Ricky Dimon
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The Australian Open could heat up in a big way on Thursday, when the order of play is highlighted by a night-session showdown between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios. Among those also taking the court on the men’s side are Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Andy Murray. In the women’s draw, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, and Anett Kontaveit are back in action.
Let’s take a look at the best bets to be made. Following a 3-0 effort on Wednesday, we will try to keep the run going!
Anett Kontaveit -1.5 sets over Clara Tauson (-155)
Outside of facing one of the best players in the world and a serious Australian Open title contender such as Ashleigh Barty or Naomi Osaka, Anett Kontaveit -1.5 sets is a good bet against anyone. The 7th-ranked Estonian is one of the best players in the world and at the end of 2021 she was arguably the best. Kontaveit compiled a 29-4 record in her last 33 matches of last season. She opened on Tuesday at Melbourne Park with a 6-2, 6-3 beatdown of Katerina Siniakova, not an easy first-round opponent at all. Tauson is just 19 years old and has never advanced past round two of a Grand Slam. The Dane is talented, but she isn’t a tougher opponent than Siniakova.
Maxime Cressy ML over Thomas Machac (-154)
Maxime Cressy needed 5 sets against John Isner in the first round, but Isner obviously isn’t an easy first-round foe and it wasn’t a particularly physical contest. It was just a whole bunch of aces and big serving — as you would expect. There should be no concerns two days later with Cressy, who looked perfectly fresh in the 5th set against Isner. The American is in stellar form, too, as he kicked off his 2022 campaign with a runner-up performance at a smaller tournament in Melbourne (lost to Rafael Nadal). This is Machac’s first appearance in the second round of slam, so it won’t be an easy occasion for the 21-year-old Czech.
Andrey Rublev -2.5 sets over Ricardas Berankis (-155)
Andrey Rublev was a bit of a question mark going into the Australian Open because he tested positive for Covid-19 in late December and missed the first event of this year (the ATP Cup, a team competition in Sydney). Well, the 7th-ranked Russian answered those questions with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 romp over Gianluca Mager. Rublev should make similarly quick work of Berankis. The 93rd-ranked Lithuanian is coming off a 5-setter against Roberto Carballes Baena, which is not an especially encouraging result and could leave him short on energy for this one. The -2.5 sets bet is only a big risk when the opponent is a huge server who can easily force tiebreakers and turn things into a general crapshoot. Berankis isn’t that. The 5’9” 31-year-old is a counter-puncher who is content to play long rallies. Rublev will likely break serve early and often and quickly hit Berankis off the court.
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