It’s been more than 10 years since the top two seeded women have met at the Australian Open final. This year’s edition finally gives us the chance to witness it again as World No. 1 Serena Williams takes on one of her biggest rivals in No. 2 Maria Sharapova. Both have blazed a trail toward the final with dominant performances on the hardcourt.
Can Williams take another Grand Slam title to establish herself as one of the all-time greats? Read on as we breakdown this exhilarating affair.
Later on in the night, another all-time great in his respective sport is set to make a return. Considered the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Anderson Silva makes his much awaited return at UFC 183. Read our complete preview of the Silva vs. Diaz fight here.
Serena Williams was pushed to the brink in a 7-6(5), 6-2 semifinal win ove 19 year-old Madison Keys. The younger American hit more winners than Williams (27-19) and had 12 aces. Still, Williams made it to her sixth Australian Open final, her first since 2010.
[sc:Other240banner ]Williams will be going for her 19th Grand Slam title in the final. A win would put her second on the all-time list, just three short of first-place Steffi Graf’s 22.
Williams plays some of her best tennis when she’s against her final opponent, Maria Sharapova. She’s 16-2 against the Russian in head-to-head career matchups. She’s dropped only four sets of those 18 matches. Williams is on-point for another dominant performance against Sharapova. She fired 13 aces and had just one double-fault in the semifinal.
Power should be the decisive factor in this match. Williams has double-digit aces in four of her six matches in the Australian Open. Her fastest serve checked in at 127 MPH, a tournament-high. She has 15 aces over her last two matches against Sharapova combined, both on hardcourt.
Betting on Maria Sharapova
Aside from a three-set scare against Alexandra Panova, Maria Sharapova has dominated everyone she’s faced in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open. In the semifinal, Sharapova handily ousted Ekaterina Makarova from the tournament 6-3, 6-2.
What has given Sharapova success in the tournament is her service game. She has won 75 percent of first serve points in six matches thus far. She also managed to bring her success on serve deep into the tournament having won 83 percent of first serve points in the quarterfinal and semifinal combined. Still, Sharapova has to be on-point with her service game as Williams has won a total of 103 first serve return points throughout the Australian Open.
Sharapova has also displayed her excellent form on the receiving end. She’s won the most break points in the tournament (30), and has won 98 first serve points and 100 second serve points.
The X-factor in this game would be Williams’ form while playing with a cold. This should open up Sharapova’s ability to dominate rallies. She has a combined 35 winners over her last two matches as compared to 22 from her two opponents combined. Wearing out Williams could be the key for Sharapova ending her losing streak against the World No. 1.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams fades as Sharapova (+220) wins the 2015 Australian Open title. Nothing tops this Women’s Singles matchup for a Grand Slam title. Create a betting account now and get in on what should be an electrifying match.
