Australian Open Day 2 Women's Predictions Including Sabalenka vs Martincova

The first round of the Australian Open wraps up on Day 2. We get to see 32 women’s matches across the grounds in Melbourne, in the more wide-open half of the draw. As always, we here at LWOT share our thoughts on all the matches with you. We split the day’s matches between eight different articles. Our other articles feature Daria Kasatkina vs Varvara Gracheva, Sorana Cirstea vs Yulia Putintseva, Karolina Pliskova vs Xiyu Wang, Anett Kontaveit vs Julie Grabher, Mayar Sherif vs Magda Linette, Leylah Fernandez vs Alize Cornet, and Ons Jabeur vs Tamara Zidansek. Predicting this set of matches are Jim Smith, Nurein Ahmed, and Shane Black. Who do you think will win?

Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Predictions

Lucrezia Stefanini vs Tatjana Maria

Jim:
Maria is something of a grass-court specialist, with the higher (and truer) bounce on hard courts not suiting her game as well. But she can still do some damage on faster courts. Stefanini, meanwhile, won just two games in the first round of qualifying in Auckland in two games. Unless she can find a much higher level, this should be a comfortable enough day at the office for Maria.
Prediction: Maria in 2

Nurein:Stefanini will be a tough qualifier for Maria. The Italian was an underdog in every match, but came through in the end. Still, the veteran’s experience will be decisive here.