{"id":23302,"date":"2020-01-20T00:05:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T05:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=23302"},"modified":"2020-01-19T22:07:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T03:07:14","slug":"australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-brady-halep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-brady-halep\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open Day 2 Women\u2019s Predictions Including Jennifer Brady vs Simona Halep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday is Day 2 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/australian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australian Open<\/a>! AThe plan is to finish the first round in Melbourne. Who will win? In addition to our <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/18\/2020-australian-open-roundtable-predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pre-tournament predictions<\/a>, we&#8217;re trying to look at as many individual matches as we can for you. Each set of predictions contains four matches. In addition to this set, we also have predictions featuring <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-vekic-sharapova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donna Vekic vs Maria Sharapova<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-bertens-begu\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kiki Bertens vs Irinia Camelia Begu<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-mladenovic-pliskova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristina Mladenovic vs Karolina Pliskova<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-anisimova-diyas\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amanda Anisimova vs Zarina Diyas<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2020\/01\/20\/australian-open-day-2-womens-predictions-vondrousova-kuznetsova\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marketa Vondrousova vs Svetlana Kuznetsova<\/a>. Predicting this set of matches are Tracey Essex, myself (Yesh Ginsburg), and Jim Smith.<\/p>\n<h2>Australian Open Day 2 Women\u2019s Predictions<\/h2>\n<h4><strong>Astra Sharma vs Anett Kontaveit<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nPerhaps one of the most overlooked players, you just don\u2019t hear much about Anett Knotaveit. It would be a remarkable upset for Sharma to win this match, and I don\u2019t see it happening. I am looking forward to a Kudermetova-Kontaveit clash.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kontaveit in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nSharma was a young talent, but she has never managed to turn her <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/2015\/08\/19\/ncaa-champion-and-itf-title-winner-interview-with-astra-sharma\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">NCAA success<\/a> into any big wins on tour. Expect Kontaveit to cruise.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kontaveit in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nKontaveit has hit a rather rough patch of form at the start of this season, with her only win so far coming against Hsieh Su-wei in the first round in Brisbane. But whilst Sharma will have the benefit of playing in front of the Australian crowd, she has just one win in the main draw at a Major to her name. Expect Kontaveit to overpower her.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Kontaveit in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"5EFKz2wZS3FgJjHqjYM0NA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1192703511\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'5EFKz2wZS3FgJjHqjYM0NA',sig:'HTfkvr3MBhkca-TLt4rPXGCbIqVQ5jJFNQ-NSF_RXBE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1192703511',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Cici Bellis vs Tatjana Maria<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nIt will be interesting to see how Bellis responds to Maria\u2019s crafy and unpredictable style. I don\u2019t see enough experience to carry Bellis though the German\u2019s unique game.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Maria in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nBellis has been quickly surpassed as the next big thing in tennis, but she still has a ton of talent. The California native is no longer in the top two (at least) on everyone&#8217;s lists of top young American, which is a mistake. It&#8217;s time for Bellis to start showing what she&#8217;s capable of again.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Bellis in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nThanks to a succession of injuries, Bellis has been rather overshadowed as the next big WTA superstar. But the Californian remains a fine player, who has been as high as 35th in the world for a reason. Maria, meanwhile, has made a poor start to the season and was hammered in her last outing by Vondrousova in Adelaide. Expect Bellis to edge this one.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Bellis in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"6dv95RbiRVZxEzqviDbSFA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/936028344\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'6dv95RbiRVZxEzqviDbSFA',sig:'If-I1ssOQN6GLK7Pur2QNGqPAm1sucPcBP6lgW_1Kow=',w:'396px',h:'594px',items:'936028344',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Yulia Putintseva vs Su-wei Hsieh<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nWill Yulia Putintseva remember her 2018 clash with Hsieh Su-wei? And, will she be prepared to run down the dropshots, set up for the wicked slice or predict Hsieh\u2019s unpredictability? I think we\u2019ll see another long three-setter in which Hsieh prevails.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Hsieh in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nPutintseva is a much better player than she was a few years ago, but she can still struggle with consistency and get frustrated by opponents&#8217; variety. This is a bad matchup for her.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Hsieh in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nThis could well be an intriguing battle. Neither player is at their best on this surface, with Hsieh preferring grass and Putintseva the clay. But Hsieh is in the midst of a poor run of form and, despite her court-craft, she just can\u2019t seem to cause opponents the problems she has in the past. If Putintseva, who endured a disappointing 2019 but has started this year brightly, can stay solid, she should have enough to advance.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Putintseva in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"1kItbO1ZSKBQ1lXeKv79yA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1193598118\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'1kItbO1ZSKBQ1lXeKv79yA',sig:'-0H8afj-Uk8sh5R45N0XhcgkNHgbdn2QbKLsU5Cc3Ls=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1193598118',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Jennifer Brady vs Simona Halep<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em>Tracey:<\/em><br \/>\nSimona Halep has certainly learned some lessons from Adelaide where she was hit off the court by Aryna Sabalenka. Probably some good prep for Jen Brady, another hard hitter.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Halep in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nBrady is a strong player who can trouble anyone for a time, but she&#8217;s not consistent enough to really trouble the top players in the world, especially at a Major.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Halep in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Jim:<\/em><br \/>\nHalep may have disappointed at the Adelaide International, but away from Flushing Meadows, she very rarely falls to an early upset at a Major. Brady did play very well in Brisbane, however, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to fifth seed Petra Kvitova. Expect the American to provide Halep with an early test, but for the two-time Major champion to advance to the second round.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Halep in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo from Getty.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday is Day 2 of the Australian Open! AThe plan is to finish the first round in Melbourne. Who will win? In addition to our pre-tournament predictions, we&#8217;re trying to look at as many individual matches as we can for you. Each set of predictions contains four matches. In addition to this set, we also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1601,"featured_media":11757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69,4],"tags":[887,5376,10404,4381,2363,94,10405,621,7915,74,2511,2255,2373,2369,462,10406],"class_list":["post-23302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","category-wta","tag-anett-kontaveit","tag-astra-sharma","tag-astra-sharma-vs-anett-kontaveit-prediction","tag-australian-open-day-2-predictions","tag-australian-open-predictions","tag-cici-bellis","tag-cici-bellis-vs-tatjana-maria-prediction","tag-jennifer-brady","tag-jennifer-brady-vs-simona-halep-prediction","tag-simona-halep","tag-su-wei-hsieh","tag-tatjana-maria","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-yulia-putintseva","tag-yulia-putintseva-vs-su-wei-hsieh-prediction"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}