Victoria Azarenka vs Lin Zhu Prediction and Odds: Australian Open

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Victoria Azarenka continues her assault on a third Australian Open title as she faces Lin Zhu in the fourth round in Melbourne. The former world number one is favourite for the match but that doesn’t mean to say it’s a foregone conclusion. Let’s take a look at some of our pre-match predictions.

These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.

Victoria Azarenka vs Lin Zhu – Match Prediction

While Lin Zhu is enjoying her best ever performance at a grand slam, Azarenka is a former two-time Australian Open winner. On paper, Azarenka should have a relatively easy afternoon but she would be foolish to take Zhu lightly. Let’s examine our predictions a little closer.

V.Azarenka To Win The Match and Over 18.5 Total Games

At the age of 33, Victoria Arakenka may have thought her days of competing for grand slam titles were over but after a commanding opening three rounds in Melbourne, she has put herself right in the mix for glory at the end of the week. We expect her to come through this match relatively comfortably, and probably in straight sets, but Zhu is in good form and should pick up at least seven games along the way. A 6-4 6-3 win for Azarenka would be enough to cover this.

L.Zhu To Break Serve First

We are expecting plenty of breaks of serve throughout the match and at 2/1, Zhu to break first feels like fantastic value. In rounds two and three, the Chinese world number 84 broke her opponent in the opening game of the match. She likes to come out of the blocks quickly and you feel like a quick start is her best chance of catching Azarenka cold and potentially causing an upset.

Victoria Azarenka vs Lin Zhu Preview

Both players are vying for a place in the quarter-finals of the first grand slam of the year. Let’s look at how they’ve fared so far in the tournament.

Victoria Arazenka

After breezing through her opening two rounds against Kenin and Podoroska, the Belarusian faced off in a blockbuster third-round clash with Madison Keys. The match went all the way to three sets with Victoria Azarenka blowing her American opponent away 6-1 in the decider. Her power hitting from the baseline looks as strong as ever and will be very confident of progressing through to the next round.

Lin Zhu

Linz Zhu has also found her opening two rounds relatively comfortable, winning both of them in straight sets. In round three, she faced the world number six, Maria Sakkari. Going into the match as the big underdog, Zhu played with freedom and benefitted from it massively. The match went to three sets with Zhu coming out on top 6-4 in the decider. After beating Sakkari, Zhu will fancy her chances against Azarenka.

Victoria Azarenka vs Lin Zhu Head to Head

Despite both players being seasoned pros, they have never played each other before.

Victoria Azarenka vs Lin Zhu Match Details

• When will Azarenka vs Zhu start? This match will start at approximately 10:00 GMT on Sunday, 22nd January
• On which court will the match be played? The match will be played at the Rod Laver Arena.
• Where can I watch AO 2023 in the UK? All Australian Open matches will be broadcast live on Eurosport, you can also live stream this match on Discovery +.

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