There is no rest for the weary Down Under as Day 2 of the WTA Adelaide 2 promises plenty of intriguing matches. Victoria Azarenka’s clash against Veronika Kudermetova will be the pick of Tuesday’s matches. But we have predictions of all eight matches on schedule, including Paula Badosa vs Anett Kontaveit. Who will reach the second round?
WTA Adelaide 2 Day 2 Predictions
Alison Riske-Amritraj vs Barbora Krejcikova
Head-to-head: Krejcikova 1-0 Riske-Amritraj
Following a spate of high-profile withdrawals, we probably have a record number of lucky losers in the draw. Riske-Amritraj is one of those who has earned a main draw spot after losing her final round of qualifying. The American finished her 2022 season with four straight defeats. By contrast, Krejcikova ended her 2022 campaign in emphatic fashion, taking home two WTA titles in successive weeks, including a mammoth win over Iga Swiatek in the Ostrava final. This is Krejcikova’s first match of 2023, and I fully expect her to carry that momentum from her late-season surge.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 3
Anastasia Potapova vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: Siniakova 1-0 Potapova
Potapova will feel like she has unfinished business in this matchup. She failed to take a game off Siniakova in their only previous meeting in New York three years ago after an injury forced her to retire while trailing 0-6 0-3. Potapova possesses an abundance of power in her shots to hit through some of the WTA’s best defenders. But Siniakova’s unorthodox brand of tennis can sometimes make her opponents feel helpless on the court. If the Czech can slice and dice her way with interest in most of the rallies, Potapova could easily run out of patience from the back of the court.
Prediction: Siniakova in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Shelby Rogers
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zheng is now an established Top 30 player but had to go through the rigors of qualifying over the weekend to get into the main draw. Such is the depth of the playing field in Adelaide 2. She clocked three hours and 38 minutes to knock off Anastasia Potapova in the final round of qualifying. Rogers, for her part, enters this match as a lucky loser. The American is quite capable of producing the odd result against higher-ranked opponents from time to time. But Zheng is clearly playing the best tennis of her young career and should roll.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Victoria Azarenka vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Kudermetova 1-0 Azarenka
Azarenka and Kudermetova clash for the second time. The big-serving Russian won their last showdown in Dubai last year in straight sets. She has gone on to achieve some huge milestones including a Top 10 year-end finish for the first time in her career. Kudermetova began in a similarly rich vein of form in Adelaide 1, thumping the likes of Amanda Anisimova and Bianca Andreescu, before falling to a shock quarterfinal defeat to Irina-Camelia Begu. Azarenka has been on a similar career trajectory of rejoining the upper echelons of the sport, but lost a few close battles last year. Expect these two players to dominate each other in a match that could ebb and flow either way. Kudermetova has been tidy to start off her year and she might inflict another narrow defeat on the Belarusian.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
