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| Match: Finished | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| A. Barty (AUS) (15) | 6 | 6 |
| L. Kumkhum (THA) | 2 | 2 |
| Completed Sets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Set won by A. Barty | 6 - 2 | A. Barty leads 2 to 0 |
| Set won by A. Barty | 6 - 2 | A. Barty leads 1 to 0 |
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Ash Barty’s Australian Open campaign kicks off tonight in her first round clash against Luksika Kumkhum on Margaret Court Arena. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7pm (AEDT).
Ashleigh Barty has enjoyed a successful Australian summer of tennis so far with a strong showing in the Hopman Cup and a second consecutive appearance in the final at the Sydney International, where she went down in a three set classic to Petra Kvitova.
Barty’s wins over higher ranked players, Elise Mertens, Kiki Bertens and world No.1, Simona Halep, on the way to the final will give her plenty of confidence leading into her home grand slam tournament.
Barty’s results at the Australian Open have been relatively modest to date, with her best results being 3rd round appearances in 2017 and 2018. With her seeding of 15, her goal will be firmly set on at least a second week appearance this year.
However, before she can do that, she needs to take care of her first round opponent, Luksika Kumkhum.
Kumkhum, from Thailand, has been on tour for a number of years but is currently ranked at a career high 66. This was no doubt helped along by two ‘125k Series’ tournament wins in Mumbai and, most recently in October, in Taipei.
She hasn’t played in Australia so far this year, with her last match a second-round loss at Shenzen to Vera Zvonareva in late December. Her best Australian Open result to date was a 3rd round appearance last year.
Prediction
Head to head is 1-1, however Kumkhum’s win in the second round of qualifying of Wimbledon in 2016 was against a very different Ash Barty. Their most recent match in Strasbourg on clay in 2018 went 6-4 6-4 to Barty.
Kumkhum is an aggressive style of player so we can expect many winners off her racquet. However, Barty has claimed some impressive scalps in recent weeks and we expect her to get her Australian Open campaign off to a good start.
Barty to win in straight sets.
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