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Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki will square off in a blockbuster third round meeting at the Australian Open, in Day 5 of the tournament on Thursday night / Friday morning.
Sharapova hasn`t quite been herself since coming back from suspension two years ago, and the Russian didn`t look that great coming into the 2019 Australian Open. Sharapova looked pretty bad in her warm up event at Shenzhen, where she claimed two very unimpressive wins before getting blown out by Sabalenka (1-6 2-4 ret.). That being said, the Russian came out firing here in Melbourne and has lost an incredible 3 (three!!) total games in her two wins here. Granted, she had a very easy schedule playing Dart and Peterson, but her performance remains noteworthy.
Wozniacki will attempt to defend her Australian Open title after edging Halep in last year`s final, and so far Caroline is looking good. She had a good preparation in Auckland where she played well despite losing to Andreescu in the second round (Andreescu was unstoppable and that match had some very high level tennis). Here in Melbourne she got two routine wins against Van Uytvanck (6-3 6-4) and Larsson (6-1 6-3).
Bet on Sharapova v Wozniacki and claim your 100% (120 Eur) bonus at LSbet now!Sharapova leads the H2H 6-4, but Wozniacki leads 4-3 on hard courts. The previous meeting was way back in 2015, when Sharapova was in a much better moment of her career. It will be an interesting clash of styles between Sharapova`s big hitting and Wozniacki`s baseline defense.
Sharapova looked sharp in her two matches this week, but in all honesty she couldn`t have had an easier schedule, her draw was basically a free ticket to the third round. Wozniacki didn`t have it much tougher either, but still faced a bit more difficult opposition.
Considering that in the last year or so Wozniacki has been in great form, fighting for the No.1 spot in the rankings, while Sharapova has struggled to reach her former level, you would expect odds on Caro to be much lower here. However, Sharapova`s blowout wins in the first two rounds have determined the bookies to rate this as an evenly matched clash.
Destroying Dart and Peterson was all good and nice for Sharapova, and she`s definitely confident in herself right now, but those wins don`t mean much when you have to take on a player like Wozniacki. It might be a mistake to put much weight on those results, when this clash will be so much more difficult and different. In fact, Sharapova might pay the price for not being tested at all in the first two rounds. She could have used better preparation before facing Caroline.
Wozniacki will always defend well and force you to hit another shot, so that might not be the best matchup for Sharapova, as we know she can be highly inconsistent – and has been highly inconsistent since her return for suspension. That is never good news when you are taking on Wozniacki. Eventually errors could start to flow from the Russian`s side.
Wozniacki is playing well for some time now, she`s the defending champion, she`s in good form both long term and short term, and you have to feel that she`s the better player.
A good match is expected, and Sharapova will probably have her moments based on what we saw from her in the first two rounds, but chances are that in the end she will be worn down by Wozniacki`s defense and consistency. If the match gets long and physical, Sharapova`s fitness could also come into play, as she retired in Shenzhen with a thigh injury just a couple of weeks ago.
All in all, my tip will be Wozniacki to win. Prediction: Maria Sharapova – Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 4-6 2-6.
Pick: Wozniacki
Odds: 1.83 @ 22Bet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.64
Event date: 18 January
