Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Australian Open match.
Veronika Kudermetova easily passed through the first round of the Australian Open, but she faces a much more formidable opponent in the second round—23rd seed Katie Boulter from Great Britain. If this match had taken place two years ago, the Russian would have been the favourite, but now things are different.
Veronika Kudermetova
At that time, Kudermetova was seeded ninth, but even two years ago, she did not advance past the second round in Melbourne. She lost to the World No. 56, American Katie Volynets, in three sets. Currently, she is ranked only 75th in the world, and was fortunate to face the World No. 106, Olivia Gadecki from Australia, in the first round. Kudermetova dealt with her in 56 minutes with a score of 6:1, 6:1.
Katie Boulter
The Brit spent noticeably more time in her first-round match against World No. 98 Rebecca Marino (6:4, 3:6, 7:5)—2 hours and 14 minutes. While Boulter lost the second set, she didn't allow the Canadian to build on her advantage in the third. At 2:2 and 15:40 on her own serve, Katie won four consecutive points to hold the game.
Veronika Kudermetova vs Katie Boulter Prediction
Two years ago, Boulter didn't even make it into the main draw of the Australian Open. Now, she has every chance of reaching her personal best third round. Her successful season on hard courts last year (24-12) compared to Kudermetova's 10-16 gives her reason to be hopeful. Victory won't come easily, but we are backing a win for Katie Boulter.
