to catch her a bit cold.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Peyton Stearns vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: Kasatkina 3-2
This has been a very cool rivalry over the last two seasons with Peyton Stearns first getting crushed by Daria Kasatkina a couple of times, before finally finding her footing in the matchup and taking the last two meetings. The American gave just five games to Veronika Kudermetova in an impressive opening-round display. While Kasatkina was the queen of WTA 500s last year, it seems like Stearns has now learned how to put her powerful forehand past the Russian’s defenses.
Prediction: Stearns in 3
Suzan Lamens vs Magdalena Frech
Head-to-head: First meeting
Suzan Lamens was one of the unexpected WTA Tour titlists at the end of last season, breaking the Top 100 after her success in Osaka. It’s questionable whether she’ll be able to do this long-term, but Magdalena Frech isn’t the kind of high-ranked player who’s just going to blast you off the court and completely close out your options. Nonetheless, the Pole’s consistency and ability to grind will likely prove crucial here as she’s likely to kick off her campaign with a win.
Prediction: Frech in 2
Victoria Azarenka vs Maya Joint
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maya Joint turning pro was horrible news for college tennis fans and maybe even some of her pro opponents, but it’s going to be great to watch this exciting young prospect on tour this year. She made pretty light work of Maddison Inglis in the opening round and will now face the veteran Victoria Azarenka. Joint isn’t to be underestimated, but she’d still need to execute her game at an extremely high standard against someone of Azarenka’s class (and the aggressive returning).
Prediction: Azarenka in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
