Can the German number one make it exciting?
For the first time ever, current German number one Jule Niemeier has qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open. In Down Under, however, the player from Dortmund was unlucky with her draw. The 23-year-old is up against top seed Iga Swiatek, who is one of the big favourites for the overall victory. It is therefore almost impossible to bet on Iga Swiatek against Jule Niemeier that the German will advance to the next round.
However, it should be noted that Jule Niemeier already met the eventual tournament winner Iga Swiatek in the last 16 at the US Open 2022 and took the first set from the Pole with a very strong game. In the end, she lost 1:2. Nevertheless, this only direct duel between the two women must be taken into account in the forecast for the Australian Open rematch between Iga Swiatek and Jule Niemeier.
The fact is that a win by the 23-year-old German would be an absolute sensation. But it is also a fact that Jule Niemeier already won a total of ten games against Iga Swiatek in three sets over 90 minutes at the US Open. Accordingly, we find it interesting to bet that the Dortmund player will also win at least seven games in total at the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2023 season
Iga Swiatek – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 1
Position in the seedings: 1
After an absolutely exceptional year in 2022, the only 21-year-old Polish Iga Swiatek has now been ranked number one in the WTA World Ranking since 4 April 2022. That’s a total of 41 weeks, which puts her in 13th place on the all-time best list. Even ahead of players like Angelique Kerber (34 weeks) or Naomi Osaka (25 weeks).
The Pole won two Grand Slam tournaments (French Open and US Open) and four other Major titles at WTA 1000 tournaments (Qatar Open, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open and Italian Open) in the 2022 season.
Heavy defeat at United Cup
Although it was only enough for Iga Swiatek to reach the semifinals at the WTA Finals. With a yearly record of 67 wins against nine losses and a phenomenal win rate of 88%, the 21-year-old nevertheless had a thoroughly impressive winter break.
The start to the new season was also quite satisfactory at first. The Pole took part in the United Cup at the beginning of the year and with three singles victories and two wins in the doubles together with Hubert Hurkacz she played a decisive role in Poland’s entry into the semifinals. However, in the clear 0:5 defeat against the USA, Iga Swiatek also lost her singles match against Jessica Pegula.
How quickly will the Pole be back to 100%?
The 2:2 defeat against the American (2:6 and 2:6) also showed that the world number one was suffering from a tennis break with a subsequent focus on physical and conditional elements. The consequence was her withdrawal from the Adelaide International, for which she had actually been entered as top seed last week.
It is true that the betting odds on Iga Swiatek against Jule Niemeier are heavily in favour of the Pole. Nevertheless, the three-time Grand Slam winner has to find her rhythm again and may be particularly vulnerable in the first few weeks of the season. It is not without reason that she has lost the most singles matches of all four Grand Slams at the Australian Open (four).
Jule Niemeier – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world rankings: 68
Position in the seedings: unseeded
If you open the WTA world rankings and scroll down accordingly, 23-year-old Jule Niemeier is currently the highest-ranked player from Germany. Accordingly, the draw for the women’s singles at the Australian Open 2023 was eagerly awaited after the player from Dortmund made it into the main draw for the first time in her career.
The German number one could not have drawn a more difficult draw. On the positive side, however, she can only win in this duel and, as a gross underdog against her opponent who is two years younger than her, she cannot lose.
Awesome win against Iga Swiatek at the US Open 2022
This was exactly the attitude with which Jule Niemeier, who played a total of 26 rated singles on the WTA Tour in the 2022 season and still managed to win half of all her matches, played the last 16 of the US Open 2022 against Iga Swiatek.
All experts expected the favoured Pole to completely dismantle another opponent. Instead, the woman from Dortmund not only won the first set 6:2, but also won four games in the second set at 4:6. It was not until the third set that the 23-year-old’s resistance was broken at 0-6.
Two games and two 2-0 defeats at the United Cup
However, this duel also showed that late starter Jule Niemeier, who played her first three Grand Slams last year and even surprisingly reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, can definitely keep up with the elite on the WTA Tour. Accordingly, the betting on Iga Swiatek against Jule Niemeier is that she will win at least seven matches in Down Under against the Polish world number one.
Admittedly, the 23-year-old’s start to the year was not really impressive. Jule Niemeier also made an appearance at the United Cup, but lost both her singles matches against Czech Marie Bouzkova (WTA 24) and American Madison Keys (WTA 11) 0:2.
Iga Swiatek – Jule Niemeier Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 1:0
The oft-cited Round of 16 match at the 2022 US Open was the first and only meeting between Iga Swiatek and Jule Niemeier so far. After the Dortmund player won the first set, the Pole made it a 2-1 comeback win (2-6, 6-4, 6-0).
Iga Swiatek – Jule Niemeier Tip
With this in mind, a big surprise in the very first round should not be ruled out in the prediction for Iga Swiatek against Jule Niemeier. After all, the German was already very strong against the supposedly overpowering Polish player in Flushing Meadows.
The betting options that aim for a rather long match or that calculate a certain minimum number of games won for Jule Niemeier are correspondingly interesting. Even in the case of a defeat in two sets, seven won games are realistic in our eyes, which is why we favour this tip.
