Ons Jabeur vs Yulia Putintseva Prediction WTA Adelaide Tennis Picks 1/8/25

Ons Jabeur beat Danielle Collins at the WTA Adelaide International in a match between two former Grand Slam finalists. Jabeur, who impressed during her run to the quarterfinal in Brisbane this past week, secured a first win over a top 20 player in nearly a year.

The Tunisian won 7-6, 6-2, with the first set being extremely competitive before Collins' energy faded. Jabeur trailed 3-5 in the opening set but managed to break the American while serving for the set.

Jabeur needed three set points to clinch the first-set tie-break. In the second set, two breaks of serve proved sufficient for Africa's finest to record her fourth win in four matches to start the year.

Jabeur hit five aces and one double fault. She landed 67% of first serves and won 73% of first-serve points (29/40). 

The former Wimbledon runner-up won 65% of second-serve points (13/20). She won 42% of return points (31/73) and converted four of 11 break points. 

Yulia Putintseva Preview

Yulia Putintseva celebrated her 30th birthday in style as just 24 hours earlier, she was victorious against Donna Vekic at the WTA Adelaide International. 

Putintseva won 6-2, 6-3 against Croait's silver medalist under the heat in an hour and 33 minutes. The Kazakhstani recorded four aces and two double faults in the contest.

Putintseva landed 76% of her first serves and won 65% of first-serve points (31/48). She tallied 53% of second-serve points (8/15) and saved four of five break points. 

The World No. 25 won 52% of return points (34/66) and converted five of nine break points. With no points to defend next week at the Australian Open, Putintseva is setting herself up for a top 20 breakthrough.

Ons Jabeur vs Yulia Putintseva Head-To-Head

• Jabeur and Putintseva have met three times on the WTA Tour.

• Jabeur won all three matches between them, the last of which was at the 2022 Italian Open.

Ons Jabeur vs Yulia Putintseva Prediction

It's a popcorn second-round match at the WTA Adelaide International, a match two years in the making. Jabeur and Putintseva are inarguably two of the finest drop shot artists in all of tennis, so expect a lot of running and ball retrievals as these smart minds try to outlast each other from the baseline.

I think Putintseva's drop shot is massively underrated. She executes just as well if not better than Jabeur and is very consistent in winning and setting up points with it. There's more to her game than just the drop shot. The Kazahstani has top-notch defense in her arsenal and she's capable of extending points just so she can frustrate aggressive players and lure them to play one extra ball. The oddsmakers can't separate these two, but smart money should be with Putintseva who has proven her reliability against high-caliber opponents in the last six months.