After the inaugural United Cup kicked off Thursday in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney, the action continues Friday with the remaining two singles matches and a mixed doubles tie. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. We split the rest of the day’s matches between two other articles. One features Maria Sakkari vs Viktoriya Tomova and the second features Stan Wawrinka vs Alexander Bublik. Who do you think will win?
United Cup Day 2 Predictions
Matteo Berrettini vs Thiago Monteiro
Head-to-head: Berrettini 1-0 Monteiro
Berrettini begins his season in Brisbane up against Brazilian No. 1 Thiago Monteiro. The Italian dropped in the rankings as a result of an abdominal injury, set to begin the 2023 season at No. 16. Despite that, Berrettini put some very nice runs together last year, winning titles at Queen’s Club and Stuttgart while going deep in the second week in Melbourne and New York. Monteiro managed to keep himself on the main tour with three quarterfinal runs over the course of 2022 while also winning two Challenger 125 titles in Salzburg and Genoa. Berrettini beat the Brazilian last season in Rio De Janeiro and should be even more of a favorite this time around on hard courts.
Prediction: Berrettini in 2
Lucia Bronzetti vs Laura Pigossi
Head-to-head: Bronzetti 1-1 Pigossi
In the battle of the women’s No. 2 singles between Italy and Brazil, No. 54 Bronzetti takes on Tokyo Olympics Bronze Medalist Laura Pigossi. The Italian burst onto the scene with finals in Palermo and Vancouver while also finishing the 2022 season strong on indoor hard with a semifinal in Limoges. Pigossi worked her way up all the way to the Top 100, largely through a run to the Bogota final and some solid play on the ITF circuit, though the Brazilian dropped back out by the end of the season. Bronzetti has shown more surface versatility on a higher level compared to her opponent, which should make her a favorite here.
Prediction: Bronzetti in 3
Frances Tiafoe vs Tomas Machac
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a breakthrough season in which Tiafoe reached the semifinals of the US Open, got to finals of Tokyo and Estoril, and finished the year inside the Top 20, the American enters 2023 with a different level of confidence compared to last year. Tiafoe went 1-3 in Australia last season, so there is definitely room for improvement there, potentially starting a push toward the Top 10. Machac had a strong season on the Challenger Tour, winning two titles and reaching another final before breaking into the Top 100 at the very end of the year. Machac can be a tricky opponent on faster hard courts but Tiafoe should have too much for him in this match-up.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 3
Jessica Pegula vs Petra Kvitova
Head-to-head: Kvitova 2-1 Pegula
The blockbuster match-up of Day 2 with an entertaining contrast of styles. Pegula deservedly rose to No. 3 in the rankings last year with very consistent play throughout the year, crowned at the end with a WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara. The American reached the quarterfinals at three of the four slams and also the final of Madrid, putting together her best career season. At 32, this is unlikely to happen for Kvitova, though the Czech still has a couple of very impressive runs a season. In 2022, Kvitova reached the final of Cincinnati and won Eastbourne. In the past two seasons, the former No. 2 has found little success in Australia but she has the potential to beat almost anyone on her day. Kvitova beat Pegula in their first two meetings but the 28-year-old won their most recent match routinely at the US Open. Pegula should be the favorite here again.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
