Caroline Wozniacki made it through to the semi finals of the Australian Open for the first time since 2011 after being taken the distance in her quarter final battle with Carla Suarez Navarro. Wozniacki, the number two seed for the tournament was on cruise control in the first set against the Spaniards, moving ahead in the match without dropping a game in the opener. But then the match took quite the turn as Suarez Navarro levelled up in the second. It is the only set that Wozniacki has dropped in the Championships so far.
But there was no panic or loss of control from Wozniacki as she sealed progress in the final set with a 6-2 victory. It was a long duel that went over two hours though, a feature of matches between the two of them. Wozniacki’s defence overall was probably the most notable feature of the match and when she had to switch things up and turn on extra attacking spin to regain control in the final set, she stepped up and deliver. Backing it all up was a serve that is working very well.
She probably would have been expecting to meet Elina Svitolina in the semi finals, but the number four seed fell to a shock defeat against Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the quarter final. Mertens has been pegged in a group of players who are the next generation of the sport and she has compatriots to look back at for inspiration, to the likes of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin when they were at the top of the game. Mertens didn’t just beat out Svitolina, she took her higher-ranked opponent apart.
There were signs from Svitolina that she was just struggling for movement through the tournament and she said that she wasn’t quite right herself. But the performance of Meterns to win 6-4 6-0 was so impressive. Mertens successfully defended her Hobart title recently and she is clawing her way up the world rankings as well but still she is a surprise semi finalist here, an unseeded player knocking around the final four and she clearly has some kind of affinity for playing in Australia.
Elise Mertens v Caroline Wozniacki Head to head
The two have played once before and that was just last year on clay in Sweden. Wozniacki won the match but it wasn’t without a battle though as she needed three sets to progress against the young Belgian. Because that was on clay it is hard to take much away from that meeting.
Elise Mertens v Caroline Wozniacki Odds*
Caroline Wozniacki 4/11, Elise Mertens 2/1
Elise Mertens v Caroline Wozniacki Prediction
It is fully worth looking at this going to three sets as Mertens was sparkling in her quarter final victory over Svitolina. It is one of the most complete performances from any player in this year’s women’s draw. Mertens goes as the underdog but she has every chance of taking something off of Wozniacki in this one and a Caroline Wozniacki 2-1 option in set betting is 3/1 odds at Paddy Power* (betting odds taken on January 23rd at 8:37 p.m.)
