Azarenka wants her third title at the Happy Slam

If you ask Viktoria Azarenka about her favourite tournament on tour, the answer ‘Australian Open’ quickly comes shooting out of her mouth. No wonder, since the Belarussian was able to enter her name in the list of winners of the Happy Slam Down Under in 2012 and 2013. Until today, the successes of (just over) ten years ago were also the only two Grand Slam successes of her impressive career.

This year, the 33-year-old mum of one may get her next chance to win a tournament in Melbourne. The Eastern European, who has slipped out of the top 20 in the rankings, is one of four remaining women who will battle it out in the semifinals for the two starting spots in the grand final. Ahead of the first semifinal between Rybakina and Azarenka, the betting on the younger Kazakh is lower odds

The 1.84m tall, Moscow-born Rybakina has reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career. At Wimbledon, however, the powerful right-hander was immediately crowned the winner. For the aforementioned clash between Rybakina and Azarenka, we also have a positive prediction in favour of the 23-year-old, who has already conjured up outstanding performances on the hard court in Australia in the course of the tournament so far.

Elena Rybakina – Statistics & current form

Despite the aforementioned Wimbledon triumph of 2022, Elena Rybakina continues to fly somewhat under the radar. Yet she has probably had to overcome the most difficult hurdles in the tournament so far. After two very commanding opening wins against Cocciaretto from Italy and Kaja Juvan from Slovenia, the Russian, who plays for Kazakhstan, came up against Danielle Collins in the third round, who on a good day can blow any opponent off the court.

The US player was the only one to take a set from the 23-year-old Grand Slam winner. The 1.84m tall right-hander then defeated world number one Iga Swiatek in two straight sets and was just as dominant against Jelena Ostapenko, who had also ploughed her way through the tournament earlier.

Rybakina’s biggest weapon is her serve

The world No. 25, who reached a Grand Slam semi-final for only the second time in her career, was no match for her very good serve. Against Ostapenko, Rybakina hit twelve aces and won 29 of 38 points on the first serve. In the four previous matches, the former world junior number three also scored the point on average more than 80% of the time when her first serve came.

Should the Wimbledon winner be able to rely on her thunderous serve again on Wednesday night, we believe that between Rybakina and Azarenka, the odds will pay off on the former world number twelve’s success.

The bottom line is that Rybakina is a player who seeks her luck on the offensive, wants to keep rallies short, hits a lot of winners, but also makes a few unforced errors at the same time. Thanks to the self-confidence she has gained in recent days and her experience as the current GS winner, coach Stefano Vukov’s protégé is rightly seen as the favourite in the first semi-final.

Victoria Azarenka – Statistics & current form

There aren’t many who would have believed Viktoria Azarenka could once again make the leap to the absolute top of the world after her privately difficult years between 2017 and 2019 with divorce and a custody battle. However, the 33-year-old Belarusian has proved her critics wrong and, at the latest by reaching the final of the US Open 2020, has underlined that she is still a force to be reckoned with.

After somewhat weaker Grand Slam results recently, the mum of a six-year-old son has played herself into a real frenzy in Australia in recent days. The former world number one won the first two rounds against Nadia Podoroska and Sofia Kenin quite easily, but in the third round and in the last 16 Azarenka had to go the full distance against Madison Keys and China’s Zhu after losing the first set before her quarter-final spot was secured.

Can Azarenka match Rybakina’s pace?

Against her good friend Jessica Pegula, the two-time Grand Slam winner certainly showed the best game in the tournament so far. However, the world number 24 also benefited from many unusual errors by the US player, who committed a whopping 31 unforced errors.

Unlike Elena Rybakina, Azarenka’s odds on the first serve are not as high. On the one hand, the first serve came only 60% of the time, even against Pegula. For another, she also gave up twelve of 37 points after the first serve.

Moreover, it cannot be assumed that the 33-year-old will again have so much time against her opponent, who is ten years younger, to always position herself perfectly for the ball. The lady from Minsk will therefore produce many more simple errors and will regularly be under pressure on her own service games.

Elena Rybakina – Victoria Azarenka Direct comparison / H2H record

The only direct duel between the two women took place last year on hard court in Indian Wells. Rybakina won the match in two straight sets. Azarenka committed eight double faults almost a year ago and could only score 13% of all points on Rybakina’s first serve. The Belarusian did not manage a single break, so she deservedly lost 3:6 and 4:6. It is quite possible that this encounter will serve as a blueprint for the upcoming match at the Australian Open 2023.

Elena Rybakina – Victoria Azarenka Tip

The first women’s singles semi-final of the Australian Open will be contested by Elena Rybakina and Viktoria Azarenka on Wednesday night. According to the betting odds, the Kazakh is the favourite in this duel between two different tennis generations. While the Moscow-born Wimbledon winner from 2022 is only 23 years old, her experienced opponent from Belarus is already 33 and has a son.

However, none of this will play a major role in the semifinals. Instead, it is more interesting to look at the previous performances and the playing styles of both women. Rybakina has eliminated highly rated women like Swiatek and Ostapenko in two sets. Azarenka has also lost one more set in the tournament. On top of that, the Kazakh’s serve is a real weapon that will give the two-time Australian Open winner from Minsk a run for her money.

Apart from that, we don’t think Azarenka will play a match that is nearly as flawless as the one she played against Pegula in the quarter-finals. Particularly because she won’t have as much time to position herself well to the balls against her upcoming opponent’s strong groundstrokes.

So we’re going for a 2:0 win for the favourite between Rybakina and Azarenka.