The 2022 Australian Open is finally here and SportsTips.com are previewing the best six games of each round. Read below to check out our picks for the three best men’s and three best women’s games for Round 1 of the 2022 Australian Open!
It is opening day of the Australian Open and boy are there some interesting matchups for the first round. Who will take out the championship game in the men’s and women’s draw? After all the drama, it is finally time to go and play some tennis! There are a few big names that are missing, as they didn’t want to make the trip all the way to Australia, given the current COVID-19 situation.
Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round of the 2022 Australian Open tournament.
Round 1 Tennis Picks For The Australian Open: Men’s Draw
Alexander Zverev (3) vs Daniel Altmaier
It’s an all-German matchup in the first round when the number three seed, Alexander Zverev takes on unseeded Daniel Altmaier. Both players have some experience under their belt in playing under the Australian conditions. Zverev recently played in the ATP Cup, and Altmaier played in Sydney.
Denis Kirilov
The ATP Finals winner, Alexander Zverev, comes to Melbourne on a positive note after finishing 2021 with a title. He then took part in the ATP Cup organised in January winning two matches against Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz, and losing his last head-to-head to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Sasha has been performing on a higher level in his last two years in the Tour, especially in terms of Grand Slam performances. In 2020, he reached his first Semi-Final in Melbourne, while his peak came later that year in New York, when he had a fantastic opportunity to win his first Grand Slam title after leading 2-0 against Dominic Thiem in the Final. On top of that, he served for the Championship at 5-3 in the final set, but eventually failed miserably losing the most important match of his career. This disappointing turn of events didn’t take its toll on his game as he reached two more Grand Slam Semi-Finals in 2021. He is considered to be an aggressive baseliner who relies much on his powerful groundstrokes, with which he can easily wear down his opponents.
Daniel Altmaier has lost three times this year already. The German was defeated by Tiago Monteiro in Adelaide, while Sebastian Baez and Fabio Fognini took him down in Sydney. He wrapped up 2021 with a title, defeating the competition in a Challenger in Puebla, Mexico. The 23-year-old is still young, but in 2020 he made his breakthrough reaching the Fourth Round in the French Open. He defeated top players like Feliciano Lopez, J.L. Struff and Matteo Berrettini in straight sets to face off Pablo Carreno Busta in the Round of 16. His overall performance has been narrowly increasing throughout the past two years as he really finds it hard to compete with the best on a hard surface. This will be his first appearance in the Australian Open as he will do his best to show the world what he is capable of against World No. 3, Alexander Zverev. Since his game style mostly suits the clay courts, I think that he won’t be able to surprise anybody with a victory over his compatriot, but I surely believe he can take at least one set against Zverev who is known for his struggles in the early Rounds in the Grand Slams.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: Total Sets – Over 3.5 (+194)
Katherine Mouradian
Alexander Zverev showed just why he is the number 3 seed in the ATP Cup a couple of weeks ago, and while Team Germany didn’t make the semi-finals, if you look at Zverev’s performances specifically, he is in good shape for the Australian Open. Zverev has had recent success here at the Australian Open, reaching the quarter finals last year, before going down to the eventual champion, Novak Djokovic.
Rafa’s practice with Alexander Zverev today (via Carlos Costa IG Stories) pic.twitter.com/ZhOb1dnDfp
— Tanika (@SitTanyusha) January 12, 2022
Daniel Altmaier made it through to the ATP 250 event in Sydney, after winning his qualifiers. But his run in the main draw was short-lived, as he lost in the first round to Fabio Fognini. The two have never played each other before. Just looking at the form, performances in Grand Slam events, and their ranking, this one should be pretty straight forward for Zverev. Zverev also likes to come out strong, so I’ll pick him to win the first set by more than 3 games.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: First Set Game Handicap – Zverev -2.5 (-145)
Jack Hartman
Two players that know each other well lock horns in a fascinating first round match-up between Alex Zverev and fellow countryman Daniel Altmaier. Zverev was the form man in the back half of 2021, following a poor Wimbledon, Zverev won titles in Cincinnati and Vienna before winning the ATP Tour finals. Perhaps for the first time in his career Zverev looks like a Grand Slam Champion in waiting, recently Zverev has been ruthless, dispatching lesser opponents with ease and he will be looking to do the same here. The one flaw on Zverev’s resume is his performance in the Grand Slams. Zverev is yet to get over the hump but arrives here with his game in great shape and he will be looking for a quick start.
