Australian Open 2023: Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match details
Fixture: (5) Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette
Date: January 26, 2023
Tournament: Australian Open 2023
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: A$76,500,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Ten & Sony Liv
Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette preview
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 45 Magda Linette are set for a semifinal showdown at the 2023 Australian Open on Thursday.
Sabalenka scored straight-sets wins over Tereza Martincova, Shelby Rogers, Elise Mertens and Belinda Bencic to make the last eight here. She faced Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals, who had won five of their previous six encounters.
The opening set was a close one, with all games except the first having at least one break point for either player. It was Sabalenka who held her nerve to capture the set. The Belarusian took charge of the second set from the onset as she jumped to a 3-0 lead.
Vekic then secured a break of serve to make it 3-1, but Sabalenka bagged the next couple of games to solidify a 5-1 lead. The World No. 5 soon served for the match and it took a while for her to close it out. She saved three break points as her opponent put up a fight, but came out on top to win 6-3, 6-2. This marks her first semifinal appearance in Melbourne.
Linette, meanwhile, defeated Mayar Sherif, Anett Kontaveit, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Caroline Garcia to reach her very first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She then took on former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova for a place in the final four.
The match started with the duo trading service breaks. Linette snagged another break of serve to go 4-2 up and held on to the lead to clinch the first set. The second set was quite close, with both players having multiple break-point chances, but failing to get the job done.
Linette managed to break Pliskova's serve towards the end of the set. She then served out the match with ease to win 6-3, 7-5 and reach her maiden Grand Slam semifinal.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette head-to-head
Sabalenka leads Linette 2-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2021 Olympics in straight sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Magda Linette prediction
At the start of the tournament, everyone predicted a Polish woman to be in the semifinals. However, that player has turned out to be Linette rather than her compatriot, Iga Swiatek. The 30-year-old has knocked out some notable names during her dream run in Melbourne so far.
In the quarterfinals, Linette took full advantage of Pliskova's limited court coverage, while serving amazingly. She anticipated her opponent's shots quite well and was able to remain in charge of the points. However, a similar approach might not work against her next opponent.
Sabalenka is the player to beat this year. She has now extended her unbeaten run to nine matches, winning all of them in straight sets as well. The Belarusian's serving yips returned to haunt her in the quarterfinals, but she weathered the storm to emerge victorious.
While Sabalenka might have had an off day on serve, she did quite well during the return games. She was very effective from the back of the court as well, blasting her groundstrokes with great power and depth. She now finds herself in familiar territory as she's back in another Major semifinal.
However, Sabalenka has lost all three of her previous semifinals in three sets. If she's able to handle the weight of the moment this time around, the Belarusian has got a good chance of making the final.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.