Australian Open Day 7: Women's singles predictions ft. Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova
The 2023 Australian Open is gradually reaching its latter stages as the fourth round will begin on Day 7 (January 22).
Four women's singles matches will take place with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek taking on Elena Rybakina, while third seed Jessica Pegula will lock horns with Barbora Krejcikova. Seventh seed Coco Gauff will take on Jelena Ostapenko while two-time champion Victoria Azarenka will face Zhu Lin.
On that note, let's take a look at the predictions for the women's singles matches on Day 7 of the year's first Grand Slam:
#1. Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina
Iga Swiatek will be up against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina for a place in the quarterfinals. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Swiatek winning their previous encounter which came at the 2021 AGEL Open in Ostrava.
The Pole had a dream of a season in 2022 and has started 2023 strong, winning six out of seven matches so far. At the Melbourne Major, she registered straight-sets wins over Jule Niemeier and Camila Osorio before thrashing Cristina Bucsa 6-0, 6-1 in the third round.
Swiatek will not have it easy in the fourth round as she will be up against a tricky competitor in Elena Rybakina. While the Kazakh has won only 16 out of 27 matches since her Wimbledon triumph, she has produced some decent performances. Rybakina beat last year's Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to book her place in the fourth round.
That said, Swiatek is in red-hot form at the moment and should not have much trouble beating Rybakina.
Predicted Winner: Iga Swiatek.
#2. Jessica Pegula vs Barbora Krejcikova
Third seed Jessica Pegula will face 20th seed Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round of the Australian Open. It will be the very first meeting between the two and Pegula will enter the match as the favorite to win.
The American, who has won all but one of her matches in 2023, is among the title favorites at this year's Australian Open. She has won all of her matches at the Asia-Pacific Major in straight sets, dropping only 11 games so far.
Krejcikova made a singles resurgence towards the second half of last season by winning back-to-back titles in Tallinn and Ostrava, where she beat Iga Swiatek in the final. The Czech has done well in Melbourne so far and is yet to drop a set.
However, Pegula has produced some brilliant performances in recent months and should be able to beat her to reach the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the third consecutive year.
Predicted Winner: Jessica Pegula.
#3. Coco Gauff vs Jelena Ostapenko
Seventh seed Coco Gauff will be up against Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the Australian Open. It will be the second meeting between the two players, with Gauff winning their previous encounter, which came in Linz in 2019.
The 18-year-old started the 2023 season by winning the ASB Classic in Auckland without dropping a single set. She carried her good form into the Australian Open and reached the fourth round following straight-set wins over Katerina Siniakova, Emma Raducanu and Bernarda Pera.
Ostapenko did not have the best of starts to the 2023 season as she suffered early exits in both tournaments in Adelaide. The Latvian has had a good run at the Australian Open and reached the fourth round with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-0 win over Kateryna Baindl.
While Ostapenko is well capable of causing an upset, it's hard to see Gauff lose with her recent run of form.
Predicted Winner: Coco Gauff
#4. Victoria Azarenka vs Zhu Lin
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka will face Zhu Lin in the fourth round of the Australian Open in what will be the very first meeting between the two players.
Azarenka began 2023 by reaching the quarterfinals of Adelaide International 1 before losing in the opening round of Adelaide International 2. The former World No. 1 reached the third round of the Australian Open following straight-sets wins over Sofia Kenin and Nadia Podoroska. Here, she came back from a set down to beat 10th seed Madison Keys 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 and book her place in the fourth round.
Zhu Lin reached the third round of the Australian Open following wins over Rebecca Marino and Jil Teichmann. Here, she scripted one of the upsets of the tournament by defeating sixth seed Maria Sakkari 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4.
While the Chinese will be in good spirits after beating Sakkari, Azarenka's experience and mental toughness should see her reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2020 US Open.
Predicted Winner: Victoria Azarenka.