The first week of the Australian Open concludes on Saturday when the bottom half of both draws are played down to the round of 16 stage on what looks like being another very good day of action in Melbourne.
We lost a few big names from this half of the event on Thursday so the standout names might be in shorter supply but the competitive matches should come along regularly to make up for that as once again seeded players can face each other.
Rod Laver Arena
The former Grand Slam finalist Karolina Pliskova gets the honour of opening up the action on the main court on Saturday when she takes on Varvara Gracheva to start the day session. When they are done we could be treated to the pick of the matches on the day as the Adelaide winner Belinda Bencic takes on a Camila Giorgi who looks to be hitting the ball very well right now. The day session concludes with a men’s match and that sees the leading Australian remaining in the draw in Alex de Minaur taking on Benjamin Bonzi.
The men begin the night session and all eyes will be on Novak Djokovic to see how his hamstring is when he goes up against a Grigor Dimitrov who has been playing some nice tennis in 2023 and who looks to be hitting the ball very nicely. When they are done the night session concludes with an interesting choice as Ekaterina Alexandrova takes on Magda Linette with both women knowing there is a decent chance of a deep run for the winner.
Margaret Court Arena
The women get the action going on the second court on Saturday as well when two unseeded players face off as Donna Vekic takes on Nuria Parrizas Diaz for a place in the second week of the competition. When they are done the British number two Dan Evans will search for a place in the fourth round when he takes on Andrey Rublev before the day session concludes with a very good looking women’s match between Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens in what could be the standout match of the day.
There is only one singles match in the night session on the Margaret Court Arena on Saturday and all eyes will be on Andy Murray in it to see how he has recovered from the heroics of the other night. He faces Roberto Bautista Agut who was also taken to a deciding set in the previous round but in nothing like the epic Murray was involved in. The last time these two met here the tournament effectively retired Murray off but there will be none of that here.
John Cain Arena
There are two singles matches over on the John Cain Arena on Saturday. We have to wait for a doubles match to take place before the first one of them comes along but when it does two of the better younger players on the tour meet when Holger Rune squares off against Ugo Humbert. The other match on this court comes along in the night session where two unseeded players have the chance to reach the second week of a Grand Slam when Alexei Popyrin meets Ben Shelton in what is a huge match for both men.
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Kia Arena
We also have a couple of singles matches on the Kia Arena as well. Once again a couple of doubles matches need to be finished first but when the singles comes along the day session match will see J.J. Wolf going up against Michael Mmoh for a place in the last 16. The other singles match is in the night session where the number four seed is a surprise inclusion on the schedule on the fourth court. That is Caroline Garcia and she meets the German player Laura Siegemund with the French ace aiming for a second successive Grand Slam where she has made the second week.
Men’s Betting
One bet stands out in the men’s draw on Saturday and that is to take on Novak Djokovic. It was clear to see that Djokovic was not in a good way with his leg in the previous round. There were shots which if everything was going to plan he would not only have chased down but would probably have won the point in the process. He then confirmed in his post-match interview that his hamstring is not good and while he’ll get physio and he’ll fight on, if he was playing someone better on Thursday he might be out of the tournament.
Grigor Dimitrov is certainly that player. He probably isn’t the most reliable when it comes to beating someone like Djokovic, although obviously if the Serb is sufficiently hampered then he wouldn’t need to be that reliable. I’m not brave enough to back Dimitrov on the nose but the odds on him with a 2.5 set handicap is too big. To be fair taking injuries out of the equation Dimitrov would have every chance of taking a set off Djokovic. He has taken sets off him in five of their last nine meetings and has started the year very well with wins over Nick Kyrgios and David Goffin this season prior to this tournament starting and he went to a final set tiebreak with Stefanos Tsitsipas. He has come through in straight sets so far and can take a set off Djokovic at the very least.
Women’s Betting
Linda Fruhvirtova did us a turn earlier in the week and I think she is worth backing with the handicap on her side on Saturday too. I say that because she takes on a Marketa Vondrousova who has gone the distance in both of her matches so far, admittedly against decent opponents in Alison Riske-Amritraj and Ons Jabeur, however those two opponents in six sets of tennis have produced a ridiculous 95 unforced errors against the Czech player.
I just don’t believe that Fruhvirtova is going to cough up that sort of error number in this match and if she doesn’t then we saw likely to see a much more even match here, if not one the younger player can take control of. Fruhvirtova won a WTA title in Chennai last year and looks to be hitting the ball really well at present. If she can play a semi clean match here I think she can stay within three games of her compatriot at the very least even if she can’t get the better of her.
Tips
Back G.Dimitrov (+2.5 sets) to beat N.Djokovic for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
Back L.Fruhvirtova (+3.5 games) to beat M.Vondrousova for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
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