Yulia Starodubtseva – Leila Fernandez. Forecast and announcement for the Aus Open match

Ukrainian Yulia Starodubtseva (WTA 100) and Canadian Leila Fernandez (WTA 31) will compete for a ticket to the second round of the Australian Open. The match will take place in the 1st start at the Kia Arena on January 12. The estimated time of the start of the meeting is 02:00 Kyiv time.

All the highlights of the match are available in Live mode Telegram Sport.ua

Sport.ua will conduct a video broadcast of the match.

Julia Starodubtseva

Yuliya Starodubtseva finished the last season on the rise, breaking into the top 100 of the world ranking, which was a significant achievement for the Ukrainian tennis player. Last year, she focused on the WTA tournaments, leaving the ITF competitions aside, which allowed her to raise her level of play.

Despite the progress, the end of the season turned out to be unsuccessful, with Starodubtseva losing five matches in a row, including an early withdrawal from the tournament in Oakland due to injury. Yulia’s best result in 2023 is reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Beijing, where she confidently overcame the opening rounds, but then could not impose a fight on more experienced opponents.

Leila Fernandez is one of the most promising tennis players of her generation. The Canadian has been in the top 50 of the world ranking since 2021, consistently showing high results at tournaments of various levels. She has three WTA hard titles to her credit, and the best result in her career is reaching the final of the US Open in 2021.

At the start of this season, Fernandez played several bright matches at the United Cup, defeating Donna Vekic (6:4, 6:3), but then succumbed to Coco Goff. At the tournament in Adelaide, Leila unexpectedly left the competition after the first round, losing to Kateryna Aleksandrova (4:6, 6:3, 2:6), making nine double faults.

Leila is distinguished by an aggressive style of play and excellent speed on the court. Despite her short stature, she is an excellent counterattacker and is able to dominate rallies thanks to her technique and accuracy of shots.

Ukrainian fans certainly hope for a sensation, but objectively the chances of Yulia’s success are small. Leila Fernandez has too serious an advantage in terms of class and Grand Slam experience.

The tennis players had not met each other before. Given the statistics of the last matches, it can be assumed that the game will end with a confident victory for the Canadian in two sets. At the same time, taking into account Yulia’s physical readiness, the match is unlikely to be delayed.

Our forecast: total games are less than 20. Bookmakers confirm this schedule: Fernandez is considered the favorite for the meeting.