This Australian Open has already seen several upsets and notable moments. There’s number four seed Alexander Zverev’s loss to number sixteen seed Milos Raonic in the fourth round.
There was Andy Murray’s five-set thriller which he ultimately lost to Roberto Bautista Agut.
Perhaps the biggest of these moments though was whenever Roger Federer was upset by twenty-one year old, Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets that went the way of the Greek.
There are many more moments just like this but now, with Australian Open, closing in on the end, it’s time to take a look at the Australian Open semifinals betting preview.
Only four players remain and these four are currently the best of the best out of all the other players who have attended this year’s Australian Open.
Taking a look at the betting scene, the stakes are only going to get higher.
Australian Open betting gets better and better as the rounds close in and for those of you who have stayed stagnant, it’s now or never.
Right now, Tsitsipas has been having a field day. He’s already taken out several notable opponents, the biggest one being Roger Federer and he’s looking to take down another big name.
He first took down Italian Matteo Berrettini in four sets and then followed that with another close four set victory against Serbian superstar Viktor Troicki.
After that, the momentum spiraled into winning the biggest match against his life versus Roger Federer in which he won 6-7 (11), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (5). After that, Tsitsipas continued his rampage, beating Roberto Bautista Agut in a close four sets to claim his semifinal spot.
Overall, the Greek machine has been extremely clutch when it comes to winning the critical points. He’s been able to hold it out with some of the greats and that’s what’s brought him so far into one of the year’s biggest tournaments.
He already has a huge forehand and a carved out backhand. With the footwork he’s been showing right now, there’s no wonder as to why he’s been able to land so many jaw-dropping shots against his opponents.
His offense has been near impeccable and his defense just as good. Right now, he’s a good mix of both traits and it’s going to be crucial going into his semifinal match to determine whether or not he’s going to be able to win the entire thing.
As for his opponent, Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard is going to be the toughest opponent Stefanos has faced by far.
Right now, Rafael Nadal is 2-0 versus Tsitsipas when it comes to head to head matches. The first time, Rafael Nadal destroyed Stefanos 6-2, 6-1 at Barcelona and the second time, Rafael Nadal beat Stefanos in a closer manner 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Furthermore, Rafael Nadal has been bulldozing through his opponents. Right now, he’s taken out every single opponent without dropping a set, the closest being to Tomas Berdych who he beat 6-1, 6-0. 7-6 (4).
Keep in mind, he also took down two of the biggest Next Gen players, Francis Tiafoe and Alex de Minaur, with almost no thought.
Now, he’s going to face the best Next Gen player out of them all and if he keeps his results up, Stefanos might not be a threat.
Right now, the odds are stacked in Rafa’s favor. Overall, Rafa’s playstyle outmatches Stefanos Tsitsipas’ on almost every level.
He can beat Stefanos from both the forehand and the backhand largely thanks to his topspin which will keep Stefanos from attacking.
Meanwhile, if Stefanos tries to serve and volley, Nadal’s speed will easily counteract anything the Greek brings to the table.
Even his serve won’t be able to match Rafa’s return as Rafa’s reactions are at an extremely high caliber.
If Stefanos wants to win, he’s going to have to be at the top of his game in virtually ever aspect.
He’s going to need to be firing groundstrokes on all cylinders for both his forehands and backhands. His serve is going to need to be above 60% first serve in rate and he’s going to have to give away very little on second serves.
Furthermore, Tsitsipas is going to need to be much more patient than he usually is. Stefanos likes to slam shots at angles faster than usual and this can either lead to him hitting a winner or sending an unforced error long/into the net.
Tsitsipas is going to have to calm this mentality and instead play for patience.
He’s going to have to use his huge forehands and backhands for baseline dominance rather than highlight shots—and even that’s a stretch since Rafael Nadal is considered one of the kings of baseline.
Right now, the odds are in the favor of the Spaniard based on both data and mast matchups. But the time of the New Gens is the coming. Can Tsitsipas pull off another Big Four upset?
The second semifinal match has Luca Pouille facing off against Novak Djokovic. For Novak Djokovic, a semifinal placing is something that comes on average for the Serbian, considering the fact that he’s won six titles at the Australian Open.
However, for Luca Pouille, this is something new for him. This is the first time he’s made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, let alone past the first round.
Every year before that, the French player couldn’t even win a match at this tournament.
When comparing the two, you’ll see that there’s an obvious discrepancy between the two.
Novak Djokovic has had quite the time reaching where he is right now. He’s had to face several notable opponents, the first one being Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, another fellow Frenchmen who he had to beat in three extremely close sets.