Daniel Altmaier is a year younger than his more esteemed opponent but will know Zverev’s game inside out. A fine all court player, Altmaier has the game to mix it up with the best, but does lack a real weapon to be able to consistently punch through any player with a stout defence. Altmaier heads to Melbourne Park searching for a little bit of form, he lost in qualifying in the first Sydney warm up event before losing to Fabio Fognini in the first round of the second Sydney tournament. In the pros these two have never played, but have played countless times in their junior careers. A question mark remains as to whether Zverev has the physical strength to win a Grand Slam and he will certainly want to progress quickly here to conserve his strength for the later rounds.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Total Games – Under 29 (+102)
Marcos Giron vs Rafael Nadal (6)
The sixth seed, Rafael Nadal will square off against unseeded Marcos Giron in the first round. Nadal is looking fit again, after suffering a foot injury at the end of the 2021 campaign, as he won the Melbourne Summer Set title. The American, Giron, will have a tough time dismantling the game of Nadal. Giron is coming off a very successful 2021, so he will be full of confidence.
Denis Kirilov
Rafael Nadal’s current form is still uncertain, although he hasn’t dropped a set in 2022. He has already won a title this year as he defeated the competition in one of Melbourne’s tournaments ahead of the Australian Open. He cruised past Ricardas Berankis, Emil Ruusuvuori, and Maxime Cressy. However, this cannot really serve as a benchmark since Cressy was the highest-ranked player among these ones as he is 75th in the World Rankings. Nadal uses a unique style of play, relying much on his baseline game. Being crowned the “King of Clay”, the Spaniard has been quite unstoppable in Roland Garros as he missed on some great opportunities in the other Grand Slams including the Australian Open. Chasing his 21st title, he will do his best to become the first ATP player surpassing Roger Federer.
Marcon Giron, on the other hand, has suffered two losses in straight sets in Australia this year. He lost his opening match against Ricardas Berankis in Round of 32 in Melbourne, while Jordan Thompson defeated him a week later in Sydney. Last year, he lost in the First Round against Alexander Zverev, but he eventually forced him into 4 sets. The American has improved a lot last year as he reached No. 57 in November. The 28-year-old American has been most successful on hard courts, despite having a Third Round in Roland Garros from last year. He plays a two-handed backhand and relies much on his groundstrokes. Giron is well-known for the depth and precision in his shots that can surprise any opponent on the ATP Tour. In my opinion, Giron has a chance against the 35-year-old, Rafael Nadal, and I am going to trust him to take away at least one set against the World No.6.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: Match & Both Players Win A Set – Nadal (+150)
Katherine Mouradian
As is always the case in the opening rounds of a Grand Slam, we see a high seeded player take on an unseeded one. American Marcos Giron gets the raw end of the deal as he faces off against Rafael Nadal. Nadal is looking for just his second Australian Open title, and he is coming into the Grand Slam on some great form, after winning the Melbourne Summer Set a couple of weeks ago. Although, it will be interesting to see how he performs over the two weeks (if he makes it that far), considering he is just coming back from a foot injury that had him sidelined since August.
Giron had a career best year in 2021, which helped him receive a ranking high of 57, which was in November. However, it has been a slightly difficult start to the year, as he has played in two tournaments so far, and has lost in the opening round in both. The pair have also never played before, so there is a bit of unknown coming into this match. But at the end of the day, Nadal has proven how good he is at the start of 2022, and I think he will have no trouble getting past the American.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-0 (-150)
Jack Hartman
With 60 places between the players, this is a first round draw that Rafael Nadal would have been delighted to see. Marcus Giron is a steady player with a game largely based on his consistency and movement. Giron loves the battle and outlasting his opponents but this is a nightmare matchup for the American as he comes up against arguably the greatest competitor the game has ever seen.
