The quarter finals of the Australian Open come to a close on the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday when the other four matches in the round take place at Melbourne Park, as we head towards the business end of the opening Grand Slam of the year.
We saw three of the best players in the world make it through to the semi-finals on Tuesday and there are some more of those looking to join them in what could be a very good day of tennis over the course of the day and into the evening.
Day 9 Recap
The two women’s quarter finals were fairly one-sided in the end on Tuesday with Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams both proving to be too good in straight sets wins over Su-Wei Hsieh and Simona Halep. It was the men’s draw where the drama came with a huge upset as Aslan Karatsev saw off Grigor Dimitrov from a set down. There was also a four set win for Novak Djokovic, who also lost the first set before coming past Alexander Zverev in a good match which just lacked that star sparkle.
It wasn’t a great day for us betting wise on Tuesday with Simona Halep not really offering up too much in the way of opposition to Serena Williams which was more than disappointing given the way she had been playing leading into that event. Even then she was twice a break up in the second set but just couldn’t hold onto her serve whatever she did. That gives us work to do over the remainder of the tournament.
Day Session
Ash Barty vs Karolina Muchova
The opening match of the day on the Rod Laver Arena is the pick of the two women’s quarter finals as the world number one Ash Barty continues her quest for her first Grand Slam title on home soil when she meets the dangerous Czech ace Karolina Muchova for a place in the last four.
Both these women have made it through to this quarter final without dropping a set to date. You would suggest that Muchova has had the tougher run to this stage having beaten her countrywoman Karolina Pliskova two rounds ago and Elise Mertens in the last game whereas Ekaterina Alexandrova is the only seed that Barty has faced. You can only ever beat what is in front of you but in terms of form the path of Muchova carries more weight here. In saying that, I’m still not in a rush to take Barty on and with nothing standing out massively I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Jennifer Brady vs Jessica Pegula
We are guaranteed a second American semi-finalist and in the second match of the day we will find out who will join Serena Williams in the last four when Jennifer Brady goes up against Jessica Pegula for the right to face the winner of the earlier game in the semi-final.
Pegula has had a decent campaign with wins over Victoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina but this might actually be her toughest challenge because she is facing a Brady who has overcome the likes of Donna Vekic and others and not only not lost a set but only dropped 17 games in her four matches. Her big serve and heavy groundstrokes have been too much for a bunch of limited opponents and you suspect that could very well be the case here too although the fact Pegula won their meeting in New York last year puts me off getting involved in this one.
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Andrey Rublev vs Daniil Medvedev
The final match of a busy day session will be the most eagerly anticipated one in Russian territories as their two leading lights battle it out for a semi-final spot when Andrey Rublev goes up against the ATP Finals winner Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev will be liking the draw a lot more than his opponent I think it is fair to say, even though Rublev is yet to lose a set in this competition. That is because these two have played on four previous occasions and Medvedev has won them all in straight sets. Rublev will hope the fact he is a better player now will count for something, but unfortunately for him Medvedev is still improving too. I hope Rublev can find the answers to the question in front of him because he is my last remaining outright in the competition so I’ll watch on in the hope he can find a way to win rather than bet on it.
Night Session
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Rafael Nadal
The standout match in the quarter finals was the one between the former champion Rafael Nadal and a previous winner of the ATP Finals in Stefanos Tsitsipas and that has been saved for the last match on a decent looking Wednesday card.
Nadal has cruised through the draw so far despite rumblings of a back issue when the event started. Tsitsipas had a right touch in the previous round when Matteo Berrettini couldn’t go to play so he had a bye and may well have welcomed that after a tough match against Thanasi Kokkinakis earlier in the competition. We should be in for a decent affair here and one I’m interested in seeing the Greek player because I think he’s the best of the new brigade with the exception of Dominic Thiem who is ahead of him in his career.
These two met two years ago in the semi-final in the tournament which launched Tsitsipas onto the global landscape but the Greek was spent in the run up to that game and lost tamely. He certainly doesn’t have that excuse here as he should be as fresh as a daisy. I don’t see this as a straight sets win on either side, in fact this has the distinct possibly of going the distance. The two played a crackerjack of a three set match at the o2 last year and I’m expecting something similar here. That should see us go way beyond 39.5 games.
Tips
WON – Back S.Tsitsipas vs R.Nadal – Over 39.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
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