Jessica Pegula and Viktoria Azarenka will battle it out to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Azarenka is capable of getting on Pegula’s nerves, tightening up the meeting and making the most of any encounter, especially in matches against top contenders who are in great shape. On character, Victoria will be looking to tie the score and possibly clinch the set. The match will start on January 24 at 08:00.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #1 – Handicap (-3.5) for Lehecka – 1.77.
Bookmaker Ratings: Prediction #2 – Total Games Under 23.5 – 1.48.
At the end of last year, Pegula defeated Azarenka (7-6, 6-1) in Guadalajara. In our opinion, it’s worth waiting for Jessica to win today as well. First of all, she is able to work more consistently on her serve, which Viktoria often has difficulties with.
In their last two head-to-head encounters, the two players have not played more than 20 games. Pegula has won all eight of her victories since the beginning of the year by 2-0 in sets. With that in mind, we’d recommend predicting a total of less.
Pegula reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the third year in a row. The difference from previous seasons is that this is no longer a surprise.
In the fourth round, Jessica confidently defeated Barbora Krejcikova (7:5, 6:2).
In this match, the opponent had no easy games on her serve. Jessica was always forcing Barbora to make mistakes.
Before that Pegula defeated Jaqueline Cristian (6-0, 6-1), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-2, 7-6) and Marta Kostyuk (6-0, 6-2).
Pegula’s winning streak now stands at eight matches. In early January, she defeated Iga Swiatek (6-2, 6-2) at the United Cup.
Jessica Pegula has won nine of her last ten matches as a favourite.
Azarenka, meanwhile, had some serious nerves in her recent match.
She barely beat Zhu Lin (4-6, 6-1, 6-4). She was saved from a collapse by several unfortunate mistakes of Zhu Line at the end of the third set.
After the match, Azarenka said Zhu’s tennis was a revelation for her. According to her, Zhu Lin played at least at the top-20 level.
Before that, Azarenka had won a hard-fought victory over Madison Keys (1-6, 6-2, 6-1).
In four of Victoria Azarenka’s last five matches on a hard court, more than 19 games have been played.
Type of Court – Hard
Speed of Court – 7/10
Jessica Pegula’s Rating – 3
Jessica Pegula Wins/Losses in 2023 – 8/1
Victoria Azarenka’s Rating – 24
Victoria Azarenka Wins/Losses in 2023 – 5/2
Pegula leads with a score of 3-2 in the head-to-head encounters. The last time they met was at the Guadalajara Open in 2022. In that match, Pegula defeated Azarenka (7-6, 6-1) in two sets.
The match will be played in Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
We recommend checking out the odds for the 2023 Australian Open: Jessica Pegula vs Victoria Azarenka at 1xBet and VBET.