Tamara Zidansek (Roland-Garros: Twitter)
World No. 149 Astra Sharma faces world No. 56 Tamara Zidansek in the round of 32 of the Thailand Open on Monday.
The Singaporean-born Australian tennis ace played an ITF event in Australia to start the new season. She managed to make it to the quarterfinals with wins against Suzan Lamens and Daria Snigur. At the Australian Open, she defeated Katharina Hobgarski in the first qualifying match but lost the second to Simona Waltert.
At the Thailand Open, the 27-year-old made it to the main draw after defeating Chompoothip Jundakate and Ellen Perez in straight sets in the qualifiers.
The Slovenian star is yet to win a match in the main draw of any competition this season. She comes into the tournament on the back of a 0-3 record in main-draw matches in 2023. Her new season began in the ASB Classic where Zidansek was comprehensively beaten by Lauren Davis in the first round. At Hobart International, Zidansek made it to the main draw after winning qualifiers against Zara Larke and Diane Parry. She lost to Ysaline Bonaventure in the round of 32.
At the Australian Open, the 25-year-old had a tough draw as she faced world No. 2 Ons Jabeur in the first round. However, Zidansek gave a good account of herself and managed to take a set off the Tunisian star. The match eventually ended 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-1 in favor of the two-time Grand Slam finalist.
Tamara Zidansek has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. She defeated Sharma in an ITF event in Australia in 2017.
Prediction: Tamara Zidansek to win in three sets.
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