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The second phase of the Australian Open 2020 women's singles quarterfinals will take place on the 10th day of the new decade's first Grand Slam. In the first two matches of the final eight, top seed Ashleigh Barty dumped Petra Kvitova out of the tournament while 14th seeded American star Sofia Kenin reserved her place in the semifinals by beating Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
The remaining two quarter-finals feature only one player from the top 25 seeds, which shows the number of upsets that have taken place in this tourney. 4th seed Simona Halep will try to keep her Australian Open 2020 campaign alive by getting past Anett Kontaveit, while the clash between Gabrine Muguruza and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will be a battle of imposing big-hitters.
Here are the match predictions for the women's singles matches that will take place on Day 10 of Australian Open 2020.
Simona Halep vs Anett Kontaveit
The 28th seed from Estonia, Anett Kontaveit, absolutely decimated sixth seed Belinda Bencic in the second round of the tournament. She has been stretched in two of her four games, but the 24-year-old has outlasted her rivals to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.
That said, she may find it tough to keep Simona Halep down as the Romanian player is well-known for her never-say-die attitude. Although the two-time Grand Slam champion has never won the Australian Open, she did reach the final in 2018.
The fact that Halep is yet to drop a set this year is evidence of her terrific form, and most would back her to defeat Kontaveit in the quarters.
Prediction: Halep to win in 2 sets.
Garbine Muguruza vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
The final quarterfinal of the women's singles tournament is sure to produce a first-time semifinalist at the Australian Open. Neither Garbine Muguruza nor Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has ever crossed the quarterfinal stage at the season's first Major.
The former world number 1 player Muguruza had made it to the final eight in 2017 while Pavlyuchenkova had lost her quarterfinal matches in 2017 and 2019.
If you look merely at the rankings of the two players, the Russian star would seem like the favorite. But given how well Muguruza has played in this tournament, she has a good chance of progressing to the semis.
Prediction: Muguruza to win in 3 sets.
