Australian Open 2024: Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide
Date: January 17, 2024
Tournament: Australian Open 2024
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Prize Money: A$86,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports & Sony Liv | Canada - TSN & RDS
Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide preview
World No. 4 Coco Gauff will face Caroline Dolehide in the second round of the 2024 Australian Open on Wednesday.
Gauff commenced her quest for a second straight Major title against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The first set was quite the mess, with there being seven consecutive service breaks. The teenager gained the upper hand in the end to go 5-3 up and then served out the opener in the following game.
The second set played out in a completely different manner. Gauff dominated the set from start to finish as she dished out a bagel to start her run in Melbourne with a 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Dolehide, meanwhile, faced qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in her opener. The American was the better player in the first set as she broke her opponent's serve twice to claim it.
Dolehide landed the first blow in the second set as well to go 2-0 up. Jeanjean tried to make up for the deficit, but the American successfully kept her at bay to win the match 6-2, 6-4.
Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide head-to-head
Gauff leads Dolehide 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2020 Top Seed Open in straight sets.
Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff vs Caroline Dolehide prediction
The first set against Schmiedlova was quite the struggle for Gauff, but once she settled down, she didn't let her opponent back into the match. There was a huge difference in how she played in the two sets.
Gauff hit just five winners and committed 11 unforced errors in the first set. She cleaned up her act in the second set with 10 winners and just a couple of errors. The teenager also won 100 percent of her first serve points in the second set.
The win extended Gauff's unbeaten run to six matches this year, while it was also her eighth consecutive victory at the Grand Slam level. As for Dolehide, she has made a lot of progress in the past year. She reached her maiden WTA 1000 final at last year's Guadalajara Open but lost to Maria Sakkari.
However, Dolehide has had a shaky start to the new season. Her win over Jeanjean was just her second of the year. Gauff, on the other hand, is undefeated this year. On top of it, she has only lost to Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula in the last six months. Expect the teenager to continue her strong start to the year.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets.