Australian Open 2023, Day 10: Men's & Women's singles predictions ft. Novak Djokovic vs Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka vs Donna Vekić
Day 10 of the Australian Open 2023 on Wednesday (January 25) will see four of the eight quarterfinalists in both the men's and women's draws in action. All four matches will be played at Rod Laver Arena.
The first match of the day session will see the former World No.1 Karolína Plíšková take on first-time quarterfinalist Magda Linette. Plíšková won all her matches comfortably without losing a single set to her opponent and Linette stunned the fourth-seeded Garcia in straight sets to reach her first ever Grand Slam quarter-final. The Plíšková-Linette clash will be followed by a match between World No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka taking on Donna Vekic.
Australian Open Order of Play - RLA - Wednesday 25 January.
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The final eight in the men's singles will commence with and all-American clash between first-time quarterfinalists Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul at Rod Laver Arena. 20-year-old Ben Shelton continued his fairytale run in his first major by defeating J.J. Wolf to reach the quarterfinals, with Tommy Paul scoring an upset win over Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round.
The night session action at the Rod Laver Arena will commence with a clash between 9-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
On that note, here's a look at the predictions for the two men's singles and women's singles matches at the Australian Open on Day 10:
#1.Karolína Plíšková (#30) vs Magda Linette
Former World No.1 Karolína Plíšková will take on Magda Linette for a place in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open. Pliskova, the 30th seed at this year’s tournament, came into the Slam with a poor record to show for the last 12 months. Plíšková has been in stupendous form. She is yet to drop a set in the tournament and has dropped only 18 games across her four matches so far.
Magda Linette has also played some of her best tennis since the start of the 2023 season. She came into the Australian Open with four wins in the United Cup. The same has been reflected in her performances, going past fourth-seeded Garcia in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.
Karolína Plíšková leads Magda Linette in their current head-to-head with a comfortable 7-2 margin.
Predicted Winner: Karolína Plíšková
#2. Aryna Sabalenka (#5) vs Donna Vekic
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka will meet Donna Vekic in the 2nd quarterfinal of the Australian Open 2023 in Melbourne on Wednesday. Sabalenka came into the Australian Open as one of the favorites for the title after claiming her 11th career title at the Adelaide International. With most of the top seeds facing early exits, the Belarusian has now booked her place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the very first time.
Former World No. 19 Donna Vekic is in the quarterfinals for the first time at the Australian Open. She has beaten the likes of 18th seed Liudmila Samsonova and rising star Linda Fruhvirtova along the way to the quarter-finals. Her 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 fourth-round win over Fruhvirtova after coming back from a break down in the third set will give her tremendous confidence going forward.
Vekic has a 5-1 lead in her head-to-head over Sabalenka. Their last meeting was in San Diego in 2022, where Vekic edged the Belarusian 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1. Although head-to-head favors Vekic with the kind of form that Sabalenka is in at the moment, she should manage to pull through in this contest.
Predicted Winner: Aryna Sabalenka
#3.Ben Shelton vs Tommy Paul
Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, two first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalists, will square off against each other at Rod Laver Arena for a spot in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.
25-year-old Tommy Paul, the more experienced of the two Americans, comes into the contest having scored a couple of upset wins over seeded opponents Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Roberto Bautista Agut in the second and fourth rounds respectively. Paul will be feeling confident about his prospects heading into Wednesday.
20-year-old Shelton has been a sensation in the 2023 Australian Open, already being rated very highly by many experts. Shelton is yet to face any seeded opponents and his biggest win came against countryman J.J. Wolf, who is ranked World No. 57. While you cannot take away from his performances, it remains to be seen how the youngster holds up against the pressure of playing against big opponents.
Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton have not faced each other on the Tour. The experienced and well-rounded game should make Paul a slight favorite heading into the game.
Predicted Winner: Tommy Paul
#4.Novak Djokovic (#4) vs Andrey Rublev (#5)
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic will take on fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Australian Open on Wednesday. The Serbian entered the 2023 Australian Open on the back of title-winning runs at the Tel Aviv Open, the Astana Open, the Nitto ATP Finals, and most recently the Adelaide International 1. He scored a dominant win over 23-year-old Alex de Minaur in two hours and six minutes in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 en route to the quarterfinals.
Andrey Rublev, on the other hand, looked completely out of form before entering the Australian Open with early exits at the Rolex Paris Masters, Adelaide International 1, and Adelaide International 2. However, Rublev played exceptionally well and defeated the likes of Dominic Thiem, Emil Ruusuvuori, Daniel Evans, and Holger Rune en route to the quarterfinals.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Rublev 2-1. He defeated him most recently in the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. Given the Serbian's dominant form, it is hard not to pick Djokovic to win the tie.
Predicted Winner: Novak Djokovic