The 2023 Australian Open begins with Day 1 of Main Draw play on Monday (Sunday evening in the United States). The day will see a whopping 32 women’s matches, and–as always–we here at LastWordOnTennis will share our thoughts on all of them for you. Who do you think will win? Predicting this set of matches are Yesh Ginsburg, Jakub Bobro, and Manuel Traquete. We split the rest of the day’s matches between seven other articles. They feature Iga Swiatek vs Jule Niemeier, Madison Keys vs Anna Blinkova, Jelena Ostapenko vs Dayana Yastremska, Victoria Azarenka vs Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Emma Raducanu vs Tamara Korpatsch, and Coco Gauff vs Katerina Siniakova.
Australian Open Day 1 Women’s Predictions
Harriet Dart vs Jil Teichmann
Yesh:
Teichmann impressed last spring and fall, but she was very inconsistent for most of the year. Still, Dart has never really broken through yet, so Teichmann feels like the safer pick here.
Prediction: Teichmann in 2
Jakub:
Dart performed decently well at the United Cup, going 1-2 and playing Paula Badosa pretty close. Teichmann comes in 4-2 including wins over Amanda Anisimova and the returning Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Swiss is the favorite here and I expect her to confirm that position.
Prediction: Teichmann in 2
Manuel:
Dart won when the pair faced each other last year, but that was on grass. On a hard court, Teichmann should definitely have the edge in this matchup.
Prediction: Teichmann in 2
Polina Kudermetova vs Olivia Gadecki
Yesh:
Kudermetova isn’t quite at her sister’s level yet, but she looks in solid form right now. Let’s see her chase her older sibling in Australia.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Jakub:
Polina Kudermetova, Veronika’s younger sister, is making her slam debut after a strong qualifying campaign. The 19-year-old defeated Katie Boulter and Asia Muhammad in her last two matches. Gadecki has not won a set in her two matches so far this year, so I expect Kudermetova to make a winning debut.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Manuel:
Gadecki has the home advantage going for her, but Kudermetova has the advantage of having gone through the qualifying and having momentum and confidence on her side. It should be a very close match, decided by fine margins.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Dalma Galfi
Yesh:
Qinwen Zheng broke out in 2022, and she’s still rising. I’m very curious to find out how far she can go, and I’m sure that Dalma Galfi won’t be the one to stop her here.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Jakub:
Zheng enters after a decent start to the season but with question marks around her fitness as she retired from her most recent match. Galfi is a great draw for her though, also retired from her most recent match and is on a six-match losing streak. If Zheng is at all fit, she will win.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Manuel:
Zheng’s retirement in Adelaide is somewhat worrying, but if she’s fit she should have little difficulty getting past this first round here.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Amanda Anisimova vs Marta Kostyuk
Yesh:
Anisimova has unfortunately never quite continued her meteoric rise, which was halted by a break she took after her father’s tragic death ago three years ago. She looked ready to make the jump again at last year’s Australian Open, but her 2022 overall wasn’t amazing. Let’s see what 2023 brings the young American.
Prediction: Anisimova in 2
Jakub:
Anisimova has played some great tennis in Melbourne in the past, getting wins over Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka or Belinda Bencic in her two runs to the fourth round. Kostyuk had her breakout run at just 16 years old at the Australian Open. It is a tight first-round clash but I believe Anisimova will win out here.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Manuel:
Animisova got one of the toughest unseeded opponents she could possibly have drawn and will most definitely have her work cut out for her here. Kostyuk might well get the (slight) upset here.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
