Australian Open 2019 Preview – January 20th, 2019 at 1:30 am
America’s Danielle Collins is having a run to remember at the Australian Open. It would get even better if she were to take out former champion Angelique Kerber. The German, as expected, has reached the fourth round of the tournament and it is she who goes as favourite. The winner of the match will face either Sloane Stephens or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the next round.
Danielle Collins v Angelique Kerber odds*
Angelique Kerber 1/9
Danielle Collins 11/2
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 18th, 2019 at 7:26 pm)
Collins exceeds expectations
In the first round of the Australian Open 2019, Collins found herself a set down against 14th seed Julia Goerges. Collins had lost that opening set of the tournament 6-2. But then out of nowhere, she turned the corner. She turned the match on its head and it was her first ever appearance at the Australian Open.
You could see the confidence flooding through her in that second set as Collins went on to complete the upset, winning the match from a net cord. She is really stepping deeper into uncharted territory here after seeing off yet another seed in the third round. She got a straight sets victory over Caroline Garcia in impressive style, maintaining her level of aggression and focus.
Kerber still on course
Next for Collins comes Angelique Kerber, one of the front-runners to win the tournament outright. Kerber hasn’t had any troubles in reaching the fourth round, in fact, she has only dropped ten games across her three matches in total. She is a former Australian Open so knows what this is all about of course.
Kerber is a three-time Grand Slam champion and only Serena Williams is shorter than the German in the Australian Open outright winner market, where Kerber is at 11/2. Kerber and Collins have met once before. They went head to head at Eastbourne last year ahead of Wimbledon. Kerber is a tremendous grass court player and she took a 6-1 6-1 victory over Collins in the round of sixteen.
Prediction
It has been some good stuff from Collins who has probably exceeded her own expectations in her maiden adventure at Melbourne Park. Kerber though is looking in fine form at the moment and the German has to be expecting to win this relatively comfortably. In terms of rankings, there were tougher draws she could have gotten at this stage. Kerber to win 2-0 at 4/11 odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 18th, 2019 at 7:26 pm).
