Coco Gauff returns to Auckland planning to defend her WTA 250 title from 2023, which was an extremely dominant campaign. On Tuesday, the US Open champion kicks off her season against Claire Liu. We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Auckland Day 2 Predictions
Rebeka Masarova vs Petra Martic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Rebeka Masarova was one of the standout performers at this event last year, losing in the final to Coco Gauff. That run really fired her up for the rest of the season and she went on to post the best season of her career. With Petra Martic’s rather uninspiring form the last time we saw her on the court, this looks very tight on paper. Maybe Masarova can keep producing at a venue that clearly suits her.
Prediction: Masarova in 3
Anna Blinkova vs Brenda Fruhvirtova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Brenda Fruhvirtova is yet to achieve something huge on the main circuit, but she’s been extremely dominant at the lower levels (15 ITF titles in the past two years!) and has a great foundation to build upon. She might just keep developing and turn her game, which at present is a little too reliant on consistency, into a proper threat for the elite in the years to come. Is this where she starts going upwards? Perhaps and the confidence coming from winning 25 of her last 26 matches surely won’t hurt.
Prediction: Fruhvirtova in 3
Yue Yuan vs Kayla Day
Head-to-head: Yuan 1-0
Yue Yuan was long on the outskirts of the Top 100 despite clearly having more potential than that, but an incredible run in the Asian swing of last year might finally get her to the main tour for an extended period of time. We’ll see how she holds up as there’s no denying that her forehand shotmaking has real issues with consistency. But for now, this just seems like a match that should be on her racket and will likely depend on her level not Kayla Day’s.
Prediction: Yuan in 2
Coco Gauff vs Claire Liu
Head-to-head: Gauff 1-0
Coco Gauff is defending the title and it was an extremely comfortable run for her last year with only twenty-two games lost across ten sets. That start to the season was a great indicator of how good she was going to be for the whole duration of it, especially in the North American hard court swing when she won Cincinnati and the US Open. Claire Liu is often underrated, but Gauff will be the big favorite to clinch the trophy again and it seems like her floor game is just extremely high at the moment, making her so tough to beat unless you’re a top player yourself.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Main Photo Credit: Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
