Australian Open Women's Betting: Azarenka and Wozniacki to serve up a treat

Azarenka to trump Wozniacki?

It's Day Four in Melbourne and Abelson Info preview the remaining second round matches including a huge clash between Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki...

Maria Sharapova's scare dominated the headlines on Wednesday, but with the Russian ace safely through she can now rest and watch as her rivals in the top half of the draw take to the court to wrap up the second round.

Serena Williams meets an old foe in the form of Vera Zvonareva, while Petra Kvitova is also back in action as she prepares to take on Mona Barthel. Both top seeds will be expected to come through especially after looking impressive in the opening round.

As a result, the value lies elsewhere on Thursday as Azarenka will hope to continue her comeback with a win over eighth seed Wozniacki.

Both ladies breezed through the opening round with the Belarusian surprising many given the ease with which she overcame Sloane Stephens in straight sets. Wozniacki also dispatched of Taylor Townsend with minimal fuss, and so it sets up an intriguing battle between two of the best in the business.

Given the Dane's form through last year and the level of confidence that she is playing with, she has been installed as the favourite for this clash at 1.794/5. Wozniacki also leads 4-3 in their head-to-head, but she hasn't beaten her rival since 2010 with Azarenka winning their last meeting in Cincinnati in 2013.

It would come as no surprise if Azarenka were to get the win and the two-time Australian Open champion is a hugely tempting bet at one of her favourite venues. 

Can she secure a major scalp? We believe she can, but with this one unlikely to be over quickly, the games market also represents good value.
Elsewhere, it is worth monitoring both Sam Stosur and Madison Keys who will be looking to make short work of their next opponents.

Home-favourite Stosur takes on Coco Vandeweghe with whom she has split her two meetings thus far, while Keys will be looking for a repeat of her win over Casey Dellacqua when they last met in this tournament in 2013.

We also like the look of rising star Garbine Muguruza, with the 21-year-old Spanish star a favourite to defeat veteran Daniele Hantuchova, while Dominika Cibulkova will be looking for an eighth win in nine meetings against Tsvetana Pironkova.

The Slovakian star is looking for an immediate return to the final this year and with six of her seven wins coming in straight sets against Pironkova, she clearly has the drop on her rival.

In addition, another match-up that we like is Camila Giorgi taking on Tereza Smitkova, with the young Italian playing some solid tennis to get past compatriot Flavia Pennetta last time out. Smitkova could be a tricky test, but Giorgi will be desperate to kick on and this could be a big week for her.

Recommended Bets:
Back Azarenka to beat Wozniacki @ 2.26/5
Back Giorgi to beat Smitkova 2-0 @ 2.466/4
Back Cibulkova to beat Pironkova 2-0 @ 2.747/4

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