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Day 3 of the Dubai Tennis Championships will commence on Tuesday (January 21), with the second round of the women's singles event taking place.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will start her campaign at the WTA 1000 tournament against Leylah Fernandez, while Victoria Azarenka will face Amanda Anisimova. The likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia and Coco Gauff will also be in action.
On that note, let's take a look at the predictions for some of the big matches taking place on Day 2 of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
#1. Iga Swiatek vs Leylah Fernandez
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will face Leylah Fernandez in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Swiatek beating the Canadian 6-1, 6-2 in their previous encounter at last year's Adelaide International 1.
The Pole looked in top form at the Qatar Open last week, dropping just five games en route to her successful title defense. She has won 9 out of 11 matches this season.
Fernandez, on the other hand, has won only four out of seven matches this season, with her best performance being the quarterfinal finish at the ASB Classic in Auckland. The Canadian booked her place in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships by defeating Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-2.
Given Swiatek's recent run of form, she should be able to get the better of Fernandez comprehensively and book her place in the third round.
Predicted Winner: Iga Swiatek.
#2. Caroline Garcia vs Madison Keys
Fourth seed Caroline Garcia will face Madison Keys in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the fifth meeting between the two, with Keys leading 3-1 in the head-to-head.
Garcia has won 11 out of 15 matches this season, with her best performance being reaching the final of the Lyon Open, where she lost to Alycia Parks. The Frenchwoman competed at the Qatar Open after this and reached the quarterfinals before losing to Maria Sakkari.
While Keys has a 9-2 win-loss record in 2023, most of her wins came against significantly lower-ranked opponents at the United Cup. The American suffered a drop in the rankings after losing in the third round of the Australian Open and followed it up with an opening-round exit at the Qatar Open.
She booked her place in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini.
Garcia will enter the match as the favorite to win and while Keys can put up a tough fight, the Frenchwoman should be able to come out on top and reach the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Predicted Winner: Caroline Garcia
#3. Victoria Azarenka vs Amanda Anisimova
15th seed Victoria Azarenka will face Amanda Anisimova in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Anisimova winning their previous encounter at last year's Madrid Open.
Azarenka has got off to a pretty good start this season, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open. She booked her place in the second round in Dubai by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 7-5.
Anisimova hasn't had the best of starts to the 2023 season, winning only two out of five matches so far. She suffered an opening-round exit at the Australian Open before entering the Dubai Tennis Championships. Here, the American beat former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 to book her place in the second round.
Azarenka looks in pretty good touch at the moment and should be able to defeat Anisimova on Tuesday to book her place in the round of 16.
Predicted Winner: Victoria Azarenka
#4. Aryna Sabalenka vs Lauren Davis
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Lauren Davis in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the second tour-level meeting between the two, with Sabalenka winning their previous encounter 6-3, 6-2 at the 2017 Citi Open in Washington.
The Belarusian has had a dream of a start to the 2023 season, winning each of her 11 matches. She won the Adelaide International 1 before clinching her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open.
Davis has won 8 out of 10 matches this season, winning the Hobart International by beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the final. She had to qualify for the main draw of the Dubai Tennis Championships and booked her place in the second round with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Jil Teichmann.
While Davis has had a good start to the 2023 season, Sabalenka has been too good to not beat her and reach the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event.
Predicted Winner: Aryna Sabalenka
#5. Daria Kasatkina vs Barbora Krejcikova
Seventh seed Daria Kasatkina will face Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be the third meeting between the two, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1.
Kasatkina hasn't had the best of starts to the 2023 season, winning just four out of nine matches. The Russian's best outing this year was at the Adelaide International 2 where she reached the final before losing to Belinda Bencic. She recently competed at the Qatar Open, losing to Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.
Krejcikova has won 6 out of 10 matches this season, with her best performance being a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. She followed this up with a second-round exit at the Abu Dhabi Open and an opening-round defeat at the Qatar Open. The Czech booked her place in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships by beating Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-2.
While Kasatkina may have a lesser win percentage than Krejcikova this season, the variety in her game should see her make it to the third round.
Predicted Winner: Daria Kasatkina
