Daria Kasatkina
8th seed Daria Kasatkina takes on Varvara Gracheva in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old did not have a memorable start to the season as she was ousted in the first round of the Adelaide International 1 by Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.
Kasatkina bounced back admirably and showed her quality at the Adelaide International 2. The fifth seed at the tournament finished runner-up after defeating the likes of Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova. Last year at the Australian Open, Kasatkina crashed out in the third round following a loss to Iga Swiatek. She equaled her best result in the competition. Kasatkina has the ability to go much deeper in the tournament and maybe this could be her year.
The Russian star has had a dismal start to the season so far. After ending last season with a run to the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 event in Limoges, Gracheva won her first qualifying match against Caroline Dolehide in the ASB Classic. Gracheva lost in her second qualifying match against Viktoria Kuzmova.
In the Hobart International, the 22-year-old lost her first qualifying match against Anna Blinkova without producing much of a fight. Gracheva has reached the second round of the Australian Open only once and it was in the 2021 edition of the tournament.
Daria Kasatkina has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. She defeated Gracheva in straight sets in the Phillip Island Trophy in 2021.
Prediction: Daria Kasatkina to win in straight sets.
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