The duel of the two WTA top talents

Actually, the exciting phase of Grand Slam tournaments only begins in the second week. Occasionally, however, there are already real highlight duels in the opening rounds. One such match will take place on Tuesday night in the second round of the women’s tournament. Two of the most talented players on the WTA Tour will face each other for the first time ever in an official match. And then on the biggest possible stage at the Happy Slam in Down Under.

The players have earned this eagerly awaited encounter thanks to very commanding opening victories. The Briton and the US-American surrendered only five games each in two straight sets and thus underlined their outstanding qualities, which logically makes it difficult to tip the outcome of the match between Raducanu and Gauff. We therefore tend to stay on the sidelines in the two-way market.

On paper, however, Gauff, who is two years younger, is still considered to have the better chances. This assessment is based primarily on the fact that the 18-year-old WTA youngster has not yet lost a single match in the current calendar year and has also demonstrated her skills on Grand Slam level on several occasions.

Unlike her lower-ranked opponent from Great Britain, Coco is still waiting for her first Grand Slam title. Therefore, it might even be an option to predict a close match between Raducanu and Gauff with a lot of games and the maximum distance.

Emma Raducanu – statistics & current form

Emma Raducanu will forever have her permanent place in women’s tennis history. In 2021, the Brit became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament since the Open Era began in 1968. At the tender age of 18, she dominated the US Open, not dropping a single set in the entire tournament, including qualifying. A new star, who could already attract attention for the first time by reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon 2021, was born!

In the meantime, the right-hander, who was actually born in Toronto, Canada, but plays for Great Britain, is 20 years old. However, she has not yet been able to make the big breakthrough in the world rankings. Although she climbed into the top ten in August 2022, she is currently ranked 77th. As a result, Raducanu is not seeded in the Australian Open and will now face a real big-calibre player in the second round.

Raducanu should never be underestimated

But the daughter of a Chinese and a Romanian has no need to hide in Down Under. The hard court suits her hard-hitting game from the baseline. Her serve is absolutely passable and on a good day she can free herself from the defence and switch to attacking play.

In the first round, the 20-year-old did not show any weakness at all and won against the German Tamara Korpatsch 6:3 and 6:2. In total, she had 13 (!) break opportunities during the match and was even more convincing with the opponent’s service games than with her own serve. Only 60% of her first serve came. She will certainly have to increase this number in the second round so that the higher odds on the supposed underdog pay off between Raducanu and Gauff.

Cori Gauff – Statistics & current form

Although Cori Gauff only celebrates her 19th birthday on 13 March, she is almost an old hand on the WTA by now. Back in 2019, she took part in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the age of 15. Her biggest success at this level so far came last season, when she reached the final of the French Open on clay. At the Australian Open, however, the maximum of emotions so far has been the round of 16 (2020).

Nevertheless, the super talent has already proven several times that she is a future Grand Slam winner. Three career titles have already been celebrated. In addition, the lady, who was born in Delray Beach, Florida, is currently ranked seventh in the world. In the meantime, she was already ranked fourth. As the seventh seed, another top ten lady will be waiting in the quarter-finals at the earliest. So it could go a long way!

Gauff will have to overcome difficult phases against Raducanu

The impressions so far in the 2023 tennis season could hardly be better. Coco has been on court six times in singles matches, always keeping the upper hand. Gauff won the preparatory tournament in Auckland easily and without losing a set. In round one, doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova did not stand a chance against the US player’s power.

The Grand Slam finalist from last year won the point in 77% of all cases when the first serve came, only allowing a single break and hitting a total of 24 winners. The 18 unforced errors, however, were still too high and need to be corrected for the second round match. Should this succeed, it is understandable in our eyes that lower odds are offered on the better-placed American between Raducanu and Gauff.

However, we do not believe in such an unchallenged success as in the opening match. After all, the Coco game is still subject to certain fluctuations, which may well be due to age. Consequently, a three-set match is definitely conceivable.

Emma Raducanu – Cori Gauff Direct comparison / H2H-balance

As mentioned at the beginning, Emma Raducanu and Cori Gauff are facing each other for the first time ever on the WTA Tour. For years to come, however, these two players could shape women’s tennis. The talent is certainly there.

Emma Raducanu – Cori Gauff  Tip

Because many German hopefuls had to pull out of the Australian Open in the first round, we are already looking at the real top duels of athletes from other languages in our tennis coverage.

The match between Raducanu and Gauff in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday certainly catches the eye. According to the betting odds, the US American is fairly certain to go into round three, but her British opponent is a feared opponent on the WTA Tour at the latest after her sensational triumph at the US Open in 2021.
Strictly speaking, two similar types of players face each other, who have good baseline strokes, like to set up their opponent from behind and then place a cracking winner. Since their strengths neutralise each other and both players left a very concentrated impression in the opening match, we even expect a match at eye level. With a slight advantage for the 18-year-old Coco Gauff.

However, our preferred approach is to tip between Raducanu and Gauff that at least 21 games will be played.