Aryna Sabalenka will continue her 2024 Australian Open campaign against Lesia Tsurenko in a matchup that has some history.
This is a very interesting matchup because not only is it a great one on the courts, but it's also one that has some history off the courts. Sabalenka, as the defending champion, is widely expected to win this match, but there might be some added motive for Tsurenko.
The Ukrainian plays a very aggressive style and can hit the ball really well. She also has a history with Sabalenka as she endured a panic attack ahead of their Indian Wells matchup, which ultimately didn't happen as she withdrew.
The revelation of what happened came out later, with WTA Chief Steve Simon catching fire for some of his comments. Sabalenka was also criticized by Tsurenko's coach for her own stances, creating a rather unique air ahead of this matchup.
Head-to-head:
The H2H is not dominantly in Sabalenka's favor, but to be fair, they played only two times. The most recent match in Indian Wells wasn't played, so the only two they did play was in Indian Wells in 2019 when Sabalenka won 6-2 7-5 and in Hobart one year earlier when Tsurenko won 6-1 6-1.
It's been a while since those matches were played, but generally, the Belarusian should be on top here because she's by far the better player.
| Aryna Sabalenka | Lesia Tsurenko | |
| 1 | H2H | 1 |
| 2 | Rank | 33 |
| 25 | Age | 34 |
| 6-1 | 2024 W/L | 3-1 |
| 364-175 | Career W/L | 502-321 |
Prediction:
There is an overlap in styles of play, but Sabalenka is far more devastating with her power and her consistency. Tsurenko can make it interesting if she finds her best tennis, but I'm not too confident about that. I just think Sabalenka is on another level right now, with only a few players coming close to that.
Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka to win in two sets.
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