Two former champions, Belinda Bencic and Jelena Ostapenko, are in action on Day 2 in at the WTA 500 Adelaide, hoping to kickstart their season and shape up for the big one in Melbourne. Will they make it to the next round? We at LWOT offer our predictions
WTA Adelaide Day 2 Predictions Including Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Magdalena Frech
Head–to–Head: Ostapenko 1 vs 0 Frech
With both closely-ranked 27-year-olds on a run of disappointing results, this match can swing either way. I’ll lean towards the more experienced Latvian, the defending champion, to end her five-game winless streak and consign her opponent to her fifth straight loss.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Marta Kostyuk vs Ashlyn Krueger
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Another match that can go either way between two players who are meeting for the first time. Maria Kostyuk left Brisbane empty-handed last week, having failed to win in either the singles or doubles matches, and she’ll be hoping to do better in Adelaide, where she’s been a quarterfinalist in the last two editions.
Ashlyn Krueger has been quite busy over the last week, making it to the quarterfinal in Brisbane, but enters this event as a lucky loser after her three-set defeat to Katerina Siniakova.
While the American is on the cusp of debuting in the top #50, this is familiar territory for the Kostyuk, and she will be desperate to get her season back on track
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
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Anna Kalinskaya vs Belinda Bencic
Head–to–Head: Kalinskaya 0 vs 3 Bencic
Going by their head-to-head and recent form, the outcome of this encounter should only be a victory for a resurgent former champion, Belinda Bencic, who secured two solid wins in the qualifiers to get her season off to a great start.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Danielle Collins vs Ons Jabeur
Head–to–Head: Collins 3 vs 1 Jabeur
Since retiring from her Olympic quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek, Daniel Collins has failed to win a match in a season she contemplated retiring, yet won titles in Miami and Charleston.
Ons Jabeur hadn’t won a match since Wimbledon when she began her season in Brisbane, and she recorded three impressive wins before succumbing in a gallant defeat to Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinal.
This would have been a Collins pick on another day, but the Tunisian has more matches under her belt this season and should have enough to repel the American.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
