Aryna Sabalenka v Belinda Bencic Betting Tips [23 January 2023]

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka will face off with world number 10 Belinda Bencic on Monday in the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Open. The two players have shared the two matches previously played though this is their first match since 2019. The two players are in sublime form, coming into the tournament off the back of tour success in Adelaide. Bencic defeated world number eight Daria Kasatkina in straight sets to lift the Adelaide 2 while Sabalenka overcame the challenge of 18-year-old Linda Noskova in Adelaide 1. Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set in Melbourne which can also be said of her fourth-round opponent. The 24-year-old Belarusian has however spent 48 minutes less on the court across her previous three matches than Bencic. She defeated 26th seed, Elise Mertens in round three, and world number 51 Shelby Rodgers in round two. It took her just 70 minutes to get the better of world number 74 Tereza Martincova in the opening round. Sabalenka has been as high as second on the WTA ranking and is currently second on the live WTA Finals Race behind leader Bencic. A win on Monday will see her leapfrog Bencic and top the list.

Belinda Bencic’s Adelaide success saw her end a two-year stay outside of the WTA Top 10 and will be keen to have it remain as so with success on Monday. The 25-year-old has never been past this round in Melbourne with her only other fourth-round appearance coming back in 2016. She is up one place to ninth on the live ranking and has been as high as fourth in the women’s game. She defeated world number 70 Camila Giorgi in the last round and in turn, made it eight wins out of nine in 2023. Her only defeat in the year came in the United Cup, to world number one Iga Swiatek. Bencic and compatriot Jil Teichmann were eliminated in the round of 32 in the Doubles tournament. Progressing from this round for either of these two will set up a quarter-final clash against Linda Fruhvirtova or Donna Vekic, both who are unseeded.

This is a mouthwatering clash between two players at the top of their game at the moment. Neither has dropped a set thus far in Melbourne but that will change with Monday’s fourth-round tie. It might go either way as recent form and head-to-head records suggest. We however feel strongly about Aryna Sabalenka’s chances to advance with the match going to a final set.