The early AO final?
While there were several tangible surprises in the upper half of the Australian Open 2024 tournament tree, the two players who were expected to make it through unscathed in the lower half: Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka – betting tips and odds for this match, which was already the final at the US Open 2023 and is seen by more than a few as an early final at the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne, are available in this article.
With a view to her performance Down Under, the forecast for Coco Gauff against Aryna Sabalenka leans towards the Belarusian, who has traveled to Melbourne as the defending champion. The 25-year-old won all five of her singles matches on the way to her sixth Grand Slam semi-final in a row with a 2-0 record, although she has already been beaten by the young American in a major match in the aforementioned US Open final.
Writing off the 19-year-old American prematurely could therefore be a serious mistake. After all, Coco Gauff has already triumphed in the 2024 calendar year at the preparatory tournament in New Zealand. The teenager from Florida now has ten wins from ten singles matches in the still young season. The bet that she can now stop Aryna Sabalenka’s run is correspondingly interesting.
Brave bettors will find odds of 2.50 for the reigning US Open winner to win in the Bwin app. If the risk is too high for you, you can consider placing a small handicap on the 19-year-old or – which is our preferred option – betting that Coco Gauff will win at least one set in this semi-final
Coco Gauff – Statistics & current form
Coco Gauff’s current position in the world rankings: 3
Position in the seeding list: 4
19-year-old American Coco Gauff already made a big impression on her debut at the Australian Open 2020, when she reached the round of 16 at the tender age of 15. Just two years later, she reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
Another year later, the player from Delray Beach, Florida, can even call herself a Grand Slam winner since winning the 2023 US Open. The starting signal for a potentially long collection of titles if the teenager manages to continue at the highest level
Gauff remained unbeaten in ten singles matches in 2024
Coco Gauff was able to claim her first singles title in 2024 when she won her preparatory tournament in New Zealand (ASB Classic) without further ado. On her way to the title, she only dropped one set against Elina Svitolina (WTA 25) and otherwise always won 2:0.
The teenager from Florida continued in this vein in Melbourne, where she made it all the way to the quarter-finals with four more smooth 2-0 victories. Only here did she have to concede defeat to Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (WTA 37) in the second set – also in a tie-break. However, because the 19-year-old went one better in the deciding set, the 2:1 victory was never really in danger
Coco Gauff’s big weapon was her return game
It is all the more surprising that the odds are now stacked against Coco Gauff against Aryna Sabalenka, who has won all ten singles matches in 2024 with a total of 20:2 sets and is also 4:2 ahead in the direct comparison with her Belarusian challenger.
Remarkably, Coco Gauff won a total of 52% of return points in the hard-fought quarter-final, earning a staggering 22 break points against Marta Kostyuk, nine of which she was able to convert (41%). The only 39 percent of points won on her often shaky second serve could be improved. However, her return game alone should also enable her to take a few games against Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka – statistics & current form
Current position in the world rankings: 2
Position in the seeding list: 2
In Melbourne, 25-year-old Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka seamlessly built on her performances of a year ago, when she secured overall victory at the traditionally first Grand Slam tournament of the calendar year with seven wins.
With five smooth 2:0 victories, the player from Minsk has once again reached the semi-finals. Just like in her last five appearances at Grand Slam tournaments. In total, the world number two has reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the eighth time. However, she has failed in this very round on five out of seven occasions
Aryna Sabalenka the favorite to win the AO according to the odds
Now Aryna Sabalenka is hoping to reach the final for the third time after the Australian Open 2023 and the US Open 2023. According to the bookmakers, the odds on Coco Gauff beating Aryna Sabalenka are also in favor of the Belarusian’s victory.
However, the fact that the 25-year-old has not only lost four of her six meetings with Coco Gauff to date, but was also beaten 2:1 by the American teenager in the final of the US Open 2023 just last fall, should not be ignored.
Sabalenka leaves little to be desired on her own serve
This semi-final will certainly not be a walk in the park for Aryna Sabalenka, who only lost five games in total (6:2 and 6:3) against Barbora Krejcíková (WTA 11) in a smooth 2:0 win in just 71 minutes. However, if she also brings her serve to the court to its full extent against the American, who is so strong on returns, she should have far fewer problems collecting important points with quick service games.
In the quarter-finals, the Belarusian not only scored points on her first serve 72 percent of the time, but also won 53 percent of her points when she had to use her second serve. By comparison, the defeated Krejcíková only won four points in total in the match when the first serve failed…
Coco Gauff – Aryna Sabalenka Direct comparison / H2H result
Head to head: 4:2
The duel between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka has taken place a total of six times, most recently in the final of the 2023 US Open. In a thrilling three-set match, Coco Gauff came out on top, leading the direct comparison with four wins. The Belarusian’s last victory dates back to the quarter-finals of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (2-0).
Coco Gauff – Aryna Sabalenka tip
The betting odds on Coco Gauff against Aryna Sabalenka are currently pointing towards the Belarusian, who came to Melbourne as the defending champion and celebrated five smooth 2-0 victories here in impressive style. However, the 25-year-old has not only already lost the final of the 2023 US Open to the young American, but also suffered a 2-0 defeat to Elena Rybakina (WTA 4) in the preparatory tournament in Brisbane. Coco Gauff, on the other hand, won her preparatory tournament in New Zealand and has ten wins from ten singles matches played in 2024
We generally expect a match of equals with an open outcome, in which the form of the day and the question of how both players find their way into the match will be decisive. Accordingly, our prediction for Coco Gauff against Aryna Sabalenka is that the American will win at least one set in this semi-final.
Tipwin is offering odds of 1.58, which we are backing with four out of ten units. Meanwhile, if you want to risk a direct bet on the teenager from Florida, you can also claim a useful free bet for this purpose at Interwetten as part of the Australian Open.
