You’d be hard pressed to find someone who had Amanda Anisimova and Aliaksandra sasnovich in the final of this tournament. Both had poor campaigns in 2021 and came into this event with no real form or momentum. However, both are playing great tennis this week and deserve their spot in the final. If they maintain their current levels this will be a brilliant match to watch. The question is, who comes out on top? We take a look at exactly that in our WTA Melbourne Summer Set 2 final prediction.
WTA Melbourne Summer Set 2 Final Prediction
Amanda Anisimova vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-head: First meeting
This should be some final if these two can maintain the level they have played at in Melbourne this week. Anisimova looks to have put the two seasons behind her. With injuries and personal issues plaguing her last two seasons, she appears ready to return to the upper echelon of the women’s game. The American is striking the ball incredibly cleanly, moving well and looking to be aggressive at all times out on the court. It is exactly that kind of tennis that saw her make the French Open final in 2019. If she can keep it up, she will quickly reclaim her place as one of the bright young stars in the women’s game. However, she faces a stern test here in a bid to claim her second WTA Title and first since 2019.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich – a former top 30 player – has been nothing but inconsistent for the last two years. Her inability to play well consistently has seen her fall outside the top 100 in the women’s game. A player of her abilities has no business being ranked so low and she is showing as much with her performances this week. The Belarusian didn’t drop a set until the semifinals here in Melbourne. Even then, it took a red hot Ann Li to trouble Sasnovich and she managed to come through that as well. Sasnovich has great power off both wings and is a treat to watch at her best. Her forehand is particularly dangerous and she will need it to be firing if she is to make a real go at claiming her first ever WTA title.
Both of these players are aggressive baseliners who like to dictate play with clean, powerful ball striking. I wouldn’t expect too much by way of variety in this match. The winner will likely be the player who keeps their error count in check the best. Anisimova has more experience late in tournaments, but she hasn’t reached a final since 2019 and will be desperate to get over the line here. Anisimova’s win over Daria Kasatkina was immensely impressive and if she can play at that level again she will be hard to stop. Sasnovich has also played two more matches this week by virtue of needing to qualify for the main draw. That, combined with her longer semifinal against Li, gives Anisimova a slight edge here. I think the American wins this in three, but it will be one hell of a battle to get there.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
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