Williams sisters aim at Semi Final Sibling Shootout at Australian Open

Andy Murray did it. He is through to the Semi Finals of the Australian Open. Murray progressed when opponent and number two seed Rafael Nadal retired through injury, with Murray two sets up already and 3-0 ahead in the third. The Scot will now play Marin Cilic in the semi final, after the Croatian brushed past Andy Roddick. Now it is the turn of the other half of the draw, where World Number One Roger Federer is in action today. Catch all of the live action from Melbourne on Bet365′s live streaming service.

Federer plays one of the most in form players at the moment, Nikolay Davydenko. The Swiss superstar will naturally start as favourite, but the Russian has recently gotten the better of the meetings between them. Davydenko won the Qatar Open as a warm up to the Australian Open, beating Federer and Nadal along the way. That’s how good he is at the moment, and this could be a severe test for the World Number One. All the speculation about Federer ahead of the tournament, is whether or not becoming a new father would have affected him. Would that life style change have caused a distraction from his game? But there has been no signs of that as he has looked his majestic self at times during his progress. Don’t be so overwhelmed by the bookie prices on this one, Davydenko has every chance of pushing Federer to breaking point.

Roger Federer to win: 2/5 at Paddy Power
Nikolay Davydenko to win: 12/5 at Boylesports

The day’s other Quarter Final sees World Number 3, Novak Djokovic play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic has been on cruise control, whereas Tsonga has been making hard work of things. Granted the Frenchman has had a slightly tougher passage, but current standings and form should see Djokovic reach the semi final, as expected from the start, looking at his quarter of the Draw. The big question should simply be who he will meet in the Semi, Federer or Davydenko. That match will clearly the big highlight reel game of the day.

Novak Djokovic to win: 9/20 at Boylesports
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 21/10 at SportingBet

In the Women’s Draw, World Number One Serena Williams plays 7th seed Victoria Azarenka, who has somewhat understated through the competition, not drawing much attention to herself. The Belarussian’s progress has been steady, with her toughest win coming over World Number 9 Vera Zvonareva in the Quarter Finals. That had all the promise of a thrilling, evenly matched game, and it was so after two sets. Azarenka stepped up her game in the deciding third set though, crushing her opponent six games to nil. How much of a challenge she will be able to put up against Serena Williams is a different matter entirely. The older Williams sister looks completely on top of her powerful game.

Serena Williams to win: 3/10 at Paddy Power
Victoria Azarenka to win: 17/5 at Bwin

It has been expected that the two Williams sisters will be in the semi finals, and that looks to completely be on the cards. Serena Williams plays China’s Na Li in their semi final encounter, after Li put in a surprisingly powerful two set victory over 4th seed Caroline Wozniacki. Not many people will have seen that result coming from the 16th seed, and if she could beat Williams, then she would join fellow countrywomen Jie Zheng in the semi finals, which would be a massive step forward for Chinese tennis. Jie Zheng plays resilient Justine Henin. The expected result though, as backed up by the bookies prices, is that come the end of the day, the Williams sisters will both be preparing for a semi final sibling shootout.

Venus Williams to win: 8/15 at Boylesports
Na Li to win: 7/4 at Bet365