Australian Open: Women's Draw Preview

Australian Open: Will it be sensational #7 for Serena in Oz?

The women’s draw for the 2016 Australian Open has been made!

How will Serena Williams fare in her bid to win her twenty second major, tying Steffi Graf’s ‘Open Era’ record in the process?

Where’s your favourite and who do I think will reach the quarter finals in the first Grand Slam of the year?

(Seed)

First Quarter: (1) Serena Williams vs (5) Maria Sharapova

(1) Serena Williams has a really tricky opening match against Camila Giorgi. Considering the reigning champion was forced to withdraw from the Hopman Cup due to a knee injury and lacks any real match play in the past four months or so, she could find herself in trouble against the Italian’s relentless hard hitting. If she does manage to win though (as I’m sure you expect), Williams could face close friend, (16) Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, who I’m sure would be happy even to reach that stage given her recent spate of poor form.

(5) Maria Sharapova has drawn the short straw but that might not be such a bad thing. In both 2012 and 2014, Sharapova won the French Open when she had originally been slated to meet Williams in the quarters only for the American to lose out earlier. It’s still a tough section of the draw though, with (12) Belinda Bencic, Sydney champion, (23) Svetlana Kuznetsova and (26) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as potential opponents. Given the fact Sharapova hasn’t played any matches this year due to an arm injury, the best place to catch her off guard is early on.

Second Quarter: (4) Agnieszka Radwanska vs Dominika Cibulkova

(4) Agnieszka Radwanska has to be considered a serious contender this year after winning the WTA Finals last October. As consistent as ever, she has won four of her last six events (including Shenzhen this year) and has a habit of going deep at the Australian Open. There could be a few challenges along the way though as there are other in-form players in this section. Current Hobart finalist (at this time of writing), Eugenie Bouchard could be her second round opponent, with home favourite, (25) Samantha Stosur or Sydney finalist, Monica Puig next. Then she might have to face US Open finalist, (13) Roberta Vinci or perhaps the Auckland champion, (24) Sloane Stephens for a place in the quarters.

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(6) Petra Kvitova has been struggling with gastrointestinal illness and could well be an early casualty as she’s been in Australia for the past three years. Daria Gavrilova, fresh off assisting Australia lift the Hopman Cup, could well account for her in the second round and if not, former Australian Open finalist, Dominika Cibulkova might do so later on. (10) Carla Suarez Navarro has disappointed for some time now in the Slams and probably won’t take advantage so this is a really open quarter that’s tough to predict.

Third Quarter: (7) Angelique Kerber vs (14) Victoria Azarenka

(7) Angelique Kerber might have suffered with gastrointestinal illness in Sydney but played great the week before in reaching the Brisbane final. With the struggling (11) Timea Bacsinszky and (19) Jelena Jankovic as the other high seeds in her section, it appears that her toughest test could well come from the woman who beat her in the first round here last year, (29) Irina Camelia Begu. They’re destined to meet in the third round, but Kerber’s playing a great deal better than she was this time last year.

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(3) Garbine Muguruza has been suffering with a foot injury, retiring from Brisbane. The lack of match play might go against her, especially with big hitters Mirjana Lucic Baroni and (32) Caroline Garcia potentially down the line. Without doubt, the former two time Australian Open champion, (14) Victoria Azarenka has to be considered the favourite in this section coming in having looked back to her best in winning the Brisbane title.

Fourth Quarter: (21) Ekaterina Makarova vs (2) Simona Halep

(8) Venus Williams dropped her opening match in Auckland and faces Johanna Konta in the first round. Given that Konta had a 5-3 final set lead against Williams in Wuhan last October, this could well be a difficult match. This section of the draw is filled with huge servers such as (30) Sabine Lisicki and (9) Karolina Pliskova, as well as (21) Ekaterina Makarova, who has a habit of doing well in Australia.

(2) Simona Halep comes into the event behind a tough, rain interrupted semi final loss to Kuznetsova in Sydney. Given the fact that she admits struggling at times with pressure and could face current Hobart finalist (at this time of writing), Alize Cornet in the second round, I think Halep will struggle to reach the quarters. That being said, last year’s semi finalist here, (15) Madison Keys, as well as (20) Ana Ivanovic can’t be expected to take advantage, given their mercurial form and no one unseeded player stands out. For that reason, it’s a tough section to predict.

Next: WTA Sydney: Final Prediction

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Australian Open: Women’s Draw Preview

By Jake Fletcher | Jan 15, 2016

Australian Open: Will it be sensational #7 for Serena in Oz?

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