First quarter:
Ranked players: (1) Iga Šwiątek, (7) Marketa Vondrousova, (11) Jelena Ostapenko, (15) Veronika Kudermetova, (18) Victoria Azarenka, (19) Elina Svitolina, (27) Emma Navarro, (31) Maria Buzkova
Expected quarter-finals: Iga Swiatek – Elena Ostapenko
A black horse: Angelique Kerber
Analysis: Iga Swiatek is the favorite for the Australian Open, but she doesn’t have the easiest draw as she will face Sofia Kenin in the first round.
Swiatek could then face Angelique Kerber or Danielle Collins in the second round, followed by a fourth round where her most likely opponent would be Elina Svitolina or Veronica Kudermetova.
It won’t be easy for Swiatek: every opponent can cause problems.
On the other side of the table are Marketa Vondrousova, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko. Vondrousova ended 2023 unsuccessfully with three WTA finals losses. However, the Czech should be able to reach the fourth round given her performance last season when she was at her best.
In the 1/8 finals, she will most likely face Victoria Azarenka or Jelena Ostapenko. The first reached the semi-finals last year, the second reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Both tennis players lost to Elena Rybakina. Ostapenko now looks stronger than Azarenka and can also defeat Vondrousova in the 1/8 finals.
Ostapenko could become Swiatek’s opponent in the quarterfinals and this would become a problem for the Polish tennis player, who lost all 4 matches against Elena. Ostapenko could well win the fifth face-to-face.
Prediction for the quarter-finals: Jelena Ostapenko will beat Iga Swiatek.
Second quarter:
Ranked players: (3) Elena Rybakina, (5) Jessica Pegula, (12) Zheng Qingwen, (14) Daria Kasatkina, (22) Sorana Cirstea, (24) Angelina Kalinina, (26) Jasmine Paolini, (29) Zhu Lin
Expected quarter-finals: Elena Rybakina vs. Jessica Pegula
A black horse: Karoline Pliskova
Analysis: Rybakina, last year’s runner-up, will immediately face former world number one Karolina Pliskova at the start. However, Jelena is having an excellent start to the 2024 season and should be able to beat the Czech.
After that, Jasmine Paolini, Anna Blinkova and Tatyana Maria are among Rybakina’s potential opponents, and she will be able to reach the fourth round without any problems. She will most likely meet Daria Kasatkina, ranked 14th. Rybakina lost to Kasatkina in Adelaide, but Daria is unlikely to be able to beat Elena twice in a row.
On the other side of the table is Jessica Pegula, who has earned a reputation as a Grand Slam underdog. The American could face Zhu Lin, Emma Raducanu and Jin Qingwen in the first four rounds.
Although none of these matches will be fun, Pegula should advance to the quarterfinals, perhaps without dropping a set.
The American is expected to meet Rybakina in the quarterfinals and Elena should emerge victorious from this confrontation.
Predictions for the quarterfinals: Elena Rybakina will defeat Jessica Pegula.
Third quarter:
Ranked players: (5) Coco Gauff, (8) Maria Sakkari, (10) Beatriz Addad Maya, (16) Caroline Garcia, (20) Magda Linette, (23) Anastasia Potapova, (25) Elisa Mertens, (32) Leila Fernandez
Expected quarter-finals: Coco Gauff against Caroline Wozniacki
A black horse: Naomi Osaka
Analysis: US Open champion and fourth seed Coco Gauff will start the tournament against Anna-Karolina Schmidlova. Given the American’s form over the last 5-6 months, she should easily advance to the third round. There, she could face a strong challenge from Leila Fernandez, but it is likely that she will emerge victorious and advance to the fourth round.
Next, an interesting confrontation between Gauff and Caroline Garcia is expected, in which the American is considered the favorite.
Elsewhere in the draw are eighth seed Maria Sakkari, tenth seed Beatrice Aaddad Maia, 25th seed Elise Mertens and former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki. Sakkari is not consistent, but she should be able to advance to the fourth round.
Caroline Wozniacki is not the same tennis player as before, but she is still capable of playing good tennis like she did in the last US Open. The Dane could be Sakkari’s opponent in the round of 16 and there is every chance she reaches her first Grand Slam quarter-final in six years. It is unlikely that Wozniacki will have enough strength to fight Gauff.
Prediction for the quarter-finals: Gauff will defeat Wozniacki
4th quarter:
Seeded players: (2) Arina Sabalenka, (6) Ons Jabeur, (9) Barbora Krejcikova, (13) Lyudmila Samsonova, (17) Ekaterina Alexandrova, (21) Donna Vekic, (28) Lesia Tsurenko, (30) Wang Xinyu
Expected quarter-finals: Aryna Sabalenka vs. Ons Jabeur
Dark horse: Mirra Andreeva
Analysis: The current champion Aryna Sabalenka received a fairly favorable bracket in the first rounds. In the first round she will meet the winner of the qualification, then Lesya Tsurenko, Alexandra Sasnovich and Ana Bogdan could be her opponents.
In the fourth round, the likely opponent is Lyudmila Samsonova. Sabalenka has shown excellent tennis since the start of 2023, but Samsonova has not impressed at all so far, so Arina is expected to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The leaders of the other part of the grid are Ons Jabeur and Barbora Krejcikova. Although tennis players such as Mirra Andreeva and Ekaterina Alexandrova are able to fight against the favorites. But in any case, the most likely quarter-finalist remains Jabeur.
Jabeur is capable of playing excellent tennis on hard courts, but Sabalenka is the clear favorite. Arina is expected to advance to the semi-finals.
Predictions for the quarterfinals: Aryna Sabalenka will defeat Ons Jabeur.
Predictions for the semi-finals and finals of the Australian Open 2024
The first semi-final of the 2024 Australian Open is expected to be between Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko. Last year they played in the quarterfinals and Rybakina won. Probably, the situation will repeat itself and Rybakina will reach the final.
The second anticipated semi-final is a rematch of the US Open final between Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. The American now looks fit and is more than capable of competing with the Belarusian. However, if Sabalenka can maintain her aggression without making too many mistakes, there is a good chance she will reach her second consecutive Australian Open final.
The Australian Open final could be the same as in 2023. Rybakina confidently beat Sabalenka in Brisbane this season and could well do the same in Melbourne.
Final Forecast: Elena Rybakina will defeat Arina Sabalenka.
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
