Australian Open 2020: Simona Halep vs Yulia Putintseva, match preview and prediction
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev will both be in action at the Rod Laver Arena on Day 6 of the Australian Open 2020, while in the women's singles competition, Karolina Pliskova will square off against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Former world no. 1 Simona Halep will be hoping to make it through to the fourth round when she takes on Kazakh Yulia Putintseva in the first session.
The Romanian, currently seeded fourth, fell to Serena Williams in her fourth-round clash at Melbourne Park last year, but has looked capable of advancing further this time around despite having to sweat it out against Jennifer Brady in the first round.
Halep then managed to overcome Harriet Dart without expending as much energy and will be taking on an in-form Putintseva who breezed through her first-round match with a facile win over Su-Wei Hseih before dropping a set to defeat Danielle Collins.
To her credit, the Kazakh does have a couple of wins against defending champion Naomi Osaka - the more notable of the two being at Wimbledon last year.
Putintseva has the ability to ensure that Saturday's third-round clash will not be a one-sided affair, but the 25-year-old will find it hard to match Halep's superior speed and anticipation - not to mention the fearsome baseline skills of the former French Open and Wimbledon champion.
The 27-year-old from Romania has what it takes to go all the way at Melbourne Park and very nearly did so a couple of years back, but was beaten by Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
Prediction: Halep, who has yet to drop a set in the 2020 Australian Open, has the quality to snuff out Putintseva's resistance and should prevail in a closely-fought two-setter.
Here is all you need to know about the Australian Open 2020 schedule:
Tournament Name: Australian Open 2020
Date: January 20 - February 2, 2020
Category: Grand Slam
Location: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize Money: A$ 71,000,000
Time: Simona Halep vs Yulia Putintseva on Rod Laver Arena not before 7 a.m IST on 25 January 2020
Where to watch Australian Open 2020?
USA - ESPN and ESPN2
UK and Europe - Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD
India - Sony Six, Sony Ten 2, Sony Six HD and Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3 (matches with Hindi commentary)
Live stream details for Australian Open 2020
Australian Open 2020 live stream is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
The matches can also be streamed live on SonyLiv.
For regular updates and match highlights, stay tuned to Australian Open TV.