Australian Open women's semi-final predictions & tennis betting tips

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the women's semi-finals at the Australian Open, which starts at midnight on Wednesday night UK & Ireland time.

Where to watch

Eurosport 1 & 2 from midnight, Wednesday night

Best bet

Ashleigh Barty -4.5 games on handicap
1pt 5-6 bet365

Danielle Collins to beat Iga Swiatek
1pt 11-8 bet365, Betfred, Hills

Women's semi-final previews

Ashleigh Barty v Madison Keys

Everything is coming together for women's top seed Ashleigh Barty, who has arguably never had a better opportunity to win the Australian Open.

A 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Jessica Pegula booked Barty's spot in the Grand Slam's semi-finals - a stage she reached in 2020.

But since losing to Sofia Kenin in the last four two years ago, she has taken her Grand Slam title tally to two with victory at Wimbledon last year and believes she has grown as a player.

Her spirits are high - she described the win over Pegula as "a lot of fun" - and it would be a bold move to oppose her, even against a rejuvenated Madison Keys.

American Keys has enjoyed a rapid ascent in the world rankings this month having been outside the top 80 at the start of the year before a ten-match winning run moved her up to 51st.

As part of that streak, she took one of the Adelaide International titles and has beaten Kenin, Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova on her way to the semi-finals in Melbourne.

But overpowering the imperious Barty could be a step too far for Keys.

Home talent Barty warmed up with both singles and doubles titles at the Adelaide International and the 25-year-old has not even threatened to drop a set at the season's first Grand Slam.

Her 63-minute dismantling of Pegula meant she has lost only 17 games in her five matches in Melbourne, compared to 42 lost by Keys.

Barty's semi-final run at the Australian Open also came more recently than Keys, who last progressed that far in 2015 and was unimpressive throughout most of 2021.

A Barty win is priced at 2-9 while a 2-0 win is 8-13 but punters can extract more value from supporting the Aussie star by backing her giving up 4.5 games on the handicap.

She has won a total of 43 more games than her opponents in this tournament and with a home crowd behind her, she is unlikely to slow up against Keys as she looks to become the first Australian to win the Melbourne Grand Slam since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

Danielle Collins v Iga Swiatek

Youngster Iga Swiatek once again showed great mental resilience to fight back from a set down to beat Kaia Kanepi in the Australian Open quarter-finals but that 181-minute marathon could take its toll on the Pole.

She has age on her side but she will need to be at her absolute sharpest against in-form Danielle Collins and after two three-set encounters, that may not be the case.

Since July last year, Collins has won 31 of her 38 matches and that run included title triumphs in Palermo and San Jose.

She had a bit of a breather building up to the first Grand Slam of the season and it has paid off with the American claiming big wins over Clara Tauson, Elise Mertens and Alize Cornet, who had beaten Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep earlier in the tournament.

Swiatek will surely be in contention for many a Grand Slam title in her career but on this occasion Collins is worth chancing at odds-against in Melbourne.

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