Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic – First Round – Preview & Prediction | 2022 Australian Open
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THE FACTS
When is Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic on and what time does it start? Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic will take place on Monday 17th January, 2022 – not before 00:00 (UK)
Where is Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic taking place? Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic will take place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia
What surface is Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic being played on? Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic will take place on an outdoor hard court
Where can I get tickets for Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic
What channel is Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic on in the UK? Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic will be televised live on Eurosport
Where can I stream Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic in the UK? Eurosport subscribers can stream Belinda Bencic vs Kristina Mladenovic live on their website, while Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match live on Sky Go
THE LOWDOWN
BELINDA BENCIC
World number 22 Belinda Bencic won Gold in the Women’s Singles and Doubles events at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer in an emotional week but she struggled in places to replicate that form on the WTA tour. The 24-year-old former world number four reached the quarter-finals of the US Open before a capitulation, like many others, saw her dismissed by Emma Raducanu in a straight-sets defeat that took some getting over. Her best showing at the Australian Open is just the one round of 16 exit back in 2016.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC
Former world number 10 Kristina Mladenovic won her only WTA title to date at the 2017 St. Petersburg Open. The 28-year-old has reached the quarter-finals at both Roland-Garros and the US Open but she has never made it past the third round here in Melbourne. In the singles, that is, as the Frenchwoman is a seasoned doubles champion with five Grand Slam Women’s Doubles titles and a further Grand Slam title in the Mixed category, three of which came at the Australian Open in 2014 (MD w/ Nestor), 2018 and 2020 (WD w/ Babos).
THE PREDICTION
This looks like a tough match for Belinda Bencic with Kristina Mladenovic shocking her in their last meeting at the Italian Open last season to take their head-to-head record to 4-3 in favour of the Swiss. World number 22 Bencic enjoyed one of her best season’s last year with two Gold medals won for Switzerland the highlight but she was found wanting at the Slams, including her quarter-final defeat to eventual champion Emma Raducanu. Mladenovic is the significant underdog here but she has taken plenty of sets off of Bencic over the years and it would not be a surprise to see this match go the distance. Take Bencic to win outright for that reason.
