The speed differential will be repeated against Pliskova as the hard-hitting Czech seeks to overpower her opponents from the start. Siegemund reversed a 0-5 record against an admittedly rusty Coco Vandeweghe in the first round, winning in straight sets.ĭespite conceding 15mph on average serve speeds, she won an impressive 63% of points on second serve - the very time most opponents seek to drill the return for winners. Two players in glorious form with the German only having lost this year to Serena Williams at the top of her game in Auckland, and the Czech being undefeated in 2020. Best opportunity to cash in looks to be in a swift first set.īest bet: First set correct score groups - Halep 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2 at 11/10 ![]() Dart will scrap away but against the elite players with consistent rather than erratic power, they will just hit through her. Unless the wrist injury has flared up in the 48hrs since her last match, Halep should proceed without much fuss. The Darren Cahill-coached Romanian was ruthless on break points, converting five out of eight chances and kept her first serve high at 78%, pinning Brady back to the baseline on return, neutralising her biggest weapon. That match wa not without a scare though, with Halep falling and hurting her right wrist in the opening set.Īfter a lengthy medical time out at 6-5, she regrouped and won seven of the next eight games to close out the contest with minimal fuss. Halep defeated Jennifer Brady in round one, a top 50 player with a big forehand who shocked Ash Barty in Brisbane earlier this month. The plucky Brit has the benefit of four matches under her belt now after coming through qualifying but it is a huge step up from opponents ranked 194, 123, 150 and 82, to the dual Grand Slam-winning Simona Halep.ĭart's weakness at this level is power - it gets her through at ITF level but a second serve averaging 70mph will just get taken apart by one of the best returners in the women's game. Now she faces the challenge of playing on centre court against a big seed, something she will have experienced last year at Wimbledon when reaching the third round. ![]() ![]() That should exorcise any demons recalling her debut last year when she was double-bagelled by Maria Sharapova. Britain's Harriet Dart opened her account at the Australian Open by winning a nail-biter against Misaki Doi, overcoming a slow start to win in a third set tie-breaker.
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