Some of the most significant names in women’s tennis were in action on Day 2 of the Australian Open. They included the two-time champion Naomi Osaka and last year’s WTA Finals winner Coco Gauff. Several epic battles took place on a busy second day in Melbourne. This article overviews the action, including choosing the day’s best match.

Australian Open Day 2 Women’s Recap

Who Looked Good

Coco Gauff made a solid start against Sofia Kenin, the 2020 champion at the Australian Open. She was not at her breathtaking best but still had more than enough to triumph 6-3 6-3. Although calling Kenin’s performance bad would be unfair, she might regret not taking advantage of her chances, including narrowly missing a forehand to reduce the score to 5-4 in the second set.

Iga Swiatek started her Australian Open campaign with a superb contest against Katarina Siniakova. The 6-3, 6-4 scoreline does not reflect how difficult the Czech made it for the world No. 2. Siniakova ripped several backhand winners, but the Pole kept her level high throughout the match to win in straight sets.

The much-anticipated match between Naomi Osaka and Caroline Garcia on Day 2 lived up to expectations. After three sets filled with powerful hitting, Osaka prevailed 6-3 3-6 6-3 on the Rod Laver Arena. The four-time Grand Slam champion avenged her first-round loss to Garcia at last year’s Australian Open.

Jessica Pegula was ruthless against the home favorite, Maya Joint, beating her 6-3 6-0. The 18-year-old generated attention by reaching the semifinals of the Hobart International before the Australian Open. However, Pegula was a steep rise in quality that proved far too much. Joint will undoubtedly learn from the experience.

The 2022 runner-up in Melbourne, Danielle Collins, was also successful in her first Grand Slam match since reversing her decision to retire at the end of 2024. Daria Snigur put up an impressive fight against the American on the Margaret Court Arena before Collins completed a 7-6 6-3 win.

Who Looked Bad

2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka is out after a 2-6 6-7 defeat to Lucia Bronzetti. The Belarusian is past her prime and was not among the favorites for this year’s title. Nonetheless, Azarenka’s performance on the Show Court Arena was far below what she is capable of.

Nadia Podoroska had a rough day against Karolina Muchova, the former French Open runner-up. Although Muchova produced a superb performance, the Argentine did not do herself justice and surrendered quickly during a 6-1 6-1 defeat.

Maja Chawalinska’s first Grand Slam main draw appearance in almost three years became a nightmare for the Pole. Jule Niemeier thrashed her 6-0 6-1. Chawalinska played very well during the qualifying matches, meaning this performance was unexpected.

Match of the Day

There were several worthy candidates for the best women’s match on Day 2 of the Australian Open. Jaqueline Cristian, Moyuka Uchijima, and Harriet Dart all won their matches in deciding set tiebreaks. Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic’s entertaining 6-3 7-6 win against the 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was another contender.

The unexpected winner of the match of the day is Destanee Aiava vs Greet Minnen. Aiava had lost in the opening round in all four previous appearances at her home Grand Slam as a wild card. It seemed like she would extend that record after the experienced Minnen won the opening set before taking a 5-2 lead in the second. There appeared to be no hope of a recovery.

What happened next was remarkable. Aiava reeled off five consecutive games to take the second set 7-5, leaving the home fans on Court 3 in raptures. Minnen got herself into a winning position again at 5-3 but blinked at the finish line for a second time. Aiava took the next three games and had a match point at 6-5 up that she could not convert.

It did not matter in the end, though. Aiava won the deciding tiebreak 10-5 to complete an extraordinary 5-7 7-5 7-6 victory. Minnen looked shell-shocked as she left the court afterward.

Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports