8. Bianca Andreescu
Australian Open 2020: Absent
Best result: 2R (2019)
Unable to train during the 14-day quarantine
Bianca Andreescu’s situation is similar to that described regarding Bencic, even worse if possible. Andreescu is still in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings (at number 8) thanks to the revised WTA tennis system that follow the “Best of 2019 and 2020” model. As a matter of fact, Bianca played no official matches in 2020. She was unlucky enough to be stuck in her hotel room due to the hard quarantine, and for a player who struggles with injuries this is less than ideal. It’s quite understandable that she withdrew from Melbourne 3. Our hope is that she is not suffering from some physical problem. We cross our fingers, because tennis fans have been waiting too long to be able to appreciate her extraordinary talent again.
7. Aryna Sabalenka
Australian Open 2020: 1R, defeated by Suarez Navarro
Best result: 3R (2019)
Aryna Sabalenka is the player of the moment. She won in Ostrava and Linz the two last events scheduled in the 2020 WTA calendar and she achieved another big result at the beginning of 2021 with the title won in Abu Dhabi. It means that she is on fire, but now she must prove that she will be able to play a top-notch tennis even during the majors. In the last two seasons, in fact, she achieved disappointing results in the most prestigious tournaments. She needs to reverse the trend, or the pressure of the Grand Slam will overwhelm her. A surprising defeat against Kanepi ended her 15-match winning streak at Melbourne 2.
6. Karolina Pliskova
Australian Open 2020: 3R, defeated by Pavlyuchenkova
Best Result: SF (2019)
The physical shape of Pliskova is not clear. The second half of 2020 was not exceptional for her. The final reached in Rome is an excellent result, but on the other side, she garnered unsatisfactory results in the two Grand Slams played after tour’s coronavirus hiatus in New York and Paris. She was in the main draw at Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open: she won against world N.278 Papamichail in the first round but was subsequently knocked out by N.292 Gasanova in the second round. The opening match won against Cocciaretto in Melbourne was more convincing; she then lost to Danielle Collins. During the Australian swing. she has the opportunity to prove that the new collaboration with Sascha Bajin can bring good results.
5. Elina Svitolina
Australian Open 2020: 3R, defeated by Muguruza
Best result: QF (2018, 2019)
The Ukrainian had a good season kick–off in Abu Dhabi: it is true that she was beaten by Kudermetova in the semi-finals, but in the previous rounds she won against good players such as Pegula, Zvonareva and Alexandrova. Last year, she reached the third round, losing her match against Muguruza (the event’s runner-up). Will she be able to achieve a real breakthrough and fulfil her Major potential in Melbourne?
4. Sofia Kenin
Australian Open 2020: Champion
Best result: Champion (2020)
After the quarterfinals reached in Abu Dhabi (defeated by Sakkari), Sofia Kenin starts the next Australian Open in a tough spot, as she is the reigning champion. Two very demanding weeks lie ahead for her. Unlike last year, she will be in the spotlight from the first round. On the other hand, however, we cannot forget that she proved that she feels comfortable playing in Melbourne Park.
3. Naomi Osaka
Australian Open 2020: 3T, defeated by Gauff
Best result: Champion (2019)
Before this week, Naomi Osaka had not played an official match since the final won at the 2020 US Open. After the match against Azarenka, she withdrew from the Roland Garros due to a thigh injury that occurred during the tournaments played on the American hardcourts. We saw her again on the court a few days ago in Adelaide’s exhibition against Serena Williams. Personally, I was not impressed: some timing problems on her shots and a bad performance on serve. In the two and a half sets played against Serena, in fact, she never tried to serve flat, but only kick. Did she eschew serving big in order to prevent an injury?
2. Simona Halep
Australian Open 2020: SF, defeated by Muguruza
Best result: Final (2018)
Like several other Top Tenners, Halep has not played any official matches since the 2020 French Open, where she lost to Swiatek, who would then be crowned the champion. Like Osaka, we saw her in Adelaide’s exhibition against Barty. After a first set in which Ashleigh seemed a little more attuned, she profited from her opponent’s dip to win the match. She was not highly effective, but her psychical shape seemed promising. At the Gippsland Trophy, she won two matches before losing badly against Alexandrova in the quarter finals.
1. Ashleigh Barty
Australian Open 2020: SF, defeated by Kenin
Best Result: SF (2020)
As a home player, Ashleigh Barty had an objective benefit: she did not have to quarantine and she was able to training without restrictions. On the other hand, she hasn’t played an official match for eleven months (28 February 2020 against Kvitova in Doha), and therefore she certainly is a little out of practice. In Adelaide, in the recent match against Halep, she played an excellent first set, at a really high level, but then she sagged a bit, increasing the unforced errors tally. In her native Slam, she must prove that she doesn’t’ suffer when she is under pressure. Last year, she was one of the favourites to win the title but she didn’t play at her best and lost the semi-finals against Sofia Kenin.
If there are no further withdrawal from the tournament just before the start, players seeded from 17 to 32 will be: Rybakina, Mertens, Vondrousova, Sakkari, Kontaveit, Brady, Kerber, Riske, Muchova, Putintseva, Jabeur, Vekic, Alexandrova, Wang Qiang, Zhang Shuai, Kudermetova. In this particular situation, it is almost impossible to guess which players could be in better phycho-physical condition and could achieve unexpected results despite what the rankings indicate.
Page 4 – who is the bookmakers favourite to win?
