Second round singles action begins on Wednesday in Melbourne.
On Day 4, three-time Major finalist Ons Jabeur is on upset alert, as she’ll be challenged by 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who at such a young age has already achieved some strong results. Other WTA action features Major champions Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Caroline Wozniacki. And the 2021 Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on 2021 Indian Wells champ Paula Badosa.
On Day 1, 10-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic played the longest first round match of his Grand Slam career, overcoming an imposing 18-year-old in Dino Prizmic, as well as a wrist injury. In the second round, how will he bounce back against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin? Andrey Rublev survived an even bigger scare in his opening round, winning in a fifth-set tiebreak. On Tuesday, he faces one of 2023’s biggest breakout players, Christoper Eubanks. Plus, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas will also play their second round matches.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Ons Jabeur (6) vs. Mirra Andreeva – 12:00pm on Rod Laver Arena
Despite battling multiple injuries throughout 2023, Jabeur still managed to collect 36 match wins, as well as reach her third Major final at Wimbledon. But the Australian Open remains her worst Slam, where she is just 8-6 lifetime. A year ago, an injured Ons lost in three sets to Marketa Vondrousova in the second round, in a preview of the Wimbledon final later in the year.
It was only 12 months ago when Andreeva was the runner-up in girls’ singles at this event. Then in her first three WTA tournaments of the year, she reached the third round or better. And they were three of the biggest tournaments of the year: Madrid, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon. Like Ons, Mirra possesses lots of variety in her game, with plenty of moxie to go with it.
However, as per Tennis Abstract, Andreeva is 0-4 against top 10 opposition. While she’s yet to pull off such a victory, it feels only a matter of time until she does. And I would not be surprised if that time comes on Wednesday.
Paula Badosa vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Not Before 1:00pm on Court 6
After a career-best year in 2021, Pavlyuchenkova missed almost all of 2022 due to a knee injury. Upon returning in 2023, she impressively made another run to the Roland Garros quarterfinals, with a trio of three-set victories over top 30 players. Anastasia is also a three-time quarterfinalist in Melbourne.
After a career-best year in 2021, Badosa went all the way to No.2 in the world in the spring of 2022. Then injuries derailed much her of 2023 season, as her first round loss last week in Adelaide was her first match in six months. Paula reached the round of 16 in her last appearance here two years ago, but is only 5-4 at this event.
In their first career meeting, Pavlyuchenkova should be favored. She’s the more in-form player, and her victory over 21st seed Donna Vekic in the first round was a strong message regarding her current level.
Christopher Eubanks vs. Andrey Rublev (5) – Last on John Cain Arena
Rublev let a two-sets-to-love lead slip away on Sunday, before eventually prevailing in a fifth-set tiebreak. He’s off to a 5-0 start to the year, after winning the title in Hong Kong two weeks ago. The No.5 player in the world is still vying to move beyond the quarterfinals of a Major, a round in which he is now 0-9.
Eubanks made a Slam quarterfinal of his own last year at Wimbledon, which was quite a surprise for a player who just a few months prior had never been ranked inside the top 100. But after reaching the quarters of Miami as a qualifier last March, he won a grass court title in Mallorca, and was just a set away from beating Daniil Medvedev in the Wimbledon quarters. Chris came into this event on a five-match losing streak, yet earned a straight-set victory over recent Auckland finalist Taro Daniel in the first round.
In another first-time encounter on the day, Rublev is the favorite despite Eubanks’ strong serving prowess. Andrey is the much more experienced player at this level, and should play a bit more freely after his first round escape in five sets. And he is 14-0 in his last 14 second round matches at Majors.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Alexei Popyrin – Last on Rod Laver Arena
Djokovic is now 90-8 lifetime at this event, and has not lost here since the fourth round in 2018 at the hands of Hyeon Chung. But the wrist injury he brings into this fortnight remains a concern, and while his teenage opponent on Sunday player very well, Novak was clearly not at his best. However, he has not lost a second round match at a Major since seven years ago at this tournament, when he went down in five to Denis Istomin.
Popyrin is a 24-year-old Australian who has advanced to the third round of his home Slam three times within the past five years. He won 36 matches last season at all levels, and was the champion of Umag on clay. Alexei has a big serve and forehand, and is pretty quick for a player who stands at 6’5”.
When they played five years ago in Tokyo, Djokovic comfortably prevailed 6-4, 6-2. The 24-time Major champion is again the big favorite on Wednesday, though just how comfortably he may prevail is the big question considering his wrist issues.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Caroline Wozniacki (WC) vs. Maria Timofeeva (Q) – In her return to the Australian Open on Sunday, the 2018 champion was up a set and a break when she received a retirement from 2023 semifinalist Magda Linette. Timofeeva is a 20-year-old qualifier who took out Alize Cornet in the first round to earn her first career win at a Major.
Jannik Sinner (4) vs. Jesper de Jong (Q) – Sinner defeated Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in the first round. De Jong is another qualifier who gained his first victory at a Slam this week, at the age of 23.
Caroline Dolehide vs. Coco Gauff (4) – Gauff extended her winning streak at Majors to eight on Monday, and she’s 1-0 against Dolehide, a fellow American who is just 2-8 lifetime at Slams.
Brenda Fruhvirtova (Q) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka extended her winning streak at the Australian Open to eight on Sunday, dropping only one game. Fruhvirtova is a 16-year-old whose older sister Linda reached the fourth round here a year ago.
Jordan Thompson vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) – Tsitsipas came back from a set down on Monday to prevail, in spite of a wrist injury. Thompson survived a five-setter in his opening round, and was a semifinalist two weeks ago in Brisbane, where he upset Rafael Nadal. Stefanos is 2-1 against Jordan, though the Australian beat the Greek last March at Indian Wells in their most recent encounter, which went to a final-set tiebreak.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
