Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Australian Open match.
We aren’t sure if the Russian is really on par with the Brazilian at the moment. Additionally, Kudermetova spent an hour longer on court in her second-round match.
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Beatriz easily dispatched another Russian, Erika Andreeva (6:2, 6:3), in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Before facing her earlier this season, Haddad Maia struggled against players outside the top 50, but the 86th-ranked Russian could only challenge her in a few games. Reaching the third round is already a personal best for the Brazilian at the Australian Open.
Veronika Kudermetova
Ranked 75th, Kudermetova was rated noticeably lower than the 22nd-seeded Katie Boulter (2.21-1.67), but during the match, she proved why she was in the world’s top 10 in 2022. She could have won more comfortably than the scoreline of 7:6, 2:6, 6:2 suggests. In the first set, with a score of 5:1 and 30:15 in her favour, Veronika lost five consecutive games. Fortunately, she reached the tiebreak.
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Veronika Kudermetova Prediction
Against an opponent who converts all five break points, the Brazilian needs to be very cautious. While Haddad Maia won their last two encounters, any victory in this match will likely come after a tough battle extending over three sets.
