Ons Jabeur and Mirra Andreeva will meet in a fascinating second-round matchup at the 2024 Australian Open.
What can you even say about MIrra Andreeva that hasn't been said before? She's been absolutely amazing ever since breaking out in May of last year. The 16-year-old now cruised in her first-round match at the 2024 Australian Open and now looks at Ons Jabeur.
As strong of a player as Jabeur has been in her career and as strong as her first-round match was, she's not the overwhelming favorite here, because this matchup on paper is fairly close, and it mostly comes down to how the two play on the given day.
Head-to-head:
The Russian has a very interesting playstyle that is sensationally great at extracting errors from her opponent. She has some nice angles and is able to fire many balls back, which the hyper-aggressive Jabeur will attack.
It sounds good on paper, but the world no. 6 has played herself out of the matches before. Even in her first-round match in Melbourne, she didn't mesmerize from the baseline but rather capitalized on the errors of her opponent, who produced even more than her.
That won't happen with Andreeva, so this should be pretty close. Who wins remains to be seen, but Jabeur's lack of matches isn't a positive either.
| Mirra Andreeva | Ons Jabeur | |
| 0 | H2H | 0 |
| 47 | Rank | 6 |
| 16 | Age | 29 |
| 4-1 | 2024 W/L | 1-0 |
| 78-19 | Career W/L | 429-232 |
Prediction:
Andreeva can be beaten, but Jabeur will need to be consistent with her. Her variety and baseline play is good enough, but not if she hits four unforced errors for every winner.
She needs to be really aligned with and serve well, which was the case in round one. That could be one thing that gives her the upper hand in most rallies, but this is not your typical round-two matchup at a Grand Slam.
Andreeva is already one of the better players capable of beating anyone, so it will require Jabeur to be at her best.
Prediction: Mirra Andreeva to win in three sets.
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