Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2024 Australian Open match.
Lesia Tsurenko
Tsurenko was in the top 25 when he reached her best result. She focused on the tournaments on the hard surface in the last season, reaching at least quarter-finals on three occasions. She’s ready to aim for something more serious now. She’s already repeated her best result in Melbourne, the one of 2013.
Aryna Sabalenka
The previous two rounds were an easy walk for Sabalenka. In both cases, her opponents were the ones outside the first 100 of the ranking. In the previous game against Brenda Fruhvirtová, Sabalenka lost on her serve for the first time in the current tournament. However, it didn’t really affect the game (6:3, 6:2).
Lesia Tsurenko – Aryna Sabalenka prediction
At the first glance, it may seem that there’s an ocean between the opponents. Actually, Lesia Tsurenko made a huge comeback last season. She won 31 games on hard (only 4 less than her opponent) and ran over 100 positions up the ranking. Besides, Tsurenko has already beaten Sabalenka in a head-to-head game. It was in Hobart.
Sabalenka will most likely advance. However, I don’t think that Tsurenko will give up without fighting. At least one set will be a problem for the favourite.
