Ons Jabeur vs. Sorana Cirstea Prediction: Jabeur is Expected to Do Well in the Season Opener

Ons Jabeur, world number two, begins the new year against 45th-ranked Sorana Cirstea in the second round of the 2023 Adelaide International on Thursday, January 5.

There isn't much wrong with Jabeur's hardcourt results, but if she wants to challenge Iga Swiatek's status as the number one player, she'll need to improve on her 20-12 win-loss record from last season on that surface.

None of her three WTA victories have come on hardcourt, and she has only made it past the third round of the Australian Open once.

As a result, a tournament like this will help Jabeur get rolling in the run-up to the season's first Grand Slam.

Cirstea wasn't considered a favorite going into her first-round match against Viktorija Golubic, but the way in which she glided through her opponent in the first set said loudly about how wrong the bookies had been.

Cirstea cruised to a 6-0, 7-6 (1) triumph over Golubic in an hour and 45 minutes to set up this second round encounter with Jabeur.

Cirstea's serve was again put to the test in the first set, with the Romanian needing to save five break points before breaking her opponent three times. In the second game, she was broken to love in the opening game before giving it out to Golubic to even things out.

Jabeur is the favorite, and we expect her to win, but will it be as easy as the 3/10 odds suggest? Perhaps not. Expect a lengthy match that will either end in a tie-breaker or a three-setter for Jabeur.