An exciting day is expected in Melbourne with the players from the bottom half of the draw fighting for a place in the 4th round. Bookmakers Review breaks down the fixtures below and lists the best available odds from green listed bookmakers.
Cibulkova vs. Makarova
Despite her inconsistency, Ekaterina Makarova always presents her best tennis on the Australian Open. Since 2011, the Russian holds a phenomenal 80.00% winning record in Melbourne. Ekaterina was very pleased after her win against Sara Errani, saying that the conditions on this event clearly bring the best out of her.
The 2014 Australian Open runner-up – Dominika Cibulkova – is looking for another successful run in Melbourne. The Slovakian can produce an outstanding level of tennis but she’s also famous for struggling to perform at a consistent level. Even though she didn’t play her best in the previous round against Su-Wei Hsieh, Dominika still found a way to emerge victorious in straight sets by 6 – 4 7 – 6.
Both players can perform at a very high level, which makes this one of the most fascinating matches of the day. Despite Cibulkova’s 3 – 0 lead on the h2h, Makarova can make some serious damages on this courts. Therefore, the value is clearly on the Russian with Ekaterina available at 33/20 at 5Dimes while Ladbrokes offers 57/100 for Cibulkova to win. For those who want to take a lower risk, Makarova’s +1.5 Set Handicap at 69/100 at Pinnacle is also a very good approach.
Strycova vs. Garcia
Barbora Strycova is never an easy opponent to face due to her extremely tricky game style. The Czech is playing at a very high level in recent months and after an easy first round victory against Elizaveta Kulichkova, Strycova dismissed Andrea Petkovic in the following round by 6 – 0 7 – 5. Barbora is looking for her 2nd career appearance in the Australian Open 4th round after reaching that stage in 2016.
After losing in all her previous three appearances in the 3rd round of a Grand Slam event, Caroline Garcia is trying to go a step further this week in Melbourne. The French is famous for her incredible firepower and when playing her best tennis it’s very hard to beat her. Caroline clearly improved her consistency and mental strength over the last year, with Garcia featuring a very good comeback in the previous round against her fellow countrywoman – Oceane Dodin.
These two players are no strangers with one of their previous encounters taking place one year ago at this same event with Strycova winning by 6 – 2 6 – 4. They played two more times after that with both matches going to distance. Garcia can create many problems to the Czech and it’s hard to find any value on Strycova’s price at 2/5 at William Hill while Caroline is available at 11/5 at BetVictor. Therefore, we advise you to take the Over 20 at 77/100 at Pinnacle in a match where a third set should be required to find the winner.
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