The Australian Open 2025 continues on Wednesday, January 15 with Cori Gauff and Naomi Osaka among those taking to court for their second round matches. Here’s the preview, predictions and tips for these matches from Melbourne.
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Cori Gauff v Jodi Burrage Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came at the 2023 Eastbourne competition and Gauff had dropped just two games on her way to her victory.
Cori Gauff kick-started her Australian Open 2025 campaign with a straightforward win over a tricky opponent in the form of Sofia Kenin.
While Kenin’s glory days are well past her at the moment, she isn’t one to be taken lightly but Gauff had answers to everything that she threw at her. In the end, Gauff grabbed a 6-3, 6-3 victory, her sixth in a row this season and eight overall, having also won the WTA Finals last year.
She will be up against Britain’s Jodie Burrage who till about late last year was contemplating retirement because of her fitness issues. Burrage will be relieved she didn’t give in and fought on, before winning her first ever match at the Australian Open.
Burrage defeated Jeanjean Leolia in the first round, dropping just six games in it. And while Gauff could well be a bridge too far for Burrage, she would look to give the American a run for her money here.
Gauff v Burrage prediction: Under 18.5 games in the match: 1/2
Karolina Muchova v Naomi Osaka Preview
Head-to-Head: There have been three previous meetings between these two and Muchova leads 2-1. Osaka had beaten her Cincinnati in 2020 while Muchova came back to win in Miami 2022 and the 2024 US Open.
Naomi Osaka was forced to retire from her Auckland Open final because of an injury but she would be pleased to have made a comeback here.
Playing a tricky opening opponent in the form of Caroline Garcia, Osaka needed three sets – and an hour and 47 minutes – to get past the Frenchwoman.
In the end it was Osaka’s serving that stood her apart in the encounter with the Japanese player winning 78% of the first serve points. She would need to do a lot better than the 50% of the first serves she got in though.
Because Karolina Muchova won’t be a pushover by any stretch.
Ranked 20th in the world, Muchova kick-started her Australian Open campaign with an absolute demolition of Nadia Podoroska, winning 6-1, 6-1.
Before that, Muchova had ended the United Cup with two wins and two defeats but it must be quickly added that those losses had come against Iga Swiatek and Cori Gauff.
We expect her to come out all guns blazing here and would be our favourite to win this.
Muchova v Osaka prediction: Muchova to win: 9/25
Leylah Fernandez v Cristina Bucsa Preview
Head-to-Head: Their only previous meeting came at the 2024 Paris Olympics where Fernandez won in straight sets.
In her previous five outings at the Australian Open, Leylah Fernandez has never gone beyond the second round. This seems to be her chance here to do that as she takes on a player ranked 110th in the world in the form of Cristina Bucsa.
Bucsa had entered the tournament on the back of successive defeats in Brisbane (1st round) and Adelaide (qualifiers) but was fortunate to draw Chloe Paquet in her opener.
Starting out a 1/3 favourite, Bucsa won it in straight sets.
Fernandez will be a different kettle of fish though, especially given that the Canadian has shown some spark from the past. That was when she defeated Donna Vekic in the United Cup and then again when Fernandez overcame Yulia Starodubtseva in the first round here.
This should be a fairly straightforward encounter for Fernandez with the only caveat being a mental block of having never made it to the third round here.
Fernandez v Bucsa prediction: Fernandez to win in straight sets: 8/15
Belinda Bencic v Suzan Lamens Preview
Head-to-Head: Bencic and Lamens have never faced off in a competitive match before this.
Belinda Bencic’s won and lost one apiece in each of her previous two tournaments she has played this year and would hope to overturn that record when she faces Suzan Lamens in the second round here.
The former Swiss number one would have had question-marks over her opening result after drawing Jelena Ostapenko but Bencic managed to quell that challenge with some ease.
Bencic was on court for nearly two hours, missed five match-points and then saved two set-points in the second set before she managed to win in two.
Lamens had never appeared in the main draw of a Grand Slam before this. So for her to defeat Veronika Erjavec in her opener here and make the second round would be something worth celebrating.
The match lasted two hours and Erjavec put up some fight before Lamens wrapped it up 7-5, 7-6 (2) to grab the victory.
This win follows her third round appearance at the Brisbane International to kick-start her season, which included wins over Magdalena Frech and Kamilla Rakhimova.
Can she put up a bit of a fight here?
Bencic v Lamens prediction: Bencic to win in straight sets: 4/5
