For the first time since 2009 the Williams sisters will do battle in a Grand Slam final when Venus and Serena meet in the Australian Open finale on Saturday. History could be made on Saturday as Serena Williams would claim the modern era record for Grand Slam titles should see win surpassing Steffi Graf.
Venus Williams
You could argue it is a mini miracle that Venus is in this final with the illnesses she has been battling in the last year or two and the fact that she is now 36 but she is here on merit having played some of the best tennis in her career over the last fortnight. Whether it has been from the front or from behind she hasn’t dropped her level and has looked full of confidence.
Williams will be competing in her first Australian final since 2003 and her first Grand Slam final since that Wimbledon final in 2009. This will be her 15th final in a Grand Slam overall and she has made it courtesy of losing just one set which came in a tiebreak to Coco Vandeweghe in the semi-final.
Serena Williams
Serena will be going in search of a seventh Australian Open title in this match. She was beaten in the final last year and that won’t have been an experience she wants to repeat so we should be seeing her at her best. A 23rd Grand Slam title has been on the horizon for Serena for a while and here is her next chance to break the record.
When you think heading into the tournament Serena had a nightmare looking draw it says everything about both her quality as a player and her form at the moment that she has come through without dropping a set. In fact only Barbora Strycova has got more than four games off her in any set.
Head to Head
This will be the 28th time the sisters have faced each other. Serena heads into the match with a 16-11 lead in their record which includes seven wins in their last eight meetings. This will be their ninth Grand Slam final with Serena having won six of the previous eight. On hard courts they will be battling for the 19th time with Serena currently leading 10-8.
Betting
Serena is a heavy favourite for this final and while I think she will win I don’t think the odds reflect the respective chances of the two. I think this is a closer looking final than the odds have it and I expect to see that played out on the court.
In the last 10 hard court meetings between these two seven of them have gone to three sets and the three that were won in straight sets all contained a tiebreak so on hard courts these two tend to battle for a long time.
Since the turn of the decade six of the seven women’s finals in this tournament have either gone to three sets or had a tiebreak in a straight sets win so this is a match which is traditionally tight too and all of those stats, and the way both have played and struck the ball this week, suggest over 20.5 games is the way to play this final.
Tips
Back Over 20.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
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