Coco Gauff vs Claire Liu Prediction & Betting Tips - ASB Classic

Prediction published on 31/12/2023, 08:49  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Cori Gauff will take on unseeded compatriot Claire Liu in the first round of the Auckland Open. The winner will then proceed to play either Anna Blinkova or Brenda Fruhvirtova for a place in the quarterfinals. Cori Gauff is the defending champion here. She won the title to begin what would be a spectacular 2023 campaign and she will hope for more of the same. It was the first title of the four she would win. Gauff won every final she contested with the biggest win of all coming at the US Open. It was her maiden major title. The American finished the season with a career-high ranking of world number three and with a 51-16 record. She registered 40 of her total victories on hard courts. Gauff defeated Liu the only other time they faced off, which was at Indian Wells in 2022.

Claire Liu didn’t come close to having the season Gauff did in 2023. She finished with a losing record and almost ranked out of the top 100. Ranked 98th in the WTA, Liu compiled a 27-29 record. The majority of her victories and defeats came on hard courts where she compiled a 19-19 record. Liu made the second round at the Australian Open for the first time and also the third round in Miami. Her biggest finish at tour level though came in Budapest when she made it to the semifinals. The American was also a losing finalist at the Chicago Challenger in August. Liu is making her second appearance in Auckland which is five years since her first.