Australian Open Odds: Women's Final Tips & Preview

Australia has waited 42 years for a native to make the women’s singles final at the country’s home Grand Slam, the Australian Open. When Ashleigh Barty steps out for Sunday’s final at Melbourne Park she will do so with the hopes of a nation on her shoulders, but the 25-year-old should be accustomed to this sort of expectation by now.

An Australian Open triumph has been in the destiny of the reigning world number one for some time, but Barty will face a challenging final hurdle in the form of Danielle Collins who has more than earned her place in Saturday’s showpiece match at Melbourne Park. Here is some information, statistics and tips ahead of the 2022 Australian Open women’s singles final.

Ashleigh Barty (1) v Danielle Collins (27)

Barty was widely seen as the pre-tournament favourite and she has lived up to that billing by strolling through to the final having barely broken a sweat. Indeed, the Australian has been untouchable over the last two weeks, and in 2022 as well taking into account the early-season title she won in Adelaide before travelling to Melbourne.

Not only has Barty won all six matches she has played in straight sets, she has conceded just 21 games in total - the fourth-fewest a player has dropped en route to a women's singles final in a Grand Slam tournament this century. This highlights the dominance with which Barty, who is on a 10-match winning streak, is currently operating.

There are more powerful players on the tour, and Collins might well be one of them, but Barty is more than capable of holding her own from the back of the court. This was highlighted in the 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Madison Keys who many predicted would give Barty trouble with her big groundstrokes. Barty gave as good as she got.

Keys also fell victim to Barty’s guile, variety and touch around the net which allows the Australian to quickly shift between a number of different strategies on the court. This is what separates Barty from the rest - she is adaptable and has the intelligence to recognise the moments at which to change things up. 

Collins is the last player to have beaten Barty in Australia having done so in Adelaide last year, something that should give her confidence. As the number 27 seed, the American will certainly the underdog on Saturday, but she has been in impressive form over the last two weeks and mustn’t be taken lightly.  

Iga Swiatek experienced the power of Collins’ game first-hand when she was blown off the court in the semi-finals. The 28-year-old was proactive in dictating points from the back of the court and coupled this with an astonishing display of serving. If Collins can rack up the winners and keep her first serve percentage high, she will stand a chance of pulling off a shock win.

In terms of the head-to-head, Barty leads Collins 3-1, but the American has troubled the world number one more than once. Collins likes to take the ball early, as was demonstrated in the way she attacked Swiatek’s second serve in the semi-final, winning an incredible 86% of those points against the Pole.

If Collins can do similar on Saturday, Barty will face her toughest test of the whole tournament. If, however, the world number one can find the sort of tennis she has played in every match of the Australian Open so far, this could be the final step in what has been a dominant surge to a third Grand Slam title for Barty.