Australian Open 2022: Paula Badosa vs Ajla Tomljanovic preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (8) Paula Badosa vs Ajla Tomljanovic

Date: January 17, 2021

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hard

Venue: Melbourne Park, Australia

Prize Money: $75,000,000

Live Telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports Network

Paula Badosa vs Ajla Tomljanovic preview

Eighth seed Paula Badosa will take on local favourite Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open on Monday.

Badosa is in red-hot form and is undoubtedly one of the contenders to win the Australian Open title this month. The 24-year-old won the biggest trophy of her career in Indian Wells last year and followed it up by reaching the semifinals of the WTA Finals.

The Spaniard has continued from where she left off. After losing her first match of the season against Victoria Azarenka in Adelaide, she won the Sydney Tennis Classic, defeating Barbora Krejcikova and Belinda Bencic en route.

Paula Badosa at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic

Tomljanovic, meanwhile, has blown hot and cold over the past few months. The Australian reached the third round at Indian Wells and defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the Billie Jean King Cup at the end of last year.

She has won two of the four matches she's played in the 2022 season so far. Tomljanovic has never been beyond the second round of her home Major and she will be hoping to correct that statistic over the next fortnight.

Paula Badosa vs Ajla Tomljanovic head-to-head

The first-round encounter in Melbourne will be the second meeting between the pair, with Paula Badosa leading the head-to-head 1-0.

They locked horns just last week in the Sydney Tennis Classic, where the Spaniard won in straight sets.

Paula Badosa vs Ajla Tomljanovic prediction

Paula Badosa at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic

Paula Badosa comes into the encounter as the overwhelming favorite, given the fact that she's in blistering form and defeated Tomljanovic just a week ago.

Badosa has gone from strength to strength over the past six months. The 24-year-old possesses a solid serve which, allows her to take control of the points from the get-go. Her movement is also one of the biggest assets in her game.

Tomljanovic is also a big-hitter, who likes taking the ball on the rise. She has a good return, which she can use to neutralize Badosa's serve. However, the 28-year-old is known to buckle under pressure and facing an opponent of Badosa's caliber could be a mountain too steep for the Australian to climb.

Prediction: Paula Badosa to win in straight sets.