Expert
Daria Gavrilova will be out to improve on a disappointing start to the year when she takes on world no.97 Naomi Broady in the first round of the Australian Open. Join The Roar for live scores from around 9pm (AEDT).
Gavrilova was inconsistent at the Hopman Cup, and didn’t do much better at the Sydney International last week.
The most disappointing aspect of her Hopman Cup performance was losing to players she should have beaten comfortably in her first two matches.
Despite a victory against CoCo Vandeweghe and then dominating Donna Vekic during the first round of the Sydney event, Dasha was blown off the court by Johanna Konta in the second round.
Still, the local had a strong run to the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open, played on her preferred hard court, with a faster-paced game.
Broady hasn’t had a much stronger start to the season, the Briton bowing out at Auckland’s ASB Classic in the second round to Julia Georges – a match she lost in straight sets and should have at least competed in – before bombing out against Kateryna Bondarenko in qualifying for the Sydney International.
Broady, like Gavrilova, enjoys playing on the hard court but has never before played in the Australian Open, only making it out of the first round in one out of seven grand slam attempts.
The pair have previously matched up on two occasions, the most recent coming on the grass courts of Birmingham last year, where Broady took a tough, three-set win.
Their other meeting came back in 2012, on the hard court, with Gavrilova dominating in straight sets.
The winner of this match will take on either Ana Konjuh or Kristina Mladenovic in the second round.
Prediction
Gavrilova has the bigger serve, the more powerful game and is more consistent playing at the top level – she should dominate all over the court.
Gavrilova in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this first round Australian Open match from around 9pm (AEDT), at the completion of Grigor Dimitrov vs Christopher O’Connell, and don’t forget to add a comment below.
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