The second was Canadian superstar, Denis Shapovalov, who he edged past in four sets. Then came fifteen seed Daniil Medvedev who he beat in another four sets.
In the Quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic was expected to duel it out with Kei Nishikori, the Japanese hometown hero who had taken down Novak Djokovic at the 2014 US Open semifinals.
However, after taking down Kei in the first set 6-1 and was up 4-1 in the second, Kei retired, giving Novak Djokovic his seventh semifinal placing the Australian Open tournament.
Whenever you look at Lucas Pouille’s draw, though, you’ll see that the Frenchmen got notably easier competition.
He didn’t face his first seeded player till the fourth round and in the second and third round, Lucas was nearly knocked out as he barely beat both his opponents.
Of course, he got a notable win over Borna Coric—the eleventh seed—who he beat in four sets. He would then go on to take down Milos Raonic in four sets as well.
While Lucas Pouille got some great wins under his belt, he didn’t take down as many tough opponents as Novak Djokovic did and when it comes to sets, Novak Djokovic has dropped far less.
Currently, Novak Djokovic has only dropped two sets while Lucas Pouille has dropped five, a significant difference.
The dominance from Novak Djokovic should be expected. If everything goes smoothly for the Serbian, he could be on track to going to yet another Australian Open.
He’s a home favorite, after all. Winning six titles at the AO definitely gives the crowd something to cheer for.
Even if you look at playstyle, you’ll see that Novak Djokovic has a far better kit. Novak Djokovic can play anything from the baseline and he has the speed to cover a wide variety of offensive attacks thrown at him.
His high fitness level gives him the ability to stop and turn quickly, thus allowing him to react to even the most unexpected of shots.
Furthermore, with a powerful backhand to dictate rallies and just as good of a serve and return, Djokovic outpowers Luca Pouille.
This is because Lucas Pouille is almost a purely offensive attacker. He’s known for hitting huge shots just like Denis Shapovalov and when he hits them, they’re extremely deadly.
But the problem with Lucas Pouille is that he’s only twenty-four years old and doesn’t know how to consistently play this playstyle throughout a match.
Therefore, unless Pouille is having a field day, Novak Djokovic will be able to outlast him from the baseline, outlast him on serves, and outlast him when it comes to returns.
Essentially, Novak Djokovic is going to outlast Lucas Pouille on almost every scale when it comes down to the facts and the data.
The only way Lucas Pouille is going to be able to win is if he lowers down the level of his shots and is ready to play for long points rather than short points.
His forehand can be huge but Novak Djokovic’s playstyle is known for rallying back with anyone, no matter how fast they can hit it.
Therefore, Lucas Pouille will have to adopt a playstyle that centers around slowly moving Novak Djokovic in the early stages of the game and then going for an all-out attack in the second set on.
Lucas Pouille’s offense is going to be his best friend but he’s going to need to learn to tone it down if he wants to make his first ever Australian Open final.
The odds are favoring Novak Djokovic right now but that doesn’t mean an upset by Pouille isn’t possible. After all, Djokovic lost to Denis Istomin in 2017 and fell to Hyeong Chung in 2018—two players that no one thought would beat the Serbian powerhouse.
Now, with the semifinal matches around the corner, the question is being begged to be asked: who’s going to come forth victorious? Djokovic or Pouille.
This year’s Australian Open has seen quite a few upsets throughout the tournament. We’ve had major names like Federer, Zverev, and Borna Coric all taken out.
All of these were tournament favorites and those who bet on the underdogs came out with quite a cash prize.
Now, with the two semifinal matches around the corner, who’s going to make the finals of the 2019 Australian Open?
There’s Nadal vs. Tsitsipas and despite Nadal’s 2-0 record over the Greek machine, the Spaniard might be facing an even tougher version of Tsitsipas.
After all, he’s been showing exceptional forehands and backhands on a whole new caliber. Will the Greek prodigy be able to take down the world number two who hasn’t lost a single set so far? Or will Rafael Nadal continue his dominance?
On the other side is Novak Djokovic versus Lucas Pouille. Novak Djokovic has been showing his usual dominance with little to no waver while Lucas Pouille’s clutch matches have given him a historic run.
Will Lucas Pouille be able to utilize heavy forehands and unpredictable playstyles to upset the current world number one and strip him of a seventh Australian Open final appearance?
Both of these matches are sure to give action on an unprecedented scale and betting-wise, it’s going to be even better.
There’s opportunity for upsets, especially from Pouille and Tsitsipas’s side. Thus, you can expect some of the best performances yet.
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