Giron doesn’t have the power to compete with Nadal who should be able to dominate proceedings with his ground strokes and forehand. Giron has played in two warm up tournaments prior to the Australian Open and has lost in the first round on each occasion, he is yet to win a set. In contrast, Nadal’s 2022 couldn’t have got off to a better start with Nadal winning one of the warmup tournaments in Melbourne. The opposition wasn’t the most demanding but Nadal breezed through the tournament, winning without dropping a set. The two have never faced each other before but we think this is a match that Nadal should win comfortably.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-0 (-150)
Henri Laaksonen vs Daniil Medvedev (2)
One of the top favorites to take out the whole thing, Daniil Medvedev, will open his Australian Open account with a match against Henri Laaksonen. Medvedev will be looking to go one better this year, after being defeated by Novak Djokovic in the final in 2021. Laaksonen recently played in the Melbourne Summer Set tournament, where he reached the second round, after defeating the fifth seed, Benoit Paire, in the first.
Denis Kirilov
The 2021 US Open Champion, Daniil Medvedev, will try to assert his dominance in Australia this time. The world No. 2 missed on winning his first Grand Slam in Melbourne in 2021 as he lost in straight sets in the final against the 9-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic. The Russian has elevated his game, taking revenge against the Serbian in the United States as his level of play has been so high that he didn’t give Nole any chance. Medvedev’s style of play is quite unorthodox with his biggest weapon being his backhand. Both his forehand and his backhand are low bouncing ones as he doesn’t really allow a lot of easy shots throughout the match. The depth, precision, and pace of his backhand have been simply out-of-this-world as he can really make use of his unique shots. Last year was really successful for Daniil Medvedev who not only grabbed his maiden Grand Slam trophy, but won the ATP Cup with Russia and the Davis Cup with RTF.
Henri Laaksonen made his breakthrough in ATP in 2019 when he reached the Second Round of three Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in his career. He didn’t manage to keep that level, so in 2020 his performance sharply declined, but in the following year, the Swiss took off and enjoyed his best season so far. Laaksonen reached the Third Round in the French Open and in the US Open and also got two top-20 victories over Roberto Bautista Agut and Christian Garin in those two events. His highest singles ranking is No. 92 which is actually where he is sitting at the moment. He likes to hit flat shots and close to the baseline. The Swiss might be considered a puncher, but his overall qualities suggest that he is an all-around player that can surprise every player with his game. I think, however, he will struggle immensely against Medvedev who will most likely close the match in 3 sets.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Medvedev 3-0 (-260)
Katherine Mouradian
The US Open winner will look to add to his collection of Grand Slam titles, and if you look at the odds, he is one of the favorites to lift the trophy, standing in his way is Henri Laaksonen. Medvedev’s recent performance has been sizzling hot, after winning his first Grand Slam titles, he then managed to make back-to-back finals at the Paris Masters and ATP Finals. Medvedev will present a huge challenge for Laaksonen, as he doesn’t really give away any free points.
Hey … we know them!
Our champions Emma Raducanu & Daniil Medvedev are gearing up for the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1MYdU5Oof0
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) January 13, 2022
Laaksonen has had some match time on Australian courts already. He came through as a qualifier for the Melbourne Summer Set, and made it to the second round. The pair have already played each other once before, and it is Medvedev who leads the tally, 1-0, but Medvedev was taken to three sets in that game (in a best of three format, not best of five). This one should be an easy game for the Russian, and I’ll pick him to win in straight sets.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Medvedev 3-0 (-260)
Jack Hartman
My pick for the tournament, Daniil Medvedev is going to be a really difficult man to beat this year. Medvedev is blessed with such a unique game, he is unbelievably consistent but can blend that consistency with effortless power and subtlety. For a man of his height, he shouldn’t be able to move as well as he does and he has a cannon of a serve. I think that Medvedev can dominate the tournament this year.
The Russian heads to this tournament having reached the final at Melbourne Park last year and having won his first Grand Slam at last year’s US Open. He comes up against a tricky customer in Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen. It’s taken Laaksonen a little bit of time to reach his level but he now finds himself at a career ranking high of 92 and gained direct entry into the tournament for the first time. Like most Swiss players, Laaksonen has a great all-court game but it’s debatable as to whether he has the power to make a dent in the Medvedev defence. The two have met only once before with Medvedev winning in three sets but this was almost three years ago and Medvedev is a different beast now. It will be a competitive contest but Medvedev should run out a comfortable winner in the end.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Medvedev 3-0 (-260)
Round 1 Tennis Picks For The Australian Open: Women’s Draw
Ashleigh Barty (1) vs Lesia Tsurenko
The hometown hero and world number one, Ash Barty, will kick off her Australian Open campaign with a game against Lesia Tsurenko. Barty is looking as hot as ever, as she works towards winning her home Grand Slam for the first time. Tsurenko made her way through the qualifiers to enter the main draw at the Australian Open, and in all her qualifying matches, she didn’t even drop a set.
