By Siri Caur
- Jakub Mensik v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- Naomi Osaka v Belinda Bencic
- Laura Siegemund v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Jakub Mensik and Laura Siegemund target the fourth round, and two-time champion Naomi Osaka continues her charge.
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Jakub Mensik v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | H2H & Match Fundamentals
Jakub Mensik v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
Australian Open | Melbourne |
Hard (O) | Prize Money: A$290,000 |
Third on KIA Arena (Not before 03:00 GMT) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will face another NextGen player in the third-round, Czech Jakub Mensik, after beating China’s Juncheng Shang in the first round. He came through a rigorous five set match against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round, where he dropped the first two sets.
Mensik defeated the world number six, Casper Ruud in their first ever meeting in the second round. With securing 62 winners and 69% service points won, he also served 22 aces. He is one of the four NextGen final qualifiers who are due to play the third round at the tournament.
Both players have worked on their serves in the past year to make them a more effective weapon. Mensik has a lot of tactical acumen, and the Spaniard might have to rely on his agility and speed on the court.
Prediction: Jakub in four sets.
Naomi Osaka v Belinda Bencic | H2H & Match Fundamentals
Naomi Osaka v Belinda Bencic | H2H: Bencic leads 4-2 |
Australian Open | Melbourne |
Hard (O) | Prize Money: A$290,000 |
Third on John Cain Arena (Not before 06:00 GMT) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
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Two-time champion, Naomi Osaka will play an old rival Belinda Bencic in the third round, and trails 1-3 on hard courts. Osaka’s comeback was bumpy n 2024 – she was knocked out in the first round in six tournaments, including the Australian Open, where she lost to Caroline Garcia, and played her again in the first round this year, winning in three sets.
Bencic is making a comeback after a maternity break and is consistently going up in the rankings. She started her season playing for Switzerland in the United Cup this year and started her Australian Open campaign by beating Jelena Ostapenko in the first round and has not dropped a set in the past two matches.
Bencic’s aggressive and well-rounded style of game will be met by one of the most prominent servers in the game. Neither of them shy away from taking risks and performing under tight conditions so expect a tactical match.
Prediction: Bencic in three sets.
Laura Siegemund v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | H2H & Match Fundamentals
Laura Siegemund v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | H2H: Siegemund leads 1-0 |
Australian Open | Melbourne |
Hard (O) | Prize Money: A$290,000 |
Third on 1573 Arena (Not before 03:00 GMT) | Discovery+ Add-on via Amazon Prime
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Laura Siegemund caused an upset and knocked out the last year’s finalist, Qinwen Zheng in the second round, recording her first victory over a top ten player in over a year. She has not made past the second round in any Slam in 2024 and will play to reach the R16 at Melbourne.
A three-time quarter-finalist at the tournament, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a 20-11 win-loss record on hard courts last year. She had two first-round exits as well at Toronto and Auckland. Having faced injuries and making a comeback now, she is steadily climbing up the ladder.
Pavlyuchenkova brings an aggressive baseline game coupled with a strong forehand, and Siegemund will need to rely more on her versatility rather than trying to hit through the Russian.
Prediction: Siegemund in three sets.
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