We will be treated to a feast of tennis today – especially those in attendance at Melbourne Park with an array of accomplished players scheduled on the outside courts. The duo of Gauff and Swiatek will feature on Rod Laver Arena but those with a ground pass will be able to see the likes of Krejcikova, Navarro, Mboko, Kenin, Eala and last year’s semi finalist Paula Badosa. There is a number of former top 10 players and emerging youngsters who are unseeded which means multiple upsets on Day 2.
Gauff entered last year’s tournament in red-hot form and despite not being as sharp this time around, she did beat Swiatek 6-4 6-2 in her last match at the United Cup. This is an ideal 1st round matchup as Rakhimova failed to qualify for the main draw in Brisbane and Adelaide. It hasn’t been long since their one and only meeting on the WTA Tour which came in Beijing in the second half of last season. Gauff was a dominant 6-4 6-0 winners but it is worth mentioning that Rakhimova went 0 from 10 on break opportunities. Even is she was to break once or twice in that match, she barely would have won a handful of games.
The Australian Open is the only major missing from Swiatek’s cabinet and as per usual, she will steam roll her way through the opening rounds. Qualifiers can be dangerous but Yuan does not fall into that category. She managed to win a total of only 4 games against Swiatek in Beijing last year and was embarrasses 6-1 6-0 by Kudermetova in Canberra to start the year. Using that as a gauge, this one will not be competitive.
Having made Andreeva our top selection to win the tournament, you better believe that we will be backing her here. She has a 1-0 career record against Vekic but more importantly is on fire following her victory in Adelaide last week. Not only did she win the tournament without dropping a set, but Andreeva did not lose more than three games in any of the 8 sets she played! What makes that impressive is that she defeated Bouzkova, Joint, Shnaider and Mboko. Take Andreeva -5.5 and back it with confidence.
Seeded players are supposed to be rewarded with favourable early matchups but that is not the case for Shnaider who faces two-time major champion Krejcikova. Don’t pay attention to her ranking as she missed this tournament last year with a back injury. Last year’s US Open is the perfect example as Krejcikova made it through to the quarter finals despite being unseeded. Shnaider did beat Fernandez and Navarro to make the final four at the Adelaide International but an 11-10 career record at Grand Slam level is concerning for a player who has been ranked as high as no.11 in the world. This one could go down to the wire.
Gauff v Rakhimova: Under 17.5 games ($2.00)
Yuan v Swiatek: Swiatek -7.5 ($1.90)
Waltert v Anisimova: Under 17.5 games ($1.90)
Vekic v Andreeva: Andreeva -5.5 ($1.83)
Pegula v Zakharova: 1st Set Score After 4 games – Pegula 3-1 ($2.35)
Starodoubtseva v Tomljanovic: Over 21.5 games ($1.87)
Hunter v Bouzas Maneiro: Bouzas Maneiro -3.5 ($1.75)
Krejcikova v Shnaider: Over 21.5 games ($1.87)
Linette v Navarro: Linette +1.5 Sets ($1.88)
Kenin v Stearns: Kenin WIN ($1.68)
Hon v Stakusic: Hon +2.5 ($1.95)
Li v Osorio: Ossorio Serrano WIN ($2.20)
Diyas v Badosa: Over 17.5 games ($1.90)
Parks v Eala: Sets Eala 2-0 ($1.83)
Galfi v Tauson: Tauson WIN ($1.44)
Mertens v Tararudee: Mertens -4.5 ($1.87)
Zarazua v Bouzkova: Over 20.5 games ($1.90)
Jovic v Volynets: Jovic -4.5 ($1.95)
Marchinko v Maria: Maria WIN ($2.85)
Muchova v Cristian: Cristian +5.5 ($1.75)