The 2024 Adelaide International is coming to a close this weekend, which means we’re close to the start of the Australian Open, the first of four grand slams on the tennis calendar. The Adelaide International features both a men’s and women’s draw and has had some incredible tennis action thus far with some notable upsets. None of the top five seeds in either draw advanced to the finals.
In the men’s final, unseeded Jack Draper chases his first career ATP title against Jiri Lehecka, who also has yet to win a championship. Both players made their first career final last year. Sixth seed Jelena Ostapenko takes on unseeded Daria Kasatkina in the women’s final. Let’s take a look at how we got here and preview the two finals.
Men’s Draw Recap
The men’s draw featured top seeds Tommy Paul, Nicolas Jarry, Sebastian Korda, Lorenzo Musetti, and Sebastian Baez. Paul, the top seed, lost to Draper in the quarter-finals. Jarry, the second seed, was also out in the quarters, losing to Lehecka, who then beat Korda in the semi-finals. Draper beat eighth seed Alexander Bublik 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Women’s Draw Recap
The women’s draw featured more top-ranked players than the men’s, with Brisbane International winner and 2023 Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina headlining the field. She lost in the quarter-finals to Ekaterina Alexandrova, who then lost to Ostapenko in the semi-finals. Second seed Jessica Pegula reached the semi-finals, but withdrew from the match due to an illness, leaving Kasatkina with a bye through to the finals. It was the second consecutive walkover win for Kasatkina, who has only had to play two matches in Adelaide, both against qualifiers.
Finals Betting Previews
Jiri Lehecka vs. Jack Draper
Lehecka and Draper play just after midnight ET on Saturday morning for the $100,000 grand prize but, more importantly, the chance to win for the first time on the ATP Tour. Both players are 22 years old and could be among the future stars of the sport.
They’ve never played each other, but Lehecka has the slight advantage in conditioning based on time on court. He has played six hours and 21 minutes this week compared to Draper, who has been on court for 7 hours and 53 minutes. However, Draper has the edge on the hard court surface with a combined record of 31-14 dating back to 2022. Lehecka is 27-19 during that same span. This should be a tight, three-set match, but Draper has yet to lose this season and had a strong finish to the 2023 season. He’s the best pick to win the match.
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Daria Kasatkina
This is a tough one as Kasatkina has played only two matches in Adelaide and hasn’t exactly faced formidable opponents, beating qualifiers Anna Kalinskaya and Claire Liu. The rest may serve her well, but she’s also facing an opponent whom she has had troubles against in her career. Kasatkina is just 2-5 in seven matches against Ostapenko, however has the win in the lone match on hard courts between the two players – she beat Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in the 2017 U.S. Open.
Kasatkina is the betting underdog here, but offers good value considering the rest she has had and the fact she has a better career winning percentage on hard courts (152-107 career record compared to 129-102 for Ostapenko).
