We’re into the third round of the Australian Open and we’ve already seen some seeded players pack their bags. Here Damien Kayat previews Paula Badosa vs Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva vs Dianne Parry.
2024 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Australian Open
Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Selected Third Round Matches
19th January
Paula Badosa 63/100 | Amanda Anisimova 12/10
I did have the feeling that Paula Badosa would be a dangerous lurker this year. The former World No.3 has suffered massive injury issues over the past 18 months or so. Her first-round defeat in the Adelaide International marked her first competitive appearance since Wimbledon last year!
I also think that both she and partner Stefanos Tsitsipas got caught up in their power-couple status last season. In any event, Badosa at full fitness is a really dangerous proposition. She serves exceptionally well and hits the ball solidly off both wings.
She started this year’s Aussie Open in dominant fashion, blowing American Taylor Townsend off the court in no time. But her second-round victory really captured the imagination. She took down experienced dark horse Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in commanding fashion, winning 83% of her first-serve points and hitting more winners than unforced errors.
The Spaniard reached the 4th round here in 2022 and she will feel confident of emulating that performance this year.
Amanda Anisimova is also on the comeback trail though for entirely different reasons. The 22-year-old American- who reached a French Open semi-final in 2019- took some time away from the game to focus on her mental health. But there is no denying her talent.
She won her second career title in this neck of the woods (the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 2). She was on the end of a fairly embarrassing exit at the ASB Classic but she hasn’t let that deter her in the first slam of the season.
She upset big-hitting Samsonova in her first match before a routine win against Podoroska. Her performance against Podoroska was all the more amazing because her serve- usually a major weapon- wasn’t really operating. She served six double-faults and only won 59% of her first-serve points. Those numbers will need to improve against an elite returner like Badosa.
Verdict: Badosa to win in straight sets at 14/10
This will actually be the first career meeting between these two. Anisimova’s serve needs to improve dramatically if she wants to continue her run in Melbourne. Those numbers against Podoroska were pretty ordinary and Badosa looks like she means business. The Spaniard is riding a real wave of goodwill this week and I can see her dominating this match from the word go. Her serve looks formidable and Anisimova’s looks pretty vulnerable. A straight sets victory for Badosa is the player here.
Mirra Andreeva 1/11 | Diane Parry 6/1
Mirra Andreeva has to be one of the most exciting young talents in world tennis. The 16-year-old Russian made significant waves last year, reaching the third round of the French Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
That performance at the All-England Club was reminiscent of Coco Gauff’s breakthrough campaign there a few years back. She ended the year ranked inside the top 50 in the world and she just continued that momentum in 2024.
She reached her maiden WTA quarterfinal in Brisbane and she has absolutely breezed into the Aussie Open third round (continuing her excellent Grand Slam form). She dismissed Pera with minimal fuss in her opener before a second-round demolition of her idol Ons Jabeur.
An adept counterpuncher, Andreeva forced the Tunisian into a slew of errors with her depth and consistency of shot. That routing made Andreeva the youngest player in the Open era to bagel a top-ten player in the first set of a Slam. That tells you all you need to know about her current trajectory.
21-year-old Frenchwoman Diane Parry will feel positively ancient in comparison to her third-round opponent. But she will know something about being a young superstar. She created a stir by winning a main-draw match at the 2019 French Open as a 16-year-old.
But she has battled to break through since then and has largely plied her trade on the ITF circuit. She did create one of the biggest upsets on the 2023 tour, beating defending French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova en route to the third round in Paris.
Parry reached the quarters in Auckland and she has looked solid in Melbourne. She saw off 30th seed Wang in her opener before an authoritative second-round win against Rakhimova.
Verdict: Andreeva to win in three sets at 36/10
Andreeva comfortably dealt with Parry when they met for the first time at Roland Garros last season. I think that most people will probably opt for a straight-sets Andreeva win in the aftermath of that Jabeur massacre. But I think you have to take into consideration how poor Jabeur was in that match. 16-year-old players aren’t renowned for consistency and I wouldn’t be surprised if she dips a bit at some point in this match. Still, she should have the class to see off the plucky Parry in three.
