Tuesday is Day 2 of the Australian Open! Assuming the weather cooperates, we’ll wrap up the first round on Tuesday in Melbourne. Who will win? In addition to our pre-tournament predictions, we’re trying to analyze as many individual matches as we can for you. Each set of predictions contains four matches. In addition to this set, we also have predictions featuring Donna Vekic vs Maria Sharapova, Kiki Bertens vs Irinia Camelia Begu, Kristina Mladenovic vs Karolina Pliskova, Jennifer Brady vs Simona Halep, and Amanda Anisimova vs Zarina Diyas. Predicting this set of matches are Tracey Essex, myself (Yesh Ginsburg), and Pablo Mosquera.
Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Predictions
Elise Mertens vs Danka Kovinic
Tracey:
Elise Mertens fell to a resurgent Heather Watson in the quarterfinals in Hobart. After dropping a mere three games through the first two rounds, the top seed couldn’t convert in the crucial moments and suffered a three-set loss. Danka Kovinic will boost the sixteenth seed’s confidence as the Belgian should command in this match up.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Yesh:
Mertens is the better player and in better form right now. I would be surprised if this is at all close.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Pablo:
After a pair of down years, the Montenegro native roared back into the WTA Top 100 last season on the back of 47 wins and three ITF titles. However, I think her decision not to play a warm-up event will backfire. Mertens is too solid to be ambushed by Kovinic.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Belinda Bencic vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Tracey:
While Bencic suffered a disappointing loss to Danielle Collins in Adelaide, I’m confident she’s regrouped and will start strong in Melbourne.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Yesh:
Bencic hasn’t played poorly in 2020, but she has been losing matches. She doesn’t seem to have that top gear right now that lets her put away opponents. That probably won’t cost her against Schmiedlova, but it could be trouble deeper in the tournament.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Pablo:
It wasn’t the sharpest start of the 2020 season for Bencic, who lost her opener in Shenzhen and got dismantled by Danielle Collins in Adelaide. She’s definitely a candidate to lose early at Melbourne Park, but it won’t happen against Schmiedlova. The Slovakian, currently ranked outside the top 200, shut down her 2019 campaign after Wimbledon.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Danielle Collins vs Vitalia Diatchenko
Tracey:
Spunky American Danielle Collins is in exceptional form. She reached the Adelaide semis, where she fell to eventual champion Ash Barty. Expect Collins to make a deep run, starting with a commanding win in her opener.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Yesh:
Collins likes hard courts and is in some of the best form of her career. She should continue to be an inspiration to all NCAA tennis players.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Pablo:
Few if any players inspire me with more confidence than the former University of Virginia star leading into the Australian Open. Even though Diatchenko completed a tremendous 2019 season with seven total titles, Collins should shred her to pieces based on recent performances.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Marketa Vondrousova vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Tracey:
Czech rising star Marketa Vondrousova showed strong in Adelaide. She dropped just three games leading up to her quarterfinal clash with World #1 Ash Barty. The lefty can handle all the power you can throw at her, but might struggle with crafty play and strategic style shifts. Thankfully, Kuznetsova doesn’t change up her game. She just comes at you with deep penetrating shots and powers through the open court. Expect Vondrousova to handle that well and move through to the second round.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
Yesh:
It’s hard to pick against Vondrousova after her run to the French Open final last year. On the other hand, injury issues kept her out of competition for most of the rest of the year. What kind of form is she in? And is it enough to take out the formerly-elite but still-formidable Russian? I don’t know the answer, but it should be a lot of fun to find out.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
Pablo:
Without a doubt, one of the premier duels of first round. Lefty vs righty. Youth vs experience. The Roland Garros finalist is a superstar in the making, but she’s still rusty after a wrist surgery sidelined her for five months after Wimbledon. Sveta may not be a title contender in her 17th participation at Melbourne Park, but she won’t fold right away.
Prediction: Kuznetsova in 3
Main Photo:
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