Australian Open 2019 Preview – January 20th, 2019 at 1:30 am
Petra Kvitova has made very impressive yet understated progress through the 2019 Australian Open action. She powered her way through her toughest challenge yet against Belinda Bencic in the last round. Next up for her is young American sensation Amanda Anisimova who looked supreme in her third round win.
Petra Kvitova v Amanda Anisimova odds*
Petra Kvitova 1/2
Amanda Anisimova 13/8
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 18th, 2019 at 7:26 pm)
Youngster grabs headlines
At just 17 years old Amanda Anisimova has the tennis world at her. There is a lot of players of course that come along who are pegged as the next big thing and a lot fall short. Anisimova looks as if she has it all. The American, the youngest player left in the draw has cruised to the third round without having dropped a set.
She went up against 11th seed Aryna SAbalenka, another of the big rising stars in the world game, but with a bigger proven track record than Anisimova. In her short career, Sabalenka has won three WTA titles already. But the way that the powerful Belarusian was torn apart by Anismivoa in that third round encounter was staggering.
The shots and angles that the American pulled out of her arsenal, was at times, bewildering. Attack is clearly the best form of defence from the youngster. She has become the youngest American to get to the fourth round at Melbourne Park since Jennifer Capriati did back in 1993. Anisimova is also the youngest American to reach the fourth round of any Grand Slam since Serena Williams’ appearance at the 1998 French Open.
Quietly impressive from Kvitova
But her fourth-round opponent Kvitova has shown plenty of power as well so far. She destroyed Belinda Bencic in the third round and the former Wimbledon champion has yet to drop a set either. So the two look as if they are going to be evenly matched. You can expect plenty of heavy groundstrokes in this one, and we have to make a mention of Kvitova’s 2019 form.
After an early second round defeat at the Brisbane International, Kvitova stepped straight back into action in Sydney and powered her way to the title there, beating Aussie home talent Ashleigh Barty in the final. But there were telling victories along the way before that as Kerber saw off Sabalenka and former fellow Australian Open titleist Angelique Kerber.
Head to head
Interestingly Kvitova and Anisimova met at Indian Wells last year. The outcome of that one? A win for the American in straight sets
Prediction
What a tough game to call. There is something very special about Anisimov and the way she plays. The power and precision is a bit unreal at times. But still, it is Kvitova who is going as the 1/2 odds on favourite* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 18th, 2019 at 7:26 pm). She is a player herself in great form and we are going to roll with her because of experience on top of that.
