There looks set to be plenty of entertaining tennis on day one at the Australian Open, with 29 first-round matches on the slate. As ever, we at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Kirsten Flipkens vs Venus Williams, Naomi Osaka vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Aryna Sabalenka vs Viktoria Kuzmova, Bianca Andreescu vs Mihaela Buzarnescu, Laura Siegemund vs Serena Williams and Greet Minnen vs Petra Kvitova. But who will reach the second round?

• Halep Vs Kenin Prediction Today
• Halep Vs Kenin Prediction Monday Night Football
• Halep Vs Kenin Prediction

2 Simona Halep is the top seed at Gippsland. Where she won the title by beating Sofia Kenin in the final. Semifinal prediction: Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka. Tennis prediction, matches, stats, results, picks, odds. TennisPrediction.com - tennis stats & tennis predictions offers you: stats, results, odds, competition.

Australian Open Day One Predictions

1. American World No.4 Sofia Kenin will battle Spanish World No.15 Garbine Muguruza for a semifinal spot in Yarra Valley Classic 2021. It will be a classic rematch of the Australian Open 2020 finale. And just what the fans want to see before the grand opening of the major tournament. Till now, the 22.
2. Williams, who turns 40 this year, has been stuck on 23 since winning the 2017 Australian Open, losing four finals since to remain one short of Margaret Court's record. But Evert believes Williams.

Yaroslava Shvedova vs Camila Giorgi

Jim: Camila Giorgi made a solid start to her campaign at the Yarra Valley Classic, beating Clara Burel 6-3 6-4, but then retired after losing the first set to Sofia Kenin in the second round. However, assuming that she has recovered from whatever injury problems she was having, she should have the beating of the veteran Yaroslava Shvedova.

Prediction: Giorgi in 3

Damian: One hopes for the best for Shvedova in her comeback but she doesn’t look ready for the biggest stages yet. Camila Giorgi can be extremely erratic but the conditions should suit her quite well and her power should be too much for Shvedova to take.

Prediction: Giorgi in 2

Yesh: Giorgi has always had the potential to be the top player in the world, but things have always gotten in the way. She can beat Shvedova if she finds her level and consistent, but the Kazakh is solid enough to let Giorgi beat herself here.

Prediction: Shvedova in 3
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Mayo Hibi vs Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova

Jim: Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova may have fallen short in the final round of qualifying, before earning her place in the main draw at the Australian Open as a lucky loser, but she has made a generally impressive start to the season nonetheless, continuing her strong finish to 2021. Expect that to continue at the expense of Mayo Hibi.

Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3

Damian: Schmiedlova might have been the one of these two who lost in the qualifiers, but she has so much more experience at Grand Slam level. Hibi could have some sort of stage fright and the Slovakian’s fantastic backhand should allow her to clean up.

Prediction: Schmiedlova in 2

Yesh: Hibi likes hard courts and can stick with most players from the baseline, but Schmiedlova should be good enough to eventually turn the points in her favor.

Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3
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Simona Halep vs Lizette Cabrera

Jim: There are some concerns around Simona Halep’s fitness after the Romanian withdrew ahead of her doubles quarterfinal in the Gippsland Trophy, having lost 1-6 2-6 at the same stage in the singles to Ekaterina Alexandrova. But the world #2 has stated that she should be ready for the start of the Australian Open and, in truth, even if she is not 100% fit, she should still be able to negotiate the challenge posed by wildcard Lizette Cabrera.

Prediction: Halep in 2

Damian: There is not much to say here ahead of what should be a rather clean and convincing victory for the two-time Grand Slam champion. There is nothing in Cabrera’s recent history (or in her loss to Varvara Gracheva last week) to suggest that she is ready to take out Halep.

Prediction: Halep in 2

Yesh: Halep is going to enter this match on a mission, looking to make a statement that she’s the player to beat in Melbourne. Expect a beatdown here.

Prediction: Halep in 2

Halep Vs Kenin Prediction Today

Katie Boulter vs Daria Kasatkina

Jim: Katie Boulter has been playing well enough lately to suggest that it will not be long before her ranking starts heading back in the right direction, with the Briton having begun 2021 ranked 365^th in the world. But Daria Kasatkina, slowly but surely, looks to be getting back to something approaching her best and should have just about enough craft and guile to edge out the 24-year-old Boulter.

Prediction: Kasatkina in 3

Damian: Boulter is coming back after an injury lay-off, but showcased a lot of her talent last week. With Kasatkina not exactly in her 2018 form, this is clearly an upset alert. The Briton is very talented and, hopefully, her issues are long gone and she can start realizing her potential.

Prediction: Boulter in 3

Yesh: Boulter is always a great story and the Brits love her, but Kasatkina is finally finding her form again, and has too much talent to let this match slip away.

Prediction: Kasatkina in 2

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Despite the global pandemic, the tennis season has been able to start in Australia, though under stringent restrictions. This brings us to the 2021 Australian Open, which begins a few weeks after it is usually slated. Who has the skill and temperament to go all the way?

2021 Australian Open Predictions

Women’s final prediction – Ash Barty vs Naomi Osaka

While the women’s game appears to pretty open at the moment, there are a few stars emerging from the pack. One of those is the Australian, World No.1, Ash Barty, whose all around game has her opponents in a whirlwind of pain. Her draw is relatively open, with many of her rivals in the bottom draw. Her main competition will come in the semis where she is likely to face Sofia Kenin, who beat her in the same round last year.

Naomi Osaka has a much tougher route to the final with Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep, and Garbine Muguruza all on her side of the draw. But she has the power and athleticism to blast through. The Japanese player has had enough match practice to be ready for the tournament, and is in good stead to make another Grand Slam Final.

The dark horse

In terms of dark horses, I am predicting Belgian Elise Mertens to do damage over the next few weeks. While she has always had a big game, her defensive skills in the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne were equally impressive. Mertens is going to be very formidable opposition to anyone she plays at the Open.

And the winner is…

As for the final, I am predicting a Barty win in three sets. Being the crowd favorite as this is her home Slam, this should give her the edge to take out the title.

Men’s final prediction – Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal

Another year gone and it appears not much has changed in the men’s game. Djokovic and Nadal (along with Federer) appear to play tennis in a different galaxy to the rest of the tour. It is true that the Austrian, Dominic Thiem, has considerably improved his level and become a genuine contender for Grand Slams, but for me, Djokovic and Nadal are still head and shoulders above the rest, especially when they are playing well.

An exciting match up

Jannik Sinner is an upcoming player with a big game, and good form heading into the Open. Unfortunately he has to overcome World No.11 Denis Shapovalov in the first round itself. Make no mistake, this is going to be a tough match. Whoever comes out the winner will be brimming with confidence and a tough match for anyone else in the draw.

Halep Vs Kenin Prediction Monday Night Football

And the winner is…

Djokovic. He’s won eight Australian Opens, and as far as I’m concerned, a ninth is just around the corner. If Nadal wants to win his second Australian Open, he will need to attack the lines with the same confidence as he does at the French. But in my eyes, Djokovic will take home the title.

Halep Vs Kenin Prediction

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