Denis Kirilov
Ashleigh Barty arrives at the Australian Open following a title in Adelaide in the beginning of the year. The Aussie has overcome players like Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Rybakina which surely gives us even more motivation ahead of the first Grand Slam for 2022. She has won two titles from the Grand Slam tournaments in her career as she lifted the French Open trophy in 2019, followed by Wimbledon’s dominance in 2021. She is yet to make it to the final in her domestic Grand Slam, but her current form suggests that this might be just a matter of time. Her top performance in the Australian Open came in 2020 when she reached the Semi-Finals, eliminated by the champion, Sofia Kenin. Her playing style is unique using a lot of versatile shots that occasionally wear down her opponent. Her slices, lobs, and volleys have been incredible recently as she continues to elevate her game at 25 years of age.
Lesia Tsurenko is coming into this fixture after three straight wins in the AO Qualifiers. She cruised past Ankita Raina, Asia Muhammad, and Elina Avanesyan without dropping a single set. The Ukrainian will have probably the toughest task in the opening Round in this year’s Australian Open as she will go head-to-head with the World No. 1, Ashleigh Barty. The 32-year-old Tsurenko has the required experience for such matches as she knows very well how to prepare for a match on one of the biggest courts in the world. Tsurenko achieved her highest ranking in 2019 when she reached World No. 23, but ever since then her career has been going downhill. She hasn’t moved past the First Round in any Grand Slam since the 2019 edition of the French Open. Her best result comes from 2018 when she reached the Quarter-Finals in New York, losing to the champion, Naomi Osaka, in straight sets. Her performance in the Australian Open has not been impressive as well as she managed to reach the Third Round just once, back in 2013. I think that this match will be a walk in the park for Barty who has a chance at spending less than one hour on the court in my opinion.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: First Set Game Handicap – Barty -3.5 (-130)
Katherine Mouradian
The player all the Australian fans at Melbourne Park will be waiting to see, Ash Barty. She starts her Australian Open campaign in the first round against Lesia Tsurenko. Barty has spent a whopping 110 weeks as the number one player in the world, and for good reason too, she had a stellar 2021, with the highlight being winning the title at Wimbledon. She also got her 2022 campaign off to a good start, winning the title in Adelaide.
Tsurenko has been ranked as high as 23 in the world, but a lot of things have changed since then. She is now ranked 120th and had to fight through the qualifiers to make it through to the main draw, something she did fantastically well, as she didn’t even drop a set. The two have actually played each other three times before, with Barty leading 2-1. The last time they played was at the Australian Open in 2020, and Barty needed three sets to move through to the next round. Tsurenko is known to get off to fast starts, and her backhand is something Barty has to look out for. But at the end of the day, I just can’t see Barty losing this game, or even dropping a set.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Barty 2-0 (-650)
Jack Hartman
Ash Barty stands alone at the top of world rankings and as the number one seed in the tournament she is deservedly at the top of the betting. Barty will want a deep run, but she has been handed a tricky opening tie in the form of Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. Tsurenko ranked 120 in the world, sailed through qualifying winning all three of her matches in straight sets to set up this giant killing opportunity.
Although a qualifier, Tsurenko is an accomplished pro having won four WTA titles and has achieved a career high ranking of 23. At 32 years old and in the twilight of her career, Tsurenko has seen it all and won’t be phased by the challenge of facing Barty in front of a home crowd. The two have met three times in the past with Barty leading the head to head 2-1. Tsurenko has shown that she knows how to win in this match-up and she will be looking to capitalise on any early match nerves that the Aussie may have.
Barty approaches every match with the same mindset and although she will have bigger plans for the tournament, there isn’t a chance that she will be underestimating the challenge she has here. Barty heads to Melbourne Park in great form having won the warm up event in Adelaide, and although things haven’t quite clicked for Barty at her home slam there is every chance that this could be her year.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Set Betting – Barty 2-0 (-650)
Sofia Kenin (11) vs Madison Keys
This is probably going to be the highlight of the first round for all the American fans, as we have two hotshot American women facing off against each other. Sofia Kenins, former Australian Open winner, comes into the tournament as the 11th seed. Madison Keys performed well in Adelaide and will be looking to build on that in this year’s Australian Open.
