Day 11 of the Australian Open is almost upon us and after being spoilt yesterday the players have a tough act to follow on Wednesday.
We saw Aryna Sabalenka finally drop a set for the first time in almost two years, Paula Badosa beat third seed Coco Gauff and a superb performance from Novak Djokovic to overcome Carlos Alcaraz in a battle of the generations
So, can today be as exciting?
In the women’s singles, the match between Madison Keys and Elina Svitolina has the biggest chance of providing an upset, while it will be interesting to see how Jannik Sinner is feeling now after he struggled with his health in his last match.
His match against Australian favourite Alex de Minaur promises to be loud and lively and we’ve picked out three bets which combine to make a 38/1 treble with BetMGM.
Madison Keys vs Elina Svitolina prediction
Madison Keys and Elina Svitolina are first up on the Rod Laver Arena with Keys looking to reach her third semi-final in Melbourne and her opponent eyeing up her first.
Svitolina, who is ranked 28th has reached the quarter-finals twice before in 2018 and 2019 but if she can overcome the 19th seed it would be her first semi-final since Wimbledon in 2023 just months after having her first child.
Keys surprised many in the last round beating the number six seed and 2023 beaten finalist Elena Rybakina 6-3 1-6 6-3 in just under two hours.
Meanwhile Svitolina beat fourth seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-0 in the third round, so we know exactly what these two are capable of.
They have met five times before with Keys leading the head-to-head 3-2 but the Ukrainian did come out on top when they faced off in Melbourne in 2019 at the fourth-round stage winning 6-2 1-6 6-1.
Tennis betting sites are backing the American to reach the last four at 8/15, while you can get 7/4 on a Svitolina victory. It’s going to be a close one but I’m backing Svitolina to win in three sets.
Australian Open prediction 1: Svitolina to win 2-1 – 19/4 Unibet
Jannik Sinner vs Alex de Minaur prediction
Alex de Minaur was my outside bet for the title helped by the odds of 50/1 but he has quietly just gone about his business to set up this quarter-final match against world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
The Australian will certainly have the crowd on his side, but he will have to be at his absolute best if he is to get past the reigning champion and reach his first grand slam semi-final.
He reached the last eight at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open last year and he would love to go one further this time around.
In Sinner he is up against one of the most consistent players around, he won both the Australian Open and US Open last season and reached the semi-finals of the French Open and quarter-finals of Wimbledon. He has also been world No 1 since 10 June 2024.
There are some question marks over the fitness of Sinner who needed a lengthy medical timeout in his fourth-round win over Holger Rune, but he will no doubt be helped by playing at night, with temperatures expected to be a lot easier to bear than the 31 degrees faced on Monday.
Sinner has dropped just two sets so far, which is one more than his opponent on Wednesday, who has only been taken to four sets once, by the 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo.
-The two players have met nine times before with Sinner winning all nine, including in Melbourne in 2022, at the fourth-round stage when the Italian won 7-6 6-3 6-4.
The betting sites have Sinner at 2/11 for the win with De Minaur at 9/2 and although we think this one will be closer than three years ago if Sinner is fully fit then it’s hard to see him being beaten.
Australian Open prediction 2: Sinner to win 3-1 – 13/5 Boylesports
Emma Navarro vs Iga Swiatek prediction
Emma Navarro and Iga Swiatek meet on the Rod Laver Arena in only their second meeting, but the prize is far bigger this time around.
They last met way back in 2018 in Charleston on the second-tier ITF tour and it was Swiatek who came out on top, winning 6-0 6-2, although that result is virtually meaningless seven years on.
The world No 2 is yet to lose a set in Melbourne and has brushed aside everyone she has faced, so far, with ease. She has lost just four games in her last three matches against Rebecca Sramkova, Emma Raducanu and Eva Lys.
Over her four matches so far, she has been on the court a little over four and half hours, pretty impressive when you consider her recent United Cup match against Katie Boulter lasted two hours and 57 minutes.
Her opponent on Thursday, on the other hand, has gone the distance in every round so far and has been on the court for over 10 hours to reach the last eight.
It’s not a surprise that the betting apps are backing Swiatek at 1/14 while Navarro is 9/1 to pull off a shock and it’s hard to see anything but another easy win for the Pole.
It’s just 3/10 on a 2-0 victory for Swiatek but you can get 7/2 on a 6-0 set, which she has recorded three in her four matches so far, but we’ll cover ourselves slightly and back fewer than 17.5 games in the match
Australian Open prediction 3: Less than 17.5 games – 6/5 BoyleSports
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