Australian Open 2025: Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova preview, head-to-head, prediction and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (18) Donna Vekic vs (27) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Date: January 18, 2025

Tournament: Australian Open 2025

Round: Fourth Round (Round of 16)

Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Hard (Outdoor)

Prize Money: A$ 96,500,000

Live Telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Sports & Sony LIV

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Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova preview

Two of the biggest ball-strikers of the Tour, Donna Vekic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, will square off in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open.

Vekic, the 19th seed at this year’s tournament, comes fresh off a career-best season. Not only did she make her first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, but also took home the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

This year, the Croat has gone 3-3 but some of her United Cup losses came against tough opponents. Here in Melbourne, she has struck form with fighting wins over Diana Shnaider, Harriet Dart and Diane Parry.

Pavlyuchenkova is a three-time quarterfinalist. (Source: Getty)

Pavlyuchenkova, much like her opponent, has found her range in Melbourne. A three-time former quarterfinalist at the season’s opening Slam, she has played some exceptional tennis to overcome adversity this week.

The opening two matches against Yue Yuan and Anastasia Potapova saw her overcome second-set stumbles to prevail in three sets. Her 6-1, 6-2 dismissal of Laura Siegemund, meanwhile, helped her improve the season’s win-loss to 3-1.

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Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova head-to-head

Pavlyuchenkova leads Vekic in their current head-to-head 2-0. She also beat Vekic at last year's Australian Open 6-4, 6-4.

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Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova odds

(Odds to be updated later)

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Donna Vekic vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova prediction

Vekic is likely to reach a career-high after the Australian Open. (Source: Getty)

Donna Vekic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova have had similar career trajectories. They were both teen prodigies but took their sweet time achieving their best results on the senior Tour.

Pavlyuchenkova, who turned pro all the way back in 2005, is a multi-time junior Slam winner. It, however, wasn’t until the 2021 French Open that she made her first Slam final at the seniors. Her explosive game can push just about any opponent on the backfoot and she has been showcasing that this week.

Vekic too made headlines making a Tour-level final as a 16-year-old in 2012 but injuries derailed her progress. At 28 now, she is at a near-career-best ranking, which is likely to go further up at the conclusion of the tournament.

Looking at the numbers, both women have struggled on serve but have made up for it with effective return games. While Vekic has secured 19 breaks of serve, Pavlyuchenkova’s total stands at 18.

Vekic, when dialled in, has one of the best serves on Tour but lacks consistency. She also tends to fall into passive patterns when pitted against opponents who hit big.

Both the players have a big opportunity to make the quarterfinal and fans can expect some fine ball-striking. But Pavlyuchenkova’s more fearless approach may give her a slight edge on the quick Melbourne courts.

Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova to win in three sets.