Who will reach the quarterfinals next week? There are some very close choices, and also, easy picks. Here it goes…
No. 1 Ash Barty is under a lot of pressure in Australia. She need three sets to oust Lesia Tsurenko in the opening round. She can be calm though, and it is likely that she will out-steady Petra Martic in the fourth round. She is so thoughtful and concentrates. That’s why she won Roland Garros last year.
Madison Keys looked very good last week, and assuming that she will continue to be healthy, she will have to go up against the two- time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The Czech, who destroyed Katerina Siniakova in the first round, is favored, slightly. If Keys attacks early, and doesn’t get so upset, then the American can pound her forehand in the third set. And win.
Last year at the Aussie Open, Naomi Osaka won it all. While she has been up and down since, the Japanese is incredibly powerful and her first serve is huge. Assuming that Sofia Kenin will win three matches, then the American will be pumped up. Osaka is a better player, still, and she will trip her up.
Serena Williams hadn’t played for four months and last week she finally walked on the court, winning Auckland. Now she is back, and even though she is aging, she is almost perfect when she is secure. In the fourth round, she could face against her good friend Caro Wozniacki. Can you imagine that, especially has the Dane has announced that this is her final tournament? One way or another, Serena will beat her, punching her forehand.
Both Osaka and Williams were straight-set winners on Monday.
Belinda Bencic is very unpredictable; she is great when she is very consistent, but when she becomes tired, then she gets mentally lazy. However, she is pushing herself in the backcourt, she can hit a vast amount of winners. The same goes with Aryna Sabalenka, who can be swinging away, very hard, and she can best anyone. But she also can be angry and miss the ball a lot. In the fourth round between those two, whoever will win it must understand where she is going, and how to mix it up a lot.
You never know about Simona Halep, who is very consistent, running back and forth. She rarely gets tired, but she also can become injured and then she cannot smack the ball. Regardless, over the past few years, she stopped being scared and now she does have a chance to win her third major. In the fourthth round, she likely will face the young Czech Karolina Muchova. So many Czech women are so good. So Halep has to move it all around the box. And the Romanian will.
Will Elina Svitolina finally win a Grand Slam? At some point, yes, but not this one at the AO. However, she will win three matches, and then she will lose against the enthusiastic American Amanda Anisimova. Ms. AA is getting better every second.
At some point, Karolina Pliskova will win a major, when she is consistent over seven matches. Will she do it at the AO? She is defiantly close. However, though, she has to take down against the very good young player Marketa Vondrousova. Pliskova can edge her, but she has to be very smart. Super smart.