World number 25 Elena Rybakina will be up against the 24th-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the semifinal of the 2023 Australian Open on Thursday, January 26. Get the latest predictions and betting tips of this Elena Rybakina v Victoria Azarenka match along with its preview and odds.
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Elena Rybakina v Victoria Azarenka Head to Head
Only one previous meeting has been held between these two and Azarenka had defeated Rybakina in that 2022 Indian Wells Open third round encounter.
Also Read:
Rybakina Runs Down Ostapenko
Having sent out Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek in her last two rounds, Rybakina was always going to start things off in her quarterfinal against Jelena Ostapenko as a favourite. And the good news for the Kazakh was that she played like one too.
In a match that was interrupted by rain and lasted an hour and 21 minutes, Rybakina carved out a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ostapenko to march into her maiden Australian Open semifinal.
Serving 11 aces and smashing 24 winners in the encounter, Rybakina cruised through the first set but fell 2-0 down in the second to her Latvian opponent’s retaliation.
Not to be outdone though, Rybakina came back with a bang as she broke Ostapenko in the third and fifth game but in the meantime saved four break-points of her own in the fourth game.
From that point on, the world number 25 held her serve well and while she needed three match-points to come through, come through she did and with relative ease.
Having won the Wimbledon title last season, Rybakina’s form looked to have tapered off a little towards the latter part of the 2022 season. She hadn’t made a great start to this season either, with a second round loss at Adelaide International 1 and an opening defeat to Petra Kvitova at the second edition of Adelaide International.
The turnaround has been spectacular though with Rybakina having lost just a set in the competition so far. Can she take out another tournament favourite here?
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Azarenka Sends Tournament Favourite Pegula Out
Azarenka has won the Australian Open title twice in her career but over the years, she hasn’t quite been able to recreate that magic at the highest level.
In fact since winnings the Sunshine Masters in 2016, Azarenka’s only WTA title came at the Cincinnati Open (in New York) in 2020 but nothing before and after that.
This is not to say Azarenka hasn’t done well, far from it. In fact in 2020 itself, she was a runner-up at the US Open and then again at the Ostrava Open that season and the Indian Wells Open in 2021.
Where Azarenka has struggled to get going has been the majors. Since the 2020 US Open, she featured in seven of them and never made it past the fourth round.
At this one, she finally broke her quarterfinal drought with a three-set win over Lin Zhu. Then against one of the tournament favourites, Jessica Pegula, she registered a straight-set win to march into a surprise semifinal.
Azarenka clinched her last-four spot with a 6-4, 6-1 win in an hour and 39 minutes, and that’s despite struggling with her own serve for most part of the first set. It was Pegula’s greater struggles – 21 unforced errors to Azarenka’s 14 – in the opening set that allowed the Belarusian to take control.
In the second set, Azarenka earned herself three break-points and broke Pegula every since time to carve out her place in the semifinal.
Can she now take down another favourite?
Rybakina v Azarenka Prediction and Tips
It’s Rybakina’s form and momentum taking on Azarenka’s experience and this could see three sets in the encounter. Rybakina with a slight edge.
Match Tips & Picks*
- Moderate Risk Tip: Three sets in the match: 5/4 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
- High Risk Tip: Rybakina to win in three sets: 3/1 (Click Here to Bet with 888Sport)
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Latest Australian Open 2023 Outright Odds*
- Rybakina to win the title: 5/4 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
- Azarenka to win the title: 4/1 (Click Here to Bet with 888Sport)
The 2023 Australian Open will be played from January 16 to January 29. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here. *Please note, the odds are correct at the time of writing and might be different from what you get.
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