Fresh off of her surprising run to the semifinals in Brisbane, American Samantha Crawford takes on Montenegro's Danka Kovinic for a place in the Australian Open second round.

Road to the Australian Open

Crawford qualified into the main draw of Brisbane. In the qualifying competition, she upset top seed Tsevtana Pironkova 7-6(1), 6-4. Next in round two, she knocked off Aussie wild card Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. With a place in the main draw on the line, Crawford won a tough, tense, back-and-forth three set affair over Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to book her place in the main draw. Once there, she defeated Priscilla Hon, a wild card of Australia 6-4, 6-4 in the 1st round. Her run began in the next round, surprising Belinda Bencic 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals where she crushed Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-0. Her fairytale ended in the semifinals, losing 6-0, 6-3. 

Kovinic began her 2016 by losing in the first round of Auckland to Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4. She next participated in Hobart where she was shocked by Australian wild card Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.

Previous meetings

This is the first career meeting between Crawford and Kovinic.

What to expect

Both players have a lot of power. Crawford hit almost 40 aces in Brisbane and is a big, tall girl who has tons of firepower. Kovinic hits with a good amount of pace for someone her size. She has the edge in movement as she often has impeccable footwork. Kovinic also has played in majors before, so experience should be on her side. Crawford has the edge in form with her Brisbane run while Kovinic has not won a match in singles yet this year. Both players will want to get the first strike in and dictate from the baseline. Crawford has the better forehand while Kovinic has the superior backhand.

Prediction: Kovinic in 3 sets. Although Crawford carries the edge in form into this match following her Brisbane run, Kovinic is the better player overall. Her movement should be able to expose Crawford and put her in uncomfortable positions to hit the ball from. Both players will want to use their power to get on top of the rallies and get the first strike in. Kovinic will also be eager to break into the win column as she has not won a singles match yet this year. Her experience of playing in prior majors should also give her an edge and Crawford may feel the nerves should she get in a winning position. Kovinic will advance to the second Round for a likely matchup with 14th seed and Brisbane champion Victoria Azarenka.

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John Lupo
I am a writer and photographer. I have two Instagrams: @lupojohn1 is my personal account while @dslr_transit_photos is my photography account as I do transit photography in my hometown of New York City.