Denis Kirilov
The match between Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys promises to be one of the most entertaining games in the First Round of the Australian Open. Madison Keys had a tough 2021 as she didn’t manage to win a match for nearly 3 months, losing six fixtures in a row. She barely won a single set against Sloane Stephens throughout this negative streak. The American has been playing on a whole new level in the beginning of this year. She might have failed in her first attempt in Melbourne by losing to Daria Kasatkina in three sets, but she eventually grabbed a title in Adelaide after defeating Alison Riske in straight sets in the Final. The former top 10 player is looking to make her return in WTA, since she struggled with some injuries in the last couple of years. Her best performance dates back to 2017 when she reached the Final of the US Open, and lost to Sloane Stephens. In 2018, she had her best overall performance in Grand Slams reaching one Quarter-Final and two Semi-Finals. Since the 2019 edition of the French Open, she hasn’t gone past the Fourth Round in any of these tournaments. She will surely be looking to match her best result in the Australian Open which is a Semi-Final in 2015.
Sofia Kenin enjoyed a fantastic start to 2020. She surprised everybody with her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, followed by a final in the French Open, losing to Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Winning the Australian Open, she became the youngest finalist since Ana Ivanovic and the youngest winner of this Grand Slam since Maria Sharapova, both in 2008. Her fame got to her as she was not able to repeat these fabulous performances, reaching only the Fourth Round twice – US Open (2020) and French Open (2021). The American will be looking to make the best out of her high ranking as she remains 12th in the world. She began this year with two wins over Lucia Bronzetti and Aila Tomjlanovic, but failed to win a set against Ashleigh Barty and Daria Kasatkina. Kenin lost her Second-Round match against Madison Brengle at Wimbledon last year and decided to miss the rest of the season. I think that she will have huge trouble overcoming her compatriot as I will give my preferences to Madison Keys in this match.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: Madison Keys (-186)
Katherine Mouradian
What a treat for the first round, and we are guaranteed to have an American in the second round of the Australian Open, as Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys face off against each other. Despite winning the Australian Open in 2020, Kenin had a bit of a lackluster 2021, this can clearly been seen in her win-loss ratio for last year, at 10-10. Kenin has been plagued with injuries as of late, which has seen her performance and also ranking drop down.
@Madison_Keys Super happy for you Maddie, to see that smile with a trophy 🤩 (Getty) pic.twitter.com/N38B8FfIXW
— Waqas RF وقاص 🇵🇰🇳🇿 (@Fed_43600) January 15, 2022
Keys didn’t get off to the best of starts in the Melbourne Summer Set, but she turned it all around in her next tournament, winning the Adelaide International, as this was her first title since 2019. The pair have played each other competitively three times throughout their careers, and it is Keys who leads, 2-1. The last time these two played each other was the 2019 US Open. We are sure to see a lot of aggression out on the court, as this is both their style of play. I believe Kenin will be a little rusty as she hasn’t played as much as of late, especially compared to Keys. However, we all know Kenin will not go down without a fight. So while I’m going to steer clear of an outright winner, I’ll back the game to go to three sets.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: Total Sets – Over 2.5 (+118)
Jack Hartman
Across both sides of the draw you could argue that this is one of the standout matches of the first round as Sofia Kenin, champion here in 2020, takes on her compatriot Madison Keys. This will be a great matchup between two players who have very contrasting game styles. Keys looks to bludgeon the ball at every opportunity whilst Kenin relies on her consistency. The defining factor in this matchup will be whether Keys can keep enough balls in court and if she can, she has a real chance of causing the upset.
Keys finds herself ranked all the way down at 87 in the world rankings and her fall out of the world’s top twenty has largely been due to injury. However, Keys is starting to find her way back and is enjoying a good run in Australia having reached the finals of the second Adelaide warm up tournament. Keys is a player that all the seeded players would have wanted to avoid in the early rounds and despite being unseeded is a major threat in this draw.
