dMost people making Australian Open predictions would have had defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the women’s draw, but her opponent, Qinwen Zheng, is a relative surprise. The 21-year-old Chinese player is into her first grand slam quarter-final after beating Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rematch of the 2023 U.S. Open in the other semi-final.
Sabalenka vs Zheng Picks
- Pick 1: Sabalenka -500
- Pick 2: Under Games Total
This marks the second meeting between the two players as Sabalenka beat Zheng in straight sets in last year’s U.S. Open. With that in mind, let’s look ahead to the tennis odds for the match and check out some potential Sabalenka vs Zheng best bets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng Information
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng
Location: Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
Date & Time: Saturday, January 27 at 3:30 a.m. ET
How to Watch: ESPN and TSN (Canada)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng Recent Scores
Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set through six matches in Melbourne and looked especially impressive against Gauff, winning 71 percent of points on first serve and going 4-of-10 in breakpoint opportunities. She won eight points in a row at one point in the match. The top seed in the draw has had incredible tennis stats and has faced a much tougher path to the final than Zheng as she has beaten two players ranked inside the top-10, whereas Zheng has yet to play an opponent ranked inside the top-50.
To her credit, Zheng has taken care of business. She leads the tournament in total aces and had four in her semi-final win over Yastremska an also won 76 percent of points on first serve and was 4-of-11 in breakpoint chances. She won 11 points in a row at one point in the match. Prior to beating Yastremska, she picked up wins over Anna Kalinskaya, Oceane Dodin, Yafan Wang, Kate Boulter, and Ashlyn Krueger.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng Analysis
This is a lopsided matchup in Sabalenka’s favor as she’s a major betting favorite in the Sabalenka vs. Zheng best bets and for good reason. The Belarusian has yet to lose a single set in the Australian Open, one of the four grand slam tennis events of the season, and is the defending champion. In fact, before her win over Gauff, she had lost just 16 games in five matches.
Sabalenka is an incredible hard court player, going 36-10 in 46 matches on outdoor hard courts during the last 52 weeks. She reached two grand slam finals and was among the final four in all four grand slams last season. She definitely looks poised to win another grand slam, especially since she is 1-0 in her career against Zheng, beating her 6-1, 6-4 in last year’s U.S. Open.
The biggest question mark with Zheng is the fact she hasn’t had a tough draw in Melbourne. That isn’t her fault as several top-ranked players fell early in her half of the draw, but it’s certainly worth noting. The 12th seed will officially move into the top-10 world rankings with her performance in Australia, but she has got to this point with three wins over players ranked outside of the top-90.
Zheng is a solid hard court player with a record of 30-11 going back to last season. Prior to the Australian Open, she was 0-5 in her last five matches against top-five players.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng Odds Breakdown
Sabalenka
Sabalenka is a massive -500 moneyline favorite in the Sabalenka vs. Zheng best bets.
Zheng
Zheng has tennis odds of +380 for the moneyline.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Qinwen Zheng Betting Pick and Prediction
Sabalenka is somehow playing even better than she did at last year’s Australian Open and should have no problem beating Zheng in straight sets as she did a few months ago.
- Pick 1: Sabalenka -500
- Pick 2: Under Games Total
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