Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams Preview
Where: Melbourne Park – Melbourne, Australia
When: Friday, January 27, 2017
Line: Serena Williams (-550) vs. Venus Williams (+375) – view all 2017 Australian Open women’s lines
Writer’s Pick: Serena Williams (-550)
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Betting on Serena Williams (-550)
Serena Williams is back in the final of the Australian Open, and she’s been absolutely dominant in doing so. The World No. 1 has yet to drop a single set through her first six matches in Melbourne.
Serena had by far her sloppiest performance of the tournament in the round of 16 against Barbora Strycova. The World No. 1 committed 46 unforced errors, but she still won, 7-5, 6-4. Serena has since cleaned up her game significantly. She took care of an in-form Johanna Konta, 6-2, 6-3, and saved her most dominant performance for the semifinal, as she swept aside surprise package Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 6-2, 6-1.
Serena put 68 percent of her first serves in play against Lucic-Baroni, and won a whopping 92 percent of those first-serve points. She also won 55 percent of her return points, and made just 10 unforced errors. She also didn’t allow a break point opportunity for Lucic-Baroni. Serena’s serve has been broken just eight times in five matches, and half of those came against Strycova.
Serena holds the edge in terms of all-time head-to-heads against her older sister Venus, 16-11. Their last two meetings have been in Grand Slams – the round of 16 at Wimbledon 2015 and the quarterfinals of the US Open – with Serena winning on both occasions. Serena holds the 6-2 edge over Venus in their all-time Grand Slam head-to-heads.
Betting on Venus Williams (+375)
Venus Williams became the oldest Australian Open finalist in the Open era, but she sure hasn’t looked like a 36-year-old in Melbourne. She was outstanding through the first five rounds as she won a perfect 10 out of 10 sets.
Venus finally had to face some adversity in the semifinal as she dropped the first set against 25-year-old compatriot Coco Vandeweghe. But her experience eventually shone through as she claimed the next two sets and the match, 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3.
Although Serena is more known for her powerful finishers, Venus actually holds the edge over her sister in winners for the tournament, 183-149. However, she has also committed more unforced errors, 187-156. She can’t afford to make too many of those against the World No. 1.
Venus has lost two matches in a row to her younger sister. However, since Serena went on a six-match win streak from 2002-2003, Venus has not lost three straight matches to Serena. Furthermore, Venus has also held her own on hard court. She’s won three of their last six meetings on the surface, and is 8-11 overall in 19 career matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Serena (-550) secures her 7th career Aussie Open title as she beats Venus in straight sets.
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