{"id":23175,"date":"2020-01-19T00:04:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T05:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=23175"},"modified":"2020-01-19T21:35:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T02:35:20","slug":"australian-open-day-1-womens-predictions-potapova-serena-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2020\/01\/19\/australian-open-day-1-womens-predictions-potapova-serena-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open Day 1 Women’s Predictions Including Anastasia Potapova vs Serena Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 1 at the Australian Open starts on Monday. Grand Slam tennis is here, and LWOT writers are here to offer our thoughts. Not only did we do a roundtable set of predictions<\/a>, but we will do match-by-match predictions for as much as we can throughout the tournament. On Day 1, we have five sets of predictions for you. Each set includes four matches. In addition to this one, we also have sets featuring Kristie Ahn vs Caroline Wozniacki<\/a>, Naomi Osaka vs Marie Bouzkova<\/a>, Ashleigh Barty vs Leisa Tsurenko<\/a>, and Venus Williams vs Coco Gauff<\/a>. Predicting this set of matches are Tracey Essex, Eric Han, and Jim Smith.<\/p>\n

Australian Open Day 1 Women’s Predictions<\/h2>\n

Petra Kvitova vs Katerina Siniakova<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Tracey:<\/em>
\nThis has the makings for a first round upset. Obviously, Siniakova has a head to head deficit against the Czech superstar. And, Kvitova is coming off a semifinal run in Brisbane. It\u2019s a venue at which Kvitova has historically performed well. But, Siniakova can challenge the Czech \u2013 taking balls early and ending points on her terms. It\u2019ll be tough, but Siniakova just might win her first clash with Kvitova.
\nPrediction: Siniakova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Eric:<\/em>
\nKvitova had a decent start to 2020. The two-time Wimbledon champion made the semis of Brisbane before losing to Madison Keys in a three setter. I also don\u2019t see last singles year\u2019s finalist bowing out in the first round this year.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Jim:<\/em>
\nPetra Kvitova has not made a superb start to the year, although she did play fairly well in Brisbane. And the former-finalist has not received a kind draw, with Katerina Siniakova having developed something of a taste for giant-killing over the past 18 months. But Kvitova does have formidable power and that should be just enough to take her past her compatriot and into the second round.
\nPrediction: Kvitova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>