The halfway point of the Australian Open is upon us and with Ash Barty the only local hope heading the second week of the grand slam.
Regardless, there are some huge names on centre court today and after finding Fabio Fognini at long odds last night, our tennis crew have found another value bet against Novak Djokovic!
#3 d.thiem v #18 g.dimitrov
rod laver arena 2:00pm
Dominic Theim will go head to head with Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Thiem survived an incredible five-set thriller against the ever so entertaining Nick Kyrgios coming back from two sets to love down to win 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
meanwhile, Dimitrov had an easy time of it against 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta who pulled out of the match due to injury.
The two players have never met one another at a Grand Slam game before. The pair first played each other back in the 2016 at Acapulco Mexico tournament and it was Thiem who was victorious on that occasion.
The Austrian won straight sets in Acapulco, but Dimitrov still leads the head to head three wins to two.
More concerning for Thiem, is that Dimitrov came out the victor in their two most recent matches both of which were on the hardcourt.
With Thiem coming off a huge five set match that will surely have sucked the life out of his legs it’s hard to back him at the short price of $1.30 especially given the form Dimitrov has shown throughout this tournament.
DImitrov is yet to drop a set but Thiem is more talented than the opponents he’s already faced.
This could be another long stint for Thiem and it’s the first true test for Dimitrov this tournament.
Suggested Bet: Total games over 39.5 at $1.90
#1 N.DJOKOVIC V #14 M.RAONIC
ROD LAVER ARENA 7:00PM
The Australian Open favourite and world number one, Novak Djokovic, will face off against the big serving Canadian Milos Raonic from centre court tonight.
It has not been smooth sailing at all for the best player in the world this tournament after he was pushed by two big hitting Americans in the second and third round.
A hard fought four-set win over Frances Tiafoe (6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3) was followed up by a gruelling three hour and 25-minute five set triumph against 27th seed Taylor Fritz where the Serbian prevailed 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2.
There is a talk surrounding an injury to Djokovic after he looked to battle through those two games with a muscle injury to his mid-region so that will be an area Raonic will look to exploit.
Raonic has looked in excellent serving form this week at the Australian Open, and has backed it up well with an improved all round game including his return of serve.
A straight sets win against Argentine Federico Coria, was followed up by a four set victory against Corentin Moutet of France, before his third round encounter against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Raonic ran away with the match against Fucsovics who looked spent after a massive duel against Stanislas Wawrinka.
The 30-year-old Canadian is a former world number three and a semifinalist here so he does have the class to match it with Djokovic but the big factor here is Raonic has faced Djokovic 11 times in his career and it has been a Djokovic win on every single occasion.
Raonic will definitely push a sore Djokovic here but there is no way you could back against the tournament favourite.
Suggested Bets:
Novak Djokovic win at $1.47
Total games over 39.5 at $1.80
#14 g. muguruza v #3 n.osaka
rod laver arena 11:00am
World number three Naomi Osaka goes head to head with last year’s Australian Open runner-up Garbine Muguruza on Rod Laver Arena from Sunday morning.
Given how deep both these players usually go into tournaments, it’s actually, surprisingly, the first time they have met each other.
Muguruza came into the tournament on the back of a good warm-up event and is yet to drop a set in the Grand Slam.
She’s been to the fourth round at the Australian Open on five occasions in the past and that kind of experience will play a huge role against Osaka who is the favourite, alongside world number one Ash Barty, to win the grand slam.
Osaka did not have to struggle much to get to the fourth round at the Australian Open this year.
The 23-year-old has been consistent with her form with a third round 6-3, 6-2 victory coming against 27th seed Ons Jabeur.
Both Osaka and Muguruza have been to the Finals of the Australian Open before with, but they are contrasting tales as Osaka won the tournament in 2019, while Muguruza suffered an agonising defeat at the hands of start American youngster Sofia Kenin in 2020.
From a game style point of view, both players bring similar attributes to centre court for their clash.
This is yet another tough game to split opponents and it could very well go to three sets.
Suggested Bet: Naomi Osaka to win 2-1 at $3.85
