Australian Open day 11 match betting previews, free tips & analysis

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for day 11 of the Australian Open.

When to watch

Eurosport 1, from 3am Thursday

Best bets

Novak Djokovic -6.5 games v Roger Federer
1pt 4-5 Betfred

Ashleigh Barty -3.5 games v Sofia Kenin
1pt 4-5 bet365, Betfred, RedZone

Federer v Djokovic

So after five rounds of toil in the Melbourne heat, the first of the Australian Open men's semi-finals will be between goliaths Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Once again, the men's majors are showing that they are almost always a no-go market for longshot backers, and Rafael Nadal, the third member of the all-conquering Big Three, plays his quarter-final clash against Dominic Thiem on day ten.

It’s an incredible 50th main-tour meeting between Djokovic and Federer and, if anything, these Big Three clashes are carrying even more importance with the planets aligning in the race to win most Grand Slam singles titles.

The trio top the all-time tree with the 38-year-old Federer on 20, Nadal, 33, on 19 and Djokovic, 32, just four off the pace on 16.

The charge has made for great sport in recent years and with the players in the later stages of their brilliant careers, there is still the denouement to come.

Federer, desperate to bolster his position at the top of the majors-won chart, has seen the need to step things up in the last year or two and the Swiss veteran went close to pipping Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last summer.

But while Federer's fightback triumphs over John Millman in round three of the Australian Open and Tennys Sandgren, against whom he saved seven match points in the last eight, tells you the grand old man can never be written off, Djokovic too has brought innovation to the table in the season's first major.

The super Serb, who will also have his eye on regaining the world number one spot from Nadal this year, has increased the speed of his second serve to the point that some of his second deliveries are faster than some players' first serves.

Unsurprisingly then, while Federer has dropped a total of five sets in his last three outings in Victoria, Djokovic has lost just one set in the tournament.

So while Federer had become a threat again to Djokovic on hard courts in the last couple of seasons, that may now not be the case with the title favourite having addressed areas of his game he could improve.

Djokovic is favourite to make light of a handicap concession of 6.5 games against Federer and given the form the second seed is showing, backing that option could be the way to go.

Barty v Kenin

Ashleigh Barty has ploughed through the Australian Open women's singles draw in machine-like fashion and only Sofia Kenin stands between the world number one and her second major singles final.

Queensland heroine Barty, who already holds the French Open crown, has won four of her five previous meetings with Kenin.

And while Kenin is making fine strides and has been backed to go well against Barty, it will be a surprise if the 14th seed finds enough to upset the top seed.

Kenin has dropped only one set in the singles compared to Barty's two, but things have fallen into place more for the Moscow-born Floridian and the favourite could successfully concede a handicap start of 3.5 games.

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