The first round of women’s action continues on Day 2 of the Australian Open, with 28 matchups in store. As always, we here at LastWordOnTennis share our thoughts on the matches with you. We split the matches between this and six other articles. The others feature Naomi Osaka vs Caroline Garcia, Elina Svitolina vs Taylah Preston, Ons Jabeur vs Yulia Starodubtsewa, Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Linda Fruhvirtova, Paula Badosa vs Taylor Townsend, and Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Predicting these matches are Jim Smith, Jordan Reynolds, and Shane Black. Who do you think will win?
Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Predictions
Anastasia Potapova vs Kaja Juvan
Jim:
Anastasia Potapova hasn’t quite hit the heights yet, but the Russian unquestionably has talent. Kaja Juvan shouldn’t be underestimated, but Potapova should have just about too much for the Slovenian.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
Jordan:
Hopefully, Potapova is fully fit here. She started the season excellently with wins against Daria Saville and Veronika Kudermetova in Brisbane but then had to withdraw from the quarterfinal and from Adelaide the following week. Her best level will he good enough against Juvan, who has struggled quite lot in the last 12 months. Expect Potapova to get the job done.
Prediction: Potapova in 2
Shane:
The 22-year-old Potapova came into her own last year and seems to be on the verge of making a big-time run at a Slam. Her baseline consistency and power should be able to lead her past Juvan.
Prediction: Potapova in 2
Anhelina Kalinina vs Arantxa Rus
Jim:
Anhelina Kalinina’s 2024 has gotten off to a slow start with the Ukrainian suffering back-to-back defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide. Will she be able to bounce back here? Arantxa Rus won’t make it easy for her, but the Dutchwoman probably doesn’t have the weight of shot to win this match.
Prediction: Kalinina in 2
Jordan:
Rus has started her season the better of the two. With a quarterfinal in Hobart, while Kalnina has lost both her matches this season. Yet, I am still backing Kalnina. She reached the third round in Melbourne last year, and I do not think she can play as badly again as he did in her opening matches of the season.
Prediction: Kalinina in 3
Shane:
Kalinina is coming off the best season of her career and holds the No. 24 seed in Melbourne. Rus, at age 33, is winding down in her career but has always raised her level when people count her out. In the end, Kalinina has too many weapons to lose this match.
Prediction: Kalinina in 3
Yulia Putintseva vs Anastasia Zakharova
Jim:
Yulia Putintseva looked sharp in Adelaide, making the quarterfinals as a qualifier in South Australia. If she can maintain that level against Anastasia Zakharova here, she should have too much for the 21-year-old–notwithstanding Zakharova’s own fine form in the qualifying in Melbourne.
Prediction: Putintseva in 3
Jordan:
Putintseva has played some nice tennis to start the season, including a victory in Adelaide against Marie Bouzkova. Zakharova is playing in her first Grand slam main draw after coming through qualifying. She will have some momentum from those qualifying wins but Putintseva should still be too strong.
Prediction: Putintseva in 2
Shane:
Putintseva won four matches in Hobart to begin her season. The Kazakh has been a very consistent player over the last three seasons. I expect her to bring a high level of tennis to Melbourne.
Coco Gauff vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Jim:
It remains to be seen how well Coco Gauff will cope with the pressures that come with being a Grand Slam. She certainly wouldn’t be the first player in recent times to struggle. But she’s had the spotlight on her for so long, and the fundamentals of her game are strong enough, that it’s hard to see her faltering this early.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Jordan:
Schmiedlova has had a couple of nice wins to star the season. But overall she is still far away from her prime of a few years ago. This feels like the ideal start for Gauff to play herself into the tournament, and get into form to challenge in Melbourne.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Shane:
Gauff is coming off her first Slam. She comes to Melbourne as one of the favorites to raise the title and should be focused from the get-go. The maturation of her game should allow her to handily beat the world No. 67.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
