We are down to the Quarter Finals at the first Grand Slam of the season and it looks a wide open women's draw, while the top players on the ATP Tour have largely made their presence felt.
However, nothing has come easy for any player at the Australian Open this year and perhaps more twists and turns are to come.
Jannik Sinner - 5.5 games v Andrey Rublev: He admitted that he had to give himself a bit of a talking to after falling 2-1 behind in sets, and it clearly helped as Andrey Rublev won a match in the Fifth Set for a second time in the Australian Open. Having twenty-fours rest between matches is going to be a very important time for Andrey Rublev as he looks to finally crack through the Quarter Final Round at a Grand Slam for the first time.
Consistency has been very important for Andrey Rublev and the win over Alex De Minaur will give him plenty of confidence.
However, it should also be noted that Andrey Rublev is facing a much tougher opponent in the Quarter Final when he takes on Jannik Sinner. The Italian is arguably playing the best tennis out of the last eight players left in the men's draw, but this is a big year for Jannik Sinner as he really looks to announce himself as a big player on the Tour.
Most know the talent that Sinner has, but he has yet to really show that consistency at the Grand Slam level. There have been some good runs, but Jannik Sinner ended 2023 in superb form and his level at the Australian Open has been really high, which will in turn mean there will be plenty tipping him up to take home the title.
Jannik Sinner has yet to drop a set at the Australian Open and he has not really been pushed- he was perhaps not at his best in the Fourth Round, especially behind serve, but Sinner still had too much for Karen Khachanov and this is a match up that he has enjoyed in the past.
The head to head record backs that up with Jannik Sinner having won the four matches that have been completed against Andrey Rublev. The two exceptions were in matches that Sinner had to retire from, including at the French Open, but Jannik Sinner won both hard court matches played against Andrey Rublev in 2023.
The higher Ranked player has held 90% of service games played in those two matches, while Rublev has 'only' been able to hold in 72% of service games. The second match was more competitive, but Sinner was still the stronger player and he has broken in 43% of return games played in this Australian Open compared with Andrey Rublev's 22% mark.
The return of serve is likely going to be a key edge for Jannik Sinner, while he may also feel he has the physical edge.
Andrey Rublev had a much tougher Fourth Round match and looked to be cramping and breaking down physically at the end of that. Even the day of rest between matches may not be enough time to make a full recovery and the quality of his opponent makes things that much tougher for Rublev.
On paper this looks a big spread all the same, but Andrey Rublev is also going to be dealing with the fact he has never won a Grand Slam Quarter Final. In his nine previous Quarter Final defeats at the majors, Andrey Rublev would have seen his opponent cover this number six times.
The match up, the potential fitness edge and the level of his tennis in this tournament gives Jannik Sinner the advantage in this Quarter Final. He reached the US Open Semi Final just a few months ago so will know he can win a big match like this one and the Italian can find the tennis to come through and cover.
Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 games v Barbora Krejcikova: The defending Australian Open Champion never really reached the consistent heights twelve months ago as she has in Melbourne this past week. It was still good enough to give Aryna Sabalenka a deserved maiden Grand Slam, but her current level will surely mean another Grand Slam trophy would be taken home to put in the trophy cabinet.
At the same time Aryna Sabalenka will know there are some considerable obstacles to overcome and the Quarter Final sees her pitched against another former Grand Slam Champion.
Barbora Krejcikova came through a Fourth Round match against teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva and she will feel good about coming from behind to win that match. This is the third time in four matches that Krejcikova has come from behind to win a match at the Australian Open so she may feel she is more battle hardened than someone like Aryna Sabalenka who has crushed all four opponents faced.
There is little doubt that Sabalenka is one of the best front runners in tennis and can be very hard to peg back once she gets into her rhythm. Barbora Krejcikova will know about that, but the Czech player did beat Aryna Sabalenka on a hard court in Dubai last year and also won a set against her in Indian Wells before being crushed in Miami and Stuttgart.
Aryna Sabalenka also beat Barbora Krejcikova comfortably at the US Open in 2021 and the World Number 2 has had the superior numbers in the head to head.
If Barbora Krejcikova can serve well, she can cause problems, but dealing with this Sabalenka serve on this relatively fast hard court is going to be a massive challenge.
Slow starts have been something of an issue for Krejcikova and making one of those here will give Aryna Sabalenka the momentum to produce another strong win at the Australian Open in 2024.
MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Coral (2 Units)
Australian Open Update: 18-44, - 56.18 Units (124 Units Staked, - 45.31% Yield)
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