Australian Open women's final betting preview, free tip & analysis

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the women's singles final at the 2020 Australian Open.

When to watch

Eurosport 1, 8.30am Saturday

Best bet

G Muguruza
2pts 4-7 bet365, Betfred, Hills
Click to back this tip with bet365

Already advised

G Muguruza to win the tournament
1pt 40-1 general

Kenin v Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza has not contested a Grand Slam final since winning Wimbledon in 2017 but her experience of the big occasion makes her a worthy odds-on favourite to defeat Sofia Kenin in the Australian Open showpiece.

Simply getting to the final is a huge step forward for Kenin, whose previous best effort at a Grand Slam was a run to the fourth round at last year's French Open.

The draw worked out well for the American, who did not have to tackle a seeded player until a 7-6 7-5 semi-final success over world number one Ashleigh Barty.

Kenin has done very little wrong and played at a high level to overcome rising star Coco Gauff 6-7 6-3 6-0 in the fourth round. But five of her six victories have been in straight sets and there is a danger she may not be sufficiently battle-hardened for the final, which is likely to be her toughest match of the tournament.

Kenin appeared in four finals last year and won three of them, at Hobart, Mallorca and Guangzhou.

But the Australian Open final is by far the biggest day of her career and there are no guarantees she will handle the occasion.

There are fewer questions over Muguruza, who won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon a year later.

Muguruza showed few signs of weakness in her 7-5 6-0 Wimbledon final success over Venus Williams and she was widely expected to continue contesting for major trophies.

However, her standards slipped and she had a lean time in 2019, failing to get beyond the last four at any of the Grand Slams.

The end-of-season break seemed to bring a change of fortunes for Muguruza, who started 2020 with a run to the semi-finals at the Shenzhen Open.

Expectations of a bold showing at Melbourne remained fairly low but Muguruza has grown into the tournament and her run to the final has included notable victories over Elina Svitolina (6-1 6-2), Kiki Bertens (6-3 6-3) and Simona Halep (7-6 7-5).

Her semi-final success over Halep, a combative match player and five-time Grand Slam finalist, provided concrete proof that she is back to somewhere near her best.

And, if Muguruza plays anywhere near her peak against Kenin she should pick up a third Grand Slam title.

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