Tennis
2026-01-22 - Jessica Pegula vs McCartney Kessler
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : Australian Open Second Round
Thursday 22nd January 2025 - Scheduled 11:30am
12:30am (British Time)
Preview
Her family own the Buffalo Bills and some are wondering if that team have had their Super Bowl window close after the latest Playoff defeat- the question for Jessica Pegula is whether she can at least keep her Grand Slam window open a little longer at almost 32 years old.
The American is still the World Number 6, but it does feel like the WTA Tour has at least one or two players that will have too much for Jessica Pegula at the business end of the biggest events over the next few months.
A Semi Final run in the warm up to the Australian Open will have given Pegula some confidence and she was a strong winner in the First Round. It is important to keep something in the tank for later in the event and Jessica Pegula will feel pretty confident with the match up that has been presented to her in the next Round.
McCartney Kessler is a potentially dangerous opponent, and she is very comfortable on the hard courts, but she was beaten pretty comfortably against Madison Keys in the warm up to the Australian Open.
However, Kessler has shown that she can compete with the very best players on the Tour on the hard courts with her 4-6 record against top 20 players over the last twelve months to be respected. Six months ago she reached the top 30 for the first time and McCartney Kessler has a serve that can put opponents under significant pressure when she is feeling at her best.
There is room for improvement on the return of serve, and this Jessica Pegula serve is an underrated part of her game.
When these two players met in the Austin Final in February 2025, Jessica Pegula showed she had a bit more from her serve compared with McCartney Kessler and that may be the case when they meet again in Melbourne.
At 26 years old, it does feel like there is more to come from McCartney Kessler who has win overs Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva on the hard courts in 2025. That will earn her plenty of respect, but Pegula should have the experience to ride out some of the tougher moments within the match and ultimately come through with a solid win on the scoreboard.
Prediction
Lay the games with the higher Seeded American in this Second Round match.
The Pick :
Jessica Pegula 2-0 McCartney Kessler
