Will the Latvian of all people stop Coco Gauff’s run?
Coco Gauff’s impressive run continues in the women’s singles at the Australian Open 2023. The American, who already won the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, at the start of the year with five straight 2-0 victories, also celebrated three 2-0 victories in her first three singles matches in Melbourne. With eight wins from eight singles matches, the American’s win in the duel between Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff is also a good bet
However, the Latvian, who already won a Grand Slam title at the 2017 French Open, has also played a very good tournament so far. The 25-year-old has lacked consistency for much of her career, but can beat any opponent on a good day. That makes the range of what is possible as a forecast for Jelena Ostapenko against Coco Gauff extremely wide.
It is clear that the direct duel between two players from the seedings, who are also both in the current top 20 of the WTA world rankings, can potentially be very close and exciting. In view of the fact that the match is likely to be a crystal-clear affair in favour of the American according to the bookmakers, we find all the more value in betting on the victory of the supposed outsider.
It would also be possible to boost the bet on Jelena Ostapenko with a positive handicap. However, since there are convincing odds for the direct bet, we accept the associated risk.
Jelena Ostapenko – Statistics & current form
Current ranking in the world ranking list: 17
Position in the seedings: 17
The 25-year-old Latvian Jelena Ostapenko stirred up the WTA Tour in a big way in the summer of 2017 when the then 19-year-old player won the women’s singles at the French Open completely out of nowhere.
After the current WTA world number 17 secured a Grand Slam in her very first singles title, the player from Riga remained largely quiet in the following years, winning only four more singles titles at smaller tournaments.
Won ten of the 17 singles titles at the Australian Open
The Latvian was also denied another strong run at Grand Slam tournaments. Only at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships did Jelena Ostapenko reach at least one more semifinal. At the Australian Open, she has only managed seven victories in seven appearances so far.
This year, however, the 25-year-old is knocking on the door again. With three victories, she took her Australian Open tally to ten wins against seven losses and, especially in the last two rounds, when she won the deciding set 6-0, she once again showed the aggressive carefreeness with which she unnerved all her opponents at the 2017 French Open.
Recently scored on 88% of all first serves
In general, Jelena Ostapenko, as she has proven several times in her career, can sweep just about any opponent off the court with her ultra-aggressive but rarely error-free game. However, it was not unusual for her to get in her own way mentally in good matches, which is why the betting odds on Jelena Ostapenko against Coco Gauff are clearly in favour of her American opponent.
And yet, in terms of play, the Latvian has an interesting complete package, which for the most part only lacked a more stable service. In view of the fact that she converted 23 of 26 first serves into points in her smooth 2-0 win in the third round – an impressive rate of 88% – there could well be a lot more in it for her in Melbourne this year…
Cori Gauff – Statistics & current form
Current position in the world ranking: 7
Position in the seedings: 7
Only 18 years young, American Coco Gauff is already being touted by many experts as the new Serena Williams, whose sister Venus Williams once defeated her at the tender age of 15 in the opening match of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.
Despite her young age, the player from Delray Beach, Florida, has already been on the WTA Tour since 2018 and has already recorded three tournament victories. The world number seven has also played in a Grand Slam final, but was defeated 2-0 by Iga Swiatek in the final of the 2022 French Open.
Won nine of the twelve singles at the Australian Open
Theoretically, there could be revenge against the Polish high-flyer at the Australian Open, where Coco Gauff’s three 2-0 wins at this year’s edition take her to nine wins from 12 singles matches. Before that, however, the American has to get the Latvian Grand Slam winner out of the way.
Jelena Ostapenko’s betting on the 18-year-old against Coco Gauff is almost a sure thing, given the odds offered by the bookmakers. However, the match will certainly not be a foregone conclusion for the American, especially as the young player from Florida has never made it past the fourth round of the Australian Open in three attempts.
Won all eight singles matches in 2023 without dropping a set
At least, however, the year’s record speaks unequivocally in favour of Coco Gauff, who already recorded five straight 2-0 victories at the preparatory tournament in Auckland, which she seamlessly followed up in Melbourne.
In total, the world number seven has won eight singles matches in 2023 without dropping a set. However, the truth is that Coco Gauff did not have to play an opponent in the current top 40 of the WTA world rankings in any of these eight matches…
Jelena Ostapenko – Cori Gauff Direct comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 0:1
The two players have faced each other in Austria before in 2019, when they played for the tournament title in the final of the Linz Open at a WTA International. Although every single set was very one-sided, the match went over three sets in the end, with Coco Gauff holding on to win 2-1 (6-3, 1-6, 6-2).
Jelena Ostapenko – Cori Gauff Tip
When it comes to Jelena Ostapenko against Coco Gauff, the prediction has to take into account the American’s spectacular start to the season, winning all eight of her singles matches in 2023 and going without dropping a set. However, the 18-year-old has yet to face an opponent from the current top 40 of the WTA world rankings. Consequently, things are likely to get much more serious in this round of 16 at the Australian Open, which Coco Gauff has never yet survived.
Although we also give the American the role of favourite, we think the Latvian has a valid chance of winning if she has a good day. Since Ostapenko’s win is already expected to be positive with a probability of 24%, we risk the supposed underdog bet in this case.
