It is ladies semi-final day at the Australian Open on Thursday with both matches being played in the evening session as four players battle it out for the two spots in the final of the opening Grand Slam of the year on Saturday.
We have two of the leading lights in the world on show on Thursday taking on two Americans who are looking to get back to the top of the sport in what should be a couple of competitive last four clashes.
Ash Barty vs Madison Keys
The first of the two semi-finals sees the home star Ash Barty looking to make the final of the most important Grand Slam of the four to her for the first time when she takes on the winner in Adelaide earlier in the month in Madison Keys.
Barty has won her last nine matches dating back to the first of the two Adelaide events which she won. The last eight of those wins have all come in straight sets including each of the first five rounds here so the world number one is playing very much like a player of her ranking right now. Keys is on a 10 match winning streak where her victims include Elina Svitolina, Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin, Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova so the American is in great form. She has absolutely demolished the last two named but you sense this is a step up even on all them. If Keys is at her very best she could win this but against a motivated Barty looking to make the final of her home Slam for the first time in her career might be a step too far. I’d favour Barty here but I respect Keys enough to leave this match alone.
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Danielle Collins vs Iga Swiatek
The second semi-final sees two women going at it for a place in their first Australian Open final when Danielle Collins takes on the Polish superstar Iga Swiatek who is just two wins away from doubling her tally of Grand Slam titles.
Swiatek is looking to add to the French Open title she won in 2020 and is playing some great tennis this week but she had to come from a set down to Kaia Kanepi on Wednesday in a match which lasted over three hours in intense heat and that is going to take a lot of recovering from in a short space of time. Collins on the other hand blitzed Alize Cornet in next to no time and while she might not be fresh as a daisy she will certainly be the fresher of the two women here. Neither lady has really had a tough draw to this date, they have both played just the one seed with Collins seeing off Elise Mertens and Swiatek getting the better of Daria Kasatkina. The other concern with Swiatek is that Sorana Cirstea and Kaia Kanepi both took a set off her and Collins is an upgrade on those two. That all makes me think that Collins is value as an odds against outsider.
Tips
WON – Back D.Collins to beat I.Swiatek for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with BetVictor
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