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Match Details
Fixture: Bianca Andreescu vs (Q) Cristina Bucsa.
Date: 19 January 2023.
Tournament: Australian Open 2023.
Round: Second round (Round of 64).
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt.
Prize Money: A$76,500,000.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Ten & Sony Liv.
Bianca Andreescu vs Cristina Bucsa preview
Bianca Andreescu will take on Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
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Andreescu started her 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1 and produced a brilliant comeback to beat Garbine Muguruza 0-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 in the first round. However, she lost 6-4, 6-0 to fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova in the second round.
The Canadian then entered the Australian Open and faced 25th seed Marie Bouzkova in the first round. She beat the Czech 6-4, 6-2 to book her place in the next round of the Grand Slam.
World No. 8 Cristina Bucsa, meanwhile, started her season in the qualifying rounds of the Adelaide International 1, where she lost 7-6 (9), 6-4 to Marta Kostyuk.
She then entered the Australian Open qualifiers as the fourth seed. Bucsa sealed her place in the main draw with wins over Kaylah McPhee, Ashlyn Krueger and Nao Hibino.
Here, the Spaniard faced fellow qualifier Eva Lys in the first round and lost the opening set 6-2. However, she fought back to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-0 to attain her first-ever victory in the main draw of the Australian Open.
Bianca Andreescu vs Cristina Bucsa head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players stands at 0-0 as they haven't locked horns before.
Bianca Andreescu vs Cristina Bucsa odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Bianca Andreescu vs Cristina Bucsa prediction
Andreescu will enter the match as the favorite to win after a comprehensive win over 25th seed Marie Bouzkova in the first round. The Canadian put in a strong performance against the Czech and was quite dominant on her serve.
She won 26 out of 35 points on her first serve while winning 14 out of 21 on her second and also managed to hit 23 winners to 14 unforced errors. Andreescu has a wide range of shots which helped her reach the top five of the WTA rankings a few years ago.
She will look to make the most out of them in order to reach as far as she can at the Australian Open.
Bucsa, meanwhile, had a shaky start in her first-round match against Eva Lys but eventually dominated her opponent after the opening set. The Spaniard won 46 out of 80 service points and hit 23 winners overall.
However, she also produced 33 unforced errors and cannot repeat the same against Andreescu, who will no doubt try to force her to make mistakes.
Andreescu has produced some good performances in recent months and will be in good spirits after defeating Bouzkova. She should be able to beat Bucsa and reach the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.
Pick: Bianca Andreescu to win in straight sets.
