Two seeded teams, Coco Gauff-Jessica Pegula and Ena Shibahara-Shuko Aoyama lock horns in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open on Thursday.
The American duo has already defeated a couple of seeded teams in the competition. They have lost just one set in the four matches they have played in the tournament thus far.
Gauff and Pegula began with an eventful win against Donna Vekic and Tereza Martincova in the first round. They followed it up with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 win against Xinyu Wang and Moyuka Uchijima in the second round. The second-seeded team beat the 16th-seeded team of Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato in the third round in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. The team of Pegula and Gauff produced a flawless display against Chan Hao-ching and Zhaoxuan Yang in the quarterfinals and won the one-sided encounter 6-1, 6-1.
The 10th-seeded team has also lost just one set in the competition thus far. They will be facing a seeded team for the first time in this year’s Australian Open.
Shibahara and Aoyama defeated the team of Xiyu Wang and Magda Linette with a gritty performance in the first round. They followed it up with a thumping win against Nadiia Kichenok and Kimberley Zimmermann in the second round. The match ended 6-2, 6-2 in favor of the Japanese duo. Shibahara and Aoyamawent on to edge past Elena Rybakina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (9-7). In the quarterfinals, they defeated the promising team of Anna Kalinskaya and Caroline Dolehide in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 with a polished display.
Prediction: Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to win in three sets.
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