Sakkari and Shnaider will take on each other in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 18.
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Maria Sakkari defeated world no. 117 Yuan Yue with ease in a 6-1, 6-4 victory to bounce back from her shocking United Cup loss to Martina Trevisan. While winning 87% of the time after her first serve, the sixth seed appeared upbeat. She has now prevailed in 11 of her last 14 games, including five victories in the top 20. The two-time major semifinalist has advanced to the third round of the Australian Open four times in the previous six seasons, and in two of the previous three, she has reached the last 16. With 29 victories on hard courts since the start of the previous season, including three finals, she is a dependable hard-court player.
In her professional debut at the Australian Open, Diana Shnaider has so far avoided dropping a set. The 18-year-old defeated former world no. 71 Kristina Kucova, 7-6, 7-5, after saving a set point in the tiebreak and coming back from 2-5 in the second set to secure her tour-level main draw debut in her fourth qualifying attempt. Over the past year, the Russian teen has kept busy. In addition to propelling her professional transition with five titles, including W60 Istanbul and 125K Montevideo, she won her second and third Slam junior doubles championships in Melbourne and New York. She was ranked in the 870s in February and will soon make her top 100 debut.
| Sakkari vs Shnaider | Match details |
|---|---|
| Date | January 18, 2023 |
| Surface | Hard courts |
| Tournament | Australian Open |
| Stage | Second Round |
| Time (India) | TBD |
| Time (Australia) | TBD |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Yue Yuan | 6-1, 6-4 (W) |
| Caroline Garcia | 6-3, 6-2 (L) |
| Ons Jabeur | 6-2, 6-3 (W) |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 6-2, 6-4 (W) |
| Jessica Pegula | 7-6, 7-6 (W) |
| Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Kristina Kucova | 7-6, 7-5 (W) |
| Anastasia Tikhonova | 6-2, 6-1 (W) |
| Robin Montgomery | 6-4, 6-4 (W) |
| Joanne Zuger | 7-5, 6-0 (W) |
| Jacqueline Cristian | 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 (L) |
0-0. Since the pandemic, Maria Sakkari has lost five games to players outside the top 100, three of which were major tournament losses. Although she will undoubtedly be the favourite, this does not give the teenager a pass to ignore her rapid ascent. In her first top 50 matchup, Diana Shnaider is going for her first top 80 victory.
Sakkari and Shnaider will take on each other in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 18.
Australia – Nine and Stan Sport
Canada – TSN and RDS
India – Sony Sports Network
UK – Eurosport
USA – ESPN Network
The matches of both men’s and women’s can be live-streamed on demand on the Tennis TV app and website.