Kenin is also recovering from a disrupted 2021 where she lost her form and had her own injury troubles. Kenin hadn’t played since Wimbledon last year and will be grateful to have some fresh matches under her belt. Her preparation hasn’t been ideal as she lost in the first round of the Sydney warm up event losing in straight sets to Daria Kastakina but did make the quarterfinals of Adelaide before losing to eventual winner Ash Barty. This will be a fascinating match that is really hard to call. It could go either way and there wouldn’t be any surprises for me if it went the distance.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Total Sets – Over 2.5 (+118)
Storm Sanders vs Aryna Sabalenka (2)
The unseeded Australian will have a tough task against the number two seed, Aryna Sabalenka, in the opening round of the Australian Open. Sanders had a reasonable 2021, especially when you look at her results in the doubles side of things, going as far as the semi-finals at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. Sabalenka is known for her work on the clay courts, as in 2021 she won the Madrid Open and made it to the finals at Stuttgart.
Denis Kirilov
Storm Sanders will face one of the toughest players in the WTA Tour, world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian, however, had a lot of troubles in her opening matches for 2022. The girl from Minsk is still looking for her first victory for the season as she lost to Kaja Juvan and Rebecca Peterson in two straight tournaments in Adelaide. This marks her inconsistency following her surprising loss in the 2021 US Open Semi-Finals against Leyla Ani Fernandez. Heading into the last four, she was a huge favourite to win her maiden title from a Grand Slam, but she simply cracked under pressure and couldn’t break the Canadian wall on the other side of the net. Her aggressive style of play has helped her a lot in her career, but it was barely too much in probably the most important match so far. Sabalenka ended up having 52 unforced errors which is a lot. Her strong serve comes in handy regularly when she is put up against the wall in her service games.
Storm Sanders, on the other hand, has never made it past the First Round in the Australian Open. She is actually still looking to make her breakthrough in any Grand Slam, reaching the Second Round. A player that has a lot more achievements in the Doubles format, Sanders has elevated her game throughout the years. She has great volleys that can help her win some easy points at the net. Being a left-hander also helps her be more inconvenient for most of the players on the WTA Tour. I think that she has just enough skills and qualities to put up a good fight against Aryna Sabalenka in the First Round. In my opinion, she will be able to win at least one set in the match and I believe this will be the opener.
Denis’ Australian Open Pick: To Win First Set – Sanders (+220)
Katherine Mouradian
Australian Wildcard, Storm Sanders, will face off against a very tough opponent in the first round, as she meets Aryna Sabalenka. While Sanders is definitely not the favorite for this match in terms of the odds, she will be the favorite for the crowd. Although it might not be enough to get her over the line here. Sanders has recently broken into the top 200 in singles rankings, and managed to qualify for her first Grand Slam, the French Open in 2021.
Despite the number two ranking next to her name, Sabalenka has a lot to prove after a lacklustre start to her 2022 campaign. She didn’t make it as far as she should’ve at both Adelaide Internationals, so she might be feeling a little low in confidence. The pair have played each other once before, in 2016, and Sabalenka was victorious. Down in recent form and with the crowd against her, things could turn ugly for the Belarusian. She will need to be on her A game if she wants to take down Sanders, who is having a great season. Despite Sabalenka’s recent form, I think she will still come out on top, but not without a fight, as I am picking picking Sanders to steal a set from the number two seed.
Katherine’s Australian Open Pick: Match & Both Players Win A Set – Sabalenka (+290)
Jack Hartman
Another match that has thrown up a fascinating clash of styles is this intriguing encounter between second seed Aryna Sabalenka and Aussie Wildcard Storm Sanders. Sanders might be better known for her doubles exploits but she will prove a stern test for the huge hitting Sabalenka here.
Sabalenka is a player I have a tough time betting on as I am not a huge fan of the way she plays. Arguably the biggest hitter on the WTA Tour, when Sabalenka’s game is on she can simply blow her opponents away, however if the radar is off, Sabalenka can spray the ball left and right and there rarely seems to be a plan B. We have already seen so far this season when Sabalenka is having a bad day she can be vulnerable and she has posted back to back opening round defeats in her two warm up events.
Sanders is an unorthodox player who presents a unique challenge. Sanders is keen to get forward so that she can utilise her volleys and feel to full effect, Sanders can also provide some great variety to her rallying strokes and will look to throw Sabalenka off her rhythm by clever uses of slices and spins. First round matches are difficult and Sanders does have the ability to make this a really difficult game for the second seed. I expect Sabalenka to emerge victorious, but it might not be as one-sided as the betting predicts.
Jack’s Australian Open Pick: Match & Both Players Win A Set – Sabalenka (+290)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
