By Tony Fairbairn
- Coco Gauff [4] v Alycia Parks
- Andrey Rublev [5] v Sebastian Korda [29]
- Amanda Anisimova v Paula Badosa
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Coco Gauff will look to begin a potential rivalry against Alycia Parks as the third round action begins on day six of the Australian Open.
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Coco Gauff [4] v Alycia Parks H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Coco Gauff [4] v Alycia Parks | H2H: First Meeting |
| Australian Open 2024 | Melbourne, Australia |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $255,000 |
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Coco Gauff is in confident form having won the US Open at the end of last year and has started this season in similar fashion. The American has elevated her game under pressure as she continues to be clinical against players she often struggled against in the past. Now Gauff will look to show why she should be considered one of the favourites for the title as she looks to continue her dominant form and show that her Grand Slam title in New York wasn’t a one-time achievement.
Gauff’s mission for consistency will continue against future rival Alycia Parks who has potential to replicate Gauff’s success. The 23 year-old has already risen up the rankings to 82 in the world and showed incredible maturity as well as composure to knock out former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. Although Parks hasn’t always found the transition to the main tour smooth, the American will be hoping that she will reap the benefits later on as she looks to take her power game and hit through Gauff.
Gauff will look to dominate from her serve but will want to be unpredictable with the way she attacks Parks’ game. Parks will look to use a mixture of depth and power to build confidence in the early stages of the match before attacking the second serve of Gauff. This should be a fascinating match and an early glimpse into the future of American tennis, but Gauff’s defensive skills are more developed and that should see her come through a tricky match.
Prediction: Gauff in three sets.
Andrey Rublev [5] v Sebastian Korda [29] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andrey Rublev [5] v Sebastian Korda [29] | H2H: Rublev leads 2-0 |
| Australian Open 2024 | Melbourne, Australia |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $255,000 |
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A much more comfortable win for Andrey Rublev in his second round match as he cruised past Christopher Eubanks in straight sets. The fifth seed is looking to finally make his Grand Slam breakthrough as he has struggled in the past to keep his emotions under control when it really matters. Flawless power mixed with accurate serving has seen him become a consistent feature inside the world’s top ten but now Rublev will look to make that next step in his career.
Rublev’s Grand Slam credentials will be tested in the next round when he takes on talented American Sebastian Korda. The 29th seed created a lot of memories at last year’s Australian Open when he knocked out Daniil Medvedev and is looking to continue making a name for himself. Injuries have halted Korda’s momentum but the American will be pleased to be competing at the big tournaments once again as he will look to convert his potential into titles.
Rublev will look to set up the shorter ball from Korda as he aims to finish the points off quickly with his powerful forehand. Meanwhile Korda will look to be aggressive from his serve as he looks to use his all-court game to force Rublev into erratic unforced errors. This will be a tough test for Rublev but the fifth seed should just have too much quality and experience for Korda who has proven to be inconsistent over the last few months.
Prediction: Rublev in five sets.
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Amanda Anisimova v Paula Badosa H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Amanda Anisimova v Paula Badosa | H2H: First Meeting |
| Australian Open 2024 | Melbourne, Australia |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $255,000 |
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Amanda Anisimova took a bold decision in her career when she decided to take some time off tennis last year in order to protect her mental health. Although it is early in the season, so far the American’s decision is proving to be a successful one as she has started the season in incredible form. Now the American is looking to reach the second week in Melbourne for the third time in her career as she looks to continue her mental and tactical development as a player.
Next for Anisimova is another player who has come back from the tour after a while out and that is Paula Badosa. The Spaniard spent most of last season dealing with injuries and ended her season early last year in order to recover for the 2024 season. That has also turned out to be a good decision as her impressive win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova showed she is ready to go deep at tournaments this season and challenge the best players in the world.
Anisimova will look to continue her dominance on serve as she will look to be aggressive on the backhand. While Badosa will look to take the return early and use depth to create unforced errors from the American. This will be a tight match as both players will feel this is a great opportunity to make the second week of a Grand Slam. Anisimova’s past results in Melbourne makes her very slight favourite for what should be a fascinating contest.
Prediction: Anisimova in three sets.
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