{"id":96212,"date":"2026-01-19T10:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=96212"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:25:13","slug":"australian-open-day-3-womens-predictions-samsonova-siegemund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2026\/01\/19\/australian-open-day-3-womens-predictions-samsonova-siegemund\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open Day 3 Women’s Predictions Including Liudmila Samsonova vs Laura Siegemund"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first round will conclude on Day 3 of the Australian Open, which means we get 20 women’s singles matches. As always, we here at LastWordOnTennis will share our thoughts on all of the matches with you. We split the 20 matches between five articles. In addition to this article, the others feature defending champion Madison Keys vs Oleksandra Oliynykova<\/a>, Naomi Osaka vs Antonia Ruzic<\/a>, Belinda Bencic vs Katie Boulter<\/a>, and Elena Rybakina vs Kaja Juvan<\/a>. Predicting these matches are Jordan Reynolds, Nurein Ahmed, and Ilemona Onekutu. Who do you think will advance to Round 2?<\/p>\n

Australian Open Day 3 Women’s Predictions<\/h2>\n

Maya Joint vs Tereza Valentova<\/h4>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nThis should be a fun match between two teenage talents. Joint is slightly ahead of Valentova in her development because of being more consistently solid. Valentova could produce more impressive shots for the highlight reel, but home favorite Joint will probably win the match.
\nPrediction: Joint in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Nurein:<\/em>
\nThis is one of the matches I\u2019m really looking forward to watch. Joint and Valentova could forge their own rivalry in the coming years, but right now I think Joint hits heavier and commits earlier to offense, which is crucial in neutral rallies as we will likely see plenty of long points in this match.
\nPrediction: Joint in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nValentova\u2019s timing is impressive, but Joint\u2019s intensity and shot tolerance give her an edge in extended exchanges. If rallies lengthen, she\u2019s more likely to finish stronger.
\nPrediction: Joint in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Daria Kasatkina vs Nikola Bartunkova<\/h4>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nKasatkina\u2019s slightly underwhelming 2025 and poor level in her opening two events of 2026 mean an upset cannot be ruled out here. This is not too bad a draw for her though. 19-year-old Bartunkova has a big future in the sport, but nerves in her first Grand Slam main draw appearance could make causing a shock more challenging.
\nPrediction: Kasatkina in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Nurein:<\/em>
\nThis will be Kasatkina\u2019s first Australian Open while representing Australia, and she will be determined to produce a strong performance and result. Bartunkova is a flat hitter, but I don\u2019t see her getting any joy with the change of pace that Kasatkina brings into this match.
\nPrediction: Kasatkina in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nBartunkova\u2019s fearlessness creates moments, yet Kasatkina\u2019s defensive skills force extra shots every rally. That pressure should eventually wear down resistance.
\nPrediction: Kasatkina in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Kimberly Birrell vs Maddison Inglis<\/h4>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nBoth home players carry momentum into this contest. Birrell had a good run to the semifinals in Adelaide, while Inglis won three qualifying matches to reach this stage. Inglis did well in those matches, but Birrell\u2019s recent level has been better and she is also an all-round superior player.
\nPrediction: Birrell in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Nurein:<\/em>
\nThere will at the very least be an Australian woman in the second round in Melbourne<\/a>. Margins will be thin as this a winnable match for both women. I\u2019m siding with Birrell. She is patient and can play the same point again and again without leaking errors.
\nPrediction: Birrell in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nInglis\u2019 power can swing momentum quickly, but Birrell\u2019s speed and counterpunching suit these conditions. Her ability to extend rallies and force errors should be decisive.
\nPrediction: Birrell in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Liudmila Samsonova vs Laura Siegemund<\/h4>\n

Jordan:<\/em>
\nThere is a fascinating clash of styles in this matchup. Samsonova\u2019s power against the slices, drop shots, and disruptive abilities of Siegemund. The German\u2019s continued at level at 37 is highly impressive, and I have a feeling she can cause another upset here.
\nPrediction: Siegemund in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Nurein:<\/em>
\nI\u2019m leaning Samsonova here. The surface should reward her high-risk tennis and she can hit through Siegemund with little margin for disruption. Siegemund unorthodox style only works when she gets time to improvise, but she won\u2019t have that luxury against Samsonova.
\nPrediction: Samsonova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Ilemona:<\/em>
\nSiegemund\u2019s craft can frustrate, though it relies on opponents losing patience. Samsonova\u2019s power and willingness to stay aggressive should keep points on her terms.
\nPrediction: Samsonova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first round will conclude on Day 3 of the Australian Open, which means we get 20 women’s singles matches. As always, we here at LastWordOnTennis will share our thoughts on all of the matches with you. We split the 20 matches between five articles. In addition to this article, the others feature defending champion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1601,"featured_media":57501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_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],"tags":[4393,2363,4414,416,15436,4109,18183,460,15521,7278,15829,12539,16257,42392,42393,17546,17547,2373,2369,43011,43012],"class_list":["post-96212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-predictions","tag-australian-open-day-3-predictions","tag-australian-open-predictions","tag-australian-open-womens-predictions","tag-daria-kasatkina","tag-daria-kasatkina-predictions","tag-kimberly-birrell","tag-kimberly-birrell-predictions","tag-laura-siegemund","tag-laura-siegemund-predictions","tag-liudmila-samsonova","tag-liudmila-samsonova-predictions","tag-maddison-inglis","tag-maddison-inglis-predictions","tag-maya-joint","tag-maya-joint-predictions","tag-nikola-bartunkova","tag-nikola-bartunkova-predictions","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-tereza-valentova","tag-tereza-valentova-predictions"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96212","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=96212"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96228,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96212\/revisions\/96228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}