TennisSection previews the 2022 Australian Open as Jelena Ostapenko takes on Alison Riske in the second round on Wednesday, January 19th, 2022.
Will Jelena Ostapenko survive again after her close tussle in the first match? Or will Alison Riske get the win that maintains her recent good run of results Down Under? This will be a fascinating battle of styles in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Jelena Ostapenko came from behind to defeat a dogged Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in three sets to reach the second round of the Australian Open for just the fourth time. Ostapenko reacted well to losing an engrossing first set in a tiebreak. She struck 44 winners to 58 unforced errors as well as seven double faults. While those numbers proved sufficient to turn around the result against Schmiedlova, she might be hapless against an in-form Alison Riske here at the Australian Open.
Alison Riske, meanwhile, reached the final of the Adelaide 2 Open, losing to countrywoman Madison Keys in the title match. But she had a relatively cushy route to get there, benefitting from a couple of retirements, so her energy levels coming to the Australian Open were intact. And Riske did not expend a lot of ounces in dismissing Donna Vekic 6-2 6-2 in the first round. The 31-year-old American ruthlessly tore through the two sets against the Croatian who was extremely rusty whilst playing her first match of the year. Riske did not face a single break point, which bodes well for her upcoming match against Jelena Ostapenko at the Australian Open.
Jelena Ostapenko leads Alison Riske 1-0 in their head-to-head, winning their only meeting at the 2019 US Open in straight sets. Riske is brimming with confidence after a putting together a solid run to the final of the Adelaide Open, granted she had two retirements en route. I think Riske’s disciplined approach will bear fruits in this match, and I expect the higher-ranked Latvian to tumble at the 2022 Australian Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Alison Riske in 3 sets.
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