Damien Kayat previews the 2023 Women’s Australian Open selected matches as Coco Gauff takes on Emma Radacanu and Aryna Sabalenka faces Shelby Rogers.
2023 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Australian Open
Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Selected Matches
19 January
Coco Gauff (1/3) | Emma Radacanu (9/4)
This could prove to be a classic encounter between two of tennis’ brightest young stars. Gauff is coming off a stellar 2022 that saw her reach her maiden Grand Slam final. She was remarkably consistent last year, making her first appearance at the WTA Finals.
But she has shown a bit of a tendency to capitulate on the biggest stage. Her two biggest matches of the year- in Paris against Swiatek and New York against Garcia- ended in chastening defeats. She will be all too aware of that as she steps out for this glamour tie.
She dispatched of Siniakova with little fuss in her opening match (hitting 24 winners to 18 unforced errors). That extended the Auckland champ’s winning streak to six matches (all of which were won in straight sets). It will take a brave man to bet against Gauff on this evidence.
Emma Radacanu burst onto the scene with that barely believable victory at the 2021 US Open. She has battled with injury and poor form over the past 15 months (not to mention Piers Morgan).
Many criticized her for basking too long in the short-term glory of that New York success. She is desperately in need of a bounce-back season to prove that her success wasn’t just a fluke. She was forced to withdraw in Auckland due to injury and I think this carried over into the early stages of her match against Korpatsch.
The injury really seemed to hamper her serve. But she returned brilliantly to force the straight sets win. Radacanu is going to need to serve better against the ultra-athletic Gauff. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she starts to employ more of those wide, sliced serves that she used so well in New York.
Verdict: Gauff to win in straight sets at 87/100
This will be the first career meeting between these two. I just think that Radacanu is outmatched by Gauff from the baseline. Also, Gauff’s serve has turned into a serious weapon while Radacanu is struggling to win cheap points on her delivery. The sheer athleticism of Gauff will make holding serve a constant struggle for the Brit.
Aryna Sabalenka (1/4) | Shelby Rogers (3/1)
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka has oft been derided for her inability to convert regular season form into tangible Grand Slam success. But she has slowly started to change that perception over the past two years.
In fact, she has reached the semi-finals in three of the last five Slams in which she has participated. This included a run to last year’s US Open final-four. Having said that, she is yet to go past the 4th round here in five attempts. Her now legendary serving woes are often brutally exposed in this pressure cooker environment. She had a pretty solid 2022 despite failing to win a title (she would go on to finish runner-up at the WTA Finals).
But she has already rectified that winless record this year by claiming the Adelaide International title. Her comprehensive opening round victory against Martincova took her winning streak to five matches this year (and she is yet to drop a set).
Shelby Rogers is the definition of a dark horse lurker. She has forged a reputation for dethroning top ranked players in Slams. She beat Simona Halep at the 2017 Aussie Open and Ashleigh Barty at the 2021 US Open.
Sure, she isn’t the most consistent player out there. In fact, she comes into this match off the back of five consecutive WTA defeats. But you don’t have to travel back far to see what she is capable of. She arrived at last year’s Silicon Valley Classic in fairly dreadful form.
But she would go on to reach the final (beating the likes of Andreescu and Sakkari on the way). She reached the 4th round here in 2021 and the US Open quarterfinal in 2020. She is the epitome of a dangerous Grand Slam floater (especially on harder surfaces).
Verdict: Sabalenka to win in straight sets at 8/11
Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 2-0. This included an absolutely epic three-set thriller at last year’s Cincinnati Open. I feel compelled to back Rogers here. I anticipated that Sabalenka may disappoint again, and Rogers is the quintessential banana peel.
But Sabalenka is just playing so well at present. This one is truly confounding me. I’m going to hedge and opt for Sabalenka to win in three. Rogers certainly has the power to trade blows with Sabalenka. But I just think Sabalenka is a bit savvier this year.
