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Match Details
Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (Q) Ella Seidel
Date: January 14, 2024
Tournament: Australian Open 2024
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Match timing: Approx. 9 pm local time, 10 am GMT, 5 am ET, 3.30 pm IST
Prize Money: A$86,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports & Sony Liv | Canada - TSN & RDS
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ella Seidel preview
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will begin her Australian Open title defense against German qualifier Ella Seidel on Sunday (January 14).
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Twelve months ago, Sabalenka embarked on a fairytale campaign at Melbourne Park that culminated in her maiden Grand Slam glory. For the rest of the year, the Belarusian reached four more finals, converting one in Madrid while losing at the US Open, Indian Wells and Stuttgart.
The 25-year-old also made it to the last four at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, showcasing remarkable consistency at Slams.
The World No. 2 has simply picked up from where she left off and made a fantastic start to 2024 last week in Brisbane. With wins over Victoria Azarenka and Daria Kasatkina, Sabalenka raced to the final before being stopped by Elena Rybakina. She should be eager to shake off that loss and start afresh at the Happy Slam.
The Belarusian faces unheralded opponent, Ella Seidel, to kick off things with. Born in Hamburg, the 18-year-old German has limited experience and is currently placed at a career-high world ranking of 172. She mainly plies her trade on the ITF circuit, where she has three singles titles and one doubles title.
The teenager upset eighth seed Elizabeth Mandlik, 19th seed Hailey Baptiste and Francesca Jones in the Australian Open 2024 qualifying rounds to book her maiden Grand Slam main-draw berth.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ella Seidel head-to-head
Sabalenka and Seidel have never squared off on the tour before. Hence, their head-to-head is currently tied at a 0-0 deadlock.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ella Seidel odds
(Odds sourced from oddschecker)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ella Seidel prediction
Sabalenka comes into this contest as an overwhelming favorite considering her vast experience and playing style. Her young opponent does possess some powerful groundstrokes and fighting spirit that was evident in her two three-set victories during the qualifying rounds.
However, the German also tends to overhit under pressure which could prove costly against an uber-aggressive player like Sabalenka. Seidel's first serve, too, has been an area of concern lately, coughing up a total of 24 double faults during the three matches of the qualifying rounds.
Sabalenka, on the other hand, has been one of the deadliest players on hardcourt in recent times with 79.2% winning percentage in service games on the surface. Although her movement could still be exploited, once Sabalenka enters the zone and finds her range, she is hard to stop.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets.
