Three selections from Graham Ruthven, on day seven of the Australian Open.
Coco Gauff v Sofia Kenin
Sunday 26 January, Australian Open women’s singles fourth round
Friday produced a number of shocks and upsets at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff’s straight sets win over defending champion Naomi Osaka was a result that could prove to be a defining moment of the whole tournament. It was a win that announced the 15-year-old as a true challenger for the women’s singles title.
On ranking alone, Sofia Kenin should be the favourite to win this fourth round tie and move into the quarter finals, but Gauff’s ceiling is far higher than that of the number 14 seed. If the teenager plays as well as she did against Osaka, if she can keep her first serve percentage high and her concentration, then she’ll be looking at a first ever Grand Slam quarter final.
0.5pts - Coco Gauff To Win 11/8
Milos Raonic v Marin Cilic
Sunday 26 January, Australian Open men’s singles fourth round
Milos Raonic played his best Grand Slam match for a number of years, knocking out one of the tournament favourites, Stefanos Tsitsipas, with a straight sets victory in the third round. It served as a reminder of the Canadian’s elite level quality. Fitness has been an issue for Raonic since 2016 when it looked like he was on the break of a Grand Slam breakthrough, but those struggles look to be behind him for now.
Marin Cilic knows what Raonic has gone through. The Croatian has also suffered with injuries over the past two years or so, but is enjoying something of a renaissance, beating Roberto Bautista Agut in five sets in the previous round. Of course, this will be a battle of the big servers so expect this one to go the distance. Raonic looks the stronger of the two, though.
1pt - Over 45.5 Total Games 1/1
Maria Sakkari v Petra Kvitova
Sunday 26 January, Australian Open women’s singles fourth round
Petra Kvitova is looking every bit the title challenger at this year’s Australian Open with the number seven seed yet to drop a set in the three matches she has played so far. The Czech was utterly dominant in her third round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova, allowing her opponent just three games and winning every one of her service games. Kvitova has an excellent record in Australia and is once again finding her best form at Melbourne Park.
Maria Sakkari pulled off something of a shock by beating Madison Keys in straight sets in the previous round to make it this far. The Greek won 43% of her receiving points against Keys and she’ll need to maintain similar numbers against Kvitova is she is to give herself a foothold against the Czech’s serve.
1pt - Petra Kvitova 2-0 11/10
