Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Recap: Gauff, Andreeva & Swiatek feature

There was a packed day of women’s action on Day 2 of the Australian Open. Several title contenders, including French Open champion Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and teenage prodigy Mirra Andreeva all played in Melbourne. A former winner of the event was among those eliminated on the second day. We here at LWOT overview the most notable moments in this article.

Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Recap

Who Looked Good

Coco Gauff performed decently against Kamilla Rakhimova on Rod Laver Arena. Last year’s semifinalist prevailed 6-2 6-3, and broke her opponent six times. The 21-year-old’s second serve, her most frequent issue, was the only cause for concern. She double-faulted seven times, but Gauff will try to ensure that shot gets better with each round and does not put her in any danger of being knocked out by better players.

Mirra Andreeva had to show fighting spirit against Donna Vekic. She lost the opening set 4-6 despite not playing poorly. Vekic’s outstanding level caused that score. Andreeva kept her cool and took another high-quality set 6-3 to force a decider. The Olympic Silver Medalist collapsed from that moment, and the recent Adelaide International champion progressed 4-6 6-3 6-0.

Amanda Anisimova was not pushed as hard by Simona Waltert. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up never looked in any danger, and produced a solid display of her powerful hitting to triumph 6-3 6-2. Waltert’s level probably did about as well as she could have, and had a few nice moments on Margaret Court Arena. Anisimova is just a much superior player.

Victoria Mboko also dropped only five games. The National Bank Open champion was very impressive against 17-year-old home favorite Emerson Jones. Mboko triumphed 6-4 6-1, and demonstrated that Jones still has work ahead to compete against her when she is firing on all cylinders.

Alycia Parks exhibited outstanding resilience against Alexandra Eala. Noisy and passionate fans backed the Filipina on Court 6, and Parks could not initially handle the atmosphere. She looked down and out after losing the opening set 0-6. Incredibly, the 25-year-old recovered to prevail 0-6 6-3 6-2. Parks repeatedly defied Eala in crucial moments, saving 14 of 18 break points faced.

Who Looked Bad

Although Jessica Pegula is a better player, Anastasia Zakharova could have done a better job of challenging her. The 2024 US Open runner-up swiftly completed a 6-2 6-1 success after 66 minutes. Pegula deservedly has a reputation as one of the WTA’s best hard-court stars, but she did not need to play well to win so easily.

Emma Navarro was the highest-ranked player eliminated on Day 2. Last year’s quarterfinalist fell to the veteran Magda Linette despite looking in control after the opening set. All of Navarro’s victories in Melbourne 12 months were in the deciding set, but she seemed to run out of steam against Linette. The American lost 6-3 3-6 3-6.

2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin must have been disappointed with her performance against Peyton Stearns. The 27-year-old’s backhand, one of the best when it flows, leaked several unforced errors in both sets. That allowed Stearns to dominate with her forehand, and Kenin succumbed to a 3-6 2-6 defeat.

Match of the Day

Diana Shnaider’s battling triumph over 2024 Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova was a contender for match of the day. The young star struggled against her opponent’s craft in the opening set, dropping it 2-6, before producing much excellent hitting to win 2-6 6-3 6-3.

Surprisingly, Ann Li and Camila Osorio’s epic was superior to the other women’s matches. Li only needed one break in the first set to take it 6-4, with both women already playing much great tennis in those ten games. After both players held serve until 5-5 in the second, Li broke and then held two match points at 6-5 40-15.

But Osorio is one of the biggest fighters in tennis, and refused to throw in the towel. The Colombian saved those match points and then another before breaking for 6-6. She then took the tiebreak 7-5 to force a decider. Li responded strongly and led 5-2 in the third set. Once again, Osorio somehow scrambled her way back into the contest, including saving three more match points at 3-5, and leveled the score again.

From 5-5, Li courageously gathered herself in the final two games. Osorio saved one more match point at 5-6, but the American took her eighth opportunity to come out on top 6-4 6-7 7-5 after a remarkable contest (video here).