Making her first-ever second-round appearance at the Australian Open, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro can pull off a massive upset when she faces reigning two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday.
In her opening match, the top-seeded Belarusian eased into the second round with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Sloane Stephens, while Bouzas Maneiro advanced to this stage thanks to a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) triumph versus Sonay Kartal.
Match preview
© Imago
Aryna Sabalenka is making it look easy, hitting 20 winners while failing to give up a single return winner in a comfortable opening match at this tournament.
That extended her winning run on hard-court majors to 15 as she made a big statement with her straight-sets triumph versus the former 2017 US Open singles champion (Stephens).
Sabalenka won 69% of her first serves in that encounter and 62% of her net points to advance beyond the opening round of a Grand Slam match for the 16th consecutive time.
Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Sabalenka boasts an outstanding 28-1 record at hard-court Slams, with her sole defeat over that stretch coming in the 2023 US Open final against Coco Gauff.
Her last opening-round defeat in this competition came against a Spanish player in 2020, suffering a straight-sets loss to Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (8-6).
That feels like ages ago, with Sabalenka advancing to the quarter-finals or further in her last eight major singles events, winning two of the previous three Grand Slams.
© Imago
For a third successive occasion, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has advanced beyond the opening stage of a Grand Slam singles tournament, boasting some solid groundstrokes in round one.
Despite making 26 unforced errors, the 22-year-old registered 23 winners while winning 71% of her break points to claim victory.
She will be a massive underdog on Tuesday but has some recent successes to draw upon, having ousted Marketa Vondrousova in the opening round of Wimbledon last year (6-4 6-2), her only ever victory against a top 10 player.
At the same time, she has advanced to the third round in her previous two Grand Slam singles tournaments, defeating Katie Charlotte Boulter in three sets at the US Open last summer.
So far this year, she has fared well in the return game, winning 45.6% of her return points and 41.4% of her return games in 2025.
However, she has not shown very much power on serve, with just one ace this year and winning just 51.9% of her service games.
Tournament so Far
Aryna Sabalenka
First Round: vs. Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-2
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
First Round: vs Sonay Kartal 6-1 7-6 (7-5)
We say: Sabalenka to win in two sets
Sabalenka has looked unstoppable on the hard court lately, and we do not foresee her next opponent being able to match the precision and skill set of the women's top player.
Joel Lefevre
