The No. 1 ranking in the world is on the line on Saturday (Friday night U.S. time) in Melbourne when Victoria Azarenkafaces Maria Sharapova for the Australian Open women’s championship. Azarenka opened as the -135 favorite on Bovada’s tennis odds with live betting available.
Get all your tennis odds at Bovada Sportsbook!
Azarenka, the No. 3 seed, beat No. 11 seed and defending champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals to reach the first Grand Slam final of her career. Azarenka, from Belarus, broke Clijsters’ serve twice in the third set in only her second appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal. The last time Azarenka was in a Grand Slam semi was at Wimbledon last year when she lost in three sets to eventual champion Petra Kvitova.
It is the final Aussie Open for Clijsters, who says she will retire again at the end of the year. She leaves Melbourne Park with one title to her name (2011), one finals appearance and five semifinals in 10 visits.
The fourth-seeded Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open champion, beat No. 2 Kvitova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Sharapova struggled with her serve, especially in the third set where she posted five of her 10 double faults in the match. The Russian lost to Kvitova in the Wimbledon final last year. Sharapova is a three-time Grand Slam champion but hasn’t won one since that 2008 Aussie title; her other titles are at Wimbledon in 2004 and the 2006 U.S. Open.
Azarenka and Sharapova have played six times in their careers, with each winning three. However, Azarenka won the past two meetings on hard courts, the most recent in the 2011 Miami tournament where the Belarusian won 6-1, 6-4. But their most recent meeting was last spring in the clay in Rome, with Sharapova winning when Azarenka withdrew in the second set with an injury.
The winner replaces Caroline Wozniacki as the top-ranked player in the world, a spot Sharapova has previously held.
Join the Bovada Sportsbook now!
Recent Comments