Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Australian Open match.
Anna Kalinskaya begins her Australian Open 2025 campaign as the world number 14, but she arrives at the first major of the year not in optimal form. The Russian withdrew early from her previous match due to feeling unwell and had an unfortunate performance in Brisbane. In contrast, Kimberly Birrell is in the best shape of her career. The Australian has made an impressive start to the season, winning six out of seven matches and successfully navigating through AO qualifiers.
Anna Kalinskaya
Kalinskaya made significant strides last season, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, the final at the Dubai Masters, and the WTA 500 final in Berlin, climbing to 14th in the rankings. Yet, in 2025, she is yet to secure a match win. She lost to Ashlyn Krueger (3:6, 3:6) and retired against Belinda Bencic (2:6; 0:1). Without optimal physical condition, this could lead to numerous unforced errors, especially since she has lacked match play since late October and is only starting to regain form at the end of 2024.
Kimberly Birrell
Birrell is thriving on the Australian hard courts. She defeated Emma Navarro (7:5; 7:5) and Anastasia Potapova (7:6; 6:2) and comfortably passed qualifying, overcoming Priscilla Hon (6:4, 3:6, 6:4) and Oksana Selekhmeteva (6:3, 6:7, 6:4). Her strengths lie in her consistency, strong defence, and a high second serve percentage, exceeding 90% in 2025. Birrell is faster and better at sustaining long rallies, which could be crucial given Kalinskaya's potential fatigue. Moreover, the home-court advantage cannot be discounted for Birrell.
Anna Kalinskaya vs Kimberly Birrell Prediction
It's challenging to predict Kalinskaya's readiness for this match, and historically, she hasn't favoured initial hardcourt matches much. If the Russian fails to quickly regain her rhythm and Birrell continues to deliver confident tennis, an upset is possible. Birrell has already defeated higher-ranked opponents, and Kalinskaya is yet to score a win in 2025. Therefore, we are backing a win for Birrell with a handicap of +1.5.
