Australian Open 2025: Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa preview, head-to-head, odds, prediction and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (30) Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa

Date: January 15, 2025

Tournament: Australian Open 2025

Round: Second Round (Round of 64)

Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize Money: AUD 96,500,000

Live Telecast: USA - ESPN and Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | Canada - TSN and RDS | Australia - 9Now and Stan Sport | India - Sony Network

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Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa preview

2021 US Open finalist Fernandez hits a forehand in Melbourne (Source: Getty)

30th-seeded Leylah Fernandez will take on Spain's Cristina Bucsa for a place in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open.

Fernandez went through the qualifying event at the Adelaide International last week, losing in the Round of 32 to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova. The run gave the Canadian enough preparation for her first-round match in Melbourne as she ran through Ukraine's Yulia Starodubtseva in straight sets.

Bucsa, meanwhile, opened her 2025 WTA Tour season with first-round losses at the Brisbane International and the Adelaide International. The Spaniard began her Australian Open campaign with a bang on Sunday (January 12), downing France's Chloe Paquet in straight sets to reach the second round for only the second time in her career.

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Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa head-to-head

Fernandez leads Bucsa by a margin of 1-0 in their head-to-head meetings on the WTA Tour. The Canadian beat her older opponent in the second round of the 2024 French Open in straight sets.

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Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (Over/Under)
Leylah Fernandez	-700	-1.5 (-225)	Under 20.5 (-150)
Cristina Bucsa	+450	+1.5 (150)	Over 20.5 (+105)

All bets are sourced from BetMGM.

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Leylah Fernandez vs Cristina Bucsa prediction

Bucsa hits a backhand (Source: Getty)

Fernandez is one of the most gritty shotmakers on the WTA Tour. The 22-year-old has impressive movement, which allows her to trade fast blows with her opponents in rallies. She can also smoothly change the shots' direction to get on top of a baseline exchange.

Bucsa, meanwhile, has consistent groundstrokes but struggles to penetrate the court. She has a reliable first serve and is adept at defense, two traits that will match up well against Fernandez's aggressive counter-punching.

The keys for both players in this interesting match-up will be maintaining a high first-serve percentage and looking for opportunities to break on return games. Fernandez will likely show up at the top of her powers, as she will be eager to reach the third round in Melbourne for the first time in her young career.

Pick: Fernandez wins in straight sets.