3rd seed Jessica Pegula and 24th seed Victoria Azarenka square off against each other in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old has made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third consecutive time. This match against Azarenka will also be her second consecutive quarterfinal appearance at a major.
Pegula has won all her matches in straight sets so far. She defeated Jaqueline Cristian with ease in the first round. In the second round, Pegula got the better of Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). The third-round clash with Marta Kostyuk was another one-sided affair that Pegula won 6-0, 6-2. The American star defeated the experienced Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round and booked her ticket to the quarterfinals.
The 33-year-old has been one of the most prolific players in Melbourne over the year. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open and has used her experience splendidly in this year’s edition.
Azarenka began her campaign with another former Grand Slam champion in Sofia Kenin. The former won the match in two competitive sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Azarenka followed it up with a comprehensive win against Nadia Podoroska in the second round. 10th Madison Keys took on Azarenka in the third round. After dropping the first set without much of a fight, Azarenka completely outplayed Keys in the next two sets to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. In the fourth round, the Belarusian once again came back from a set down to defeat Lin Zhu 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The head-to-head scoreline is intriguingly poised at 2-2. Pegula won their last meeting in straight sets at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.
Prediction: Jessica Pegula to win in three competitive sets.
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