In the first round of the Australian Open, Grigor Dimitrov and Aslan Karatsev will play against each other. The match will start on January 17 at 00:00.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (+5) for Karatsev – 1.77.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Games Over 38 – 1.95.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #3 – 1st Set Games Under 9.5 – 1.988.
Dimitrov is the favourite, but we think Girgor will have a tough match. Karatsev has beaten him before and did it exactly on the Melbourne courts. Aslan shows good preparation for the new season at the beginning of the year, so he is quite capable to outplay Dimitrov again in the upcoming match.
The two have faced each other on two previous occasions and both matches were tightly fought. The Australian Open match in 2021 ended in four sets. The same year, they played in San Diego in a three-set match. We expect that the next encounter between Dimitrov and Karatsev will also be a high-scoring encounter.
Dimitrov played several matches at the United Cup in early January. In one of them, he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Stef snatched victory in the tie-break of the third set.
Shortly afterwards, Grigor defeated David Goffin (6-4, 7-5).
The week before the Australian Open, Dimitrov defeated Borna Coric in an exhibition match. Grigor defeated Borna on two tie-breaks (7-6, 7-6).
Dimitrov reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open three times and the semi-finals once. Only once he failed to reach the second round in Melbourne.
Dimitrov has won his last four matches in a row as a favourite.
Karatsev, meanwhile, started the season at a tournament in Pune, where he managed to reach the semi-finals.
After all last year’s failures, this result can be considered a serious success.
Aslan defeated Pablo Andujar (6-1, 6-3), Tim van Rijthoven (7-6, 7-6) and Pedro Martinez (6-1, 6-2) without dropping a single set.
Karatsev lost in the semi-finals to Tallon Griekspoor (6-7, 1-6). Aslan lost in the first set on a tie-break, before his opponent took the second set with a score of 6-1.
In the 2021 season, Karatsev sensationally reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open. Last year. Aslan lost in the third round to Adrian Mannarino.
Karatsev has won six of his last seven matches played in Australia.
Type of Court – Hard
Speed of Court – 8/10
Grigor Dimitrov’s Rating – 29
Grigor Dimitrov Wins/Losses in 2022 – 2/1
Aslan Karatsev’s Rating – 52
Aslan Karatsev Wins/Losses in 2022 – 3/1
In 3 of Karatsev’s last 5 matches, less than 9.5 games have been played in the first set. We offer to bet on “1st Set Games Under 9.5” with odds of 1.988.
The score in the head-to-head encounters is tied at 1-1. The last time they met was at the San Diego Open in 2021. In that match, Dimitrov defeated Karatsev (6-1, 1-6, 6-2) in three sets.
The match will be played in the 1573 Arena, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
We recommend checking out the odds for the 2023 Australian Open: Grigor Dimitrov vs Aslan Karatsev at 1xBet and VBET.