Karolina Pliskova barged into the third round of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year with an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova on Thursday. Pliskova put forth an extreme masterclass, dominating Blinkova right from the get-go and finishing the match in just 59 minutes. She outhit Blinkova in the winners department, 24-10. In this tournament thus far, Pliskova is averaging a whopping 25 winners per match.
Next up for Pliskova is a round-of-32 clash with Jelena Ostapenko. Pliskova will fancy her chances in this third-round clash as she has fared extremely well against Ostapenko in the past. Pliskova defeated Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-1, in their lone meeting in the Cincinnati Masters last year. It’s paramount for Pliskova that she gets her first-serve going in this matchup. She won 86 percent of her first serve points in the win against Blinkova.
The dream lives on for Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian star moved into the third round of the 2017 Australian Open with a resounding 6-3, 6-1 win over Yulia Putintseva on Thursday. It was a fantastic performance by the 84th-ranked Ostapenko who needed just one hour and 12 minutes to record the straight-sets victory. With the win, Ostapenko reached the last 32 at Melbourne for the first time in her career.
Providing the impetus for Ostapenko’s victory was her excellent return. She converted seven of her 10 break point chances against Putintseva. In this tournament thus far, Ostapenko has converted 13 of her 24 break point opportunities for an incredible 54.2 percent success rate. She will need that same kind of performance against Pliskova who blasted nine aces in her win against Blinkova. For Ostapenko to continue her giant-killing ways this coming Saturday, she needs to find ways to limit her miscues. She hit a whopping 27 unforced errors in her win against Putintseva.
Ostapenko is 5-1 in her last six matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Pliskova (-650) eases past Ostapenko in straight sets.
Create a betting account now and get in on all the action of tennis’ first Grand Slam of the season: the 2017 Australian Open.
