4 Best Bets To Win 2022 Women’s Australian Open

The 2022 Australian Open has concluded one week. Now comes the second week and the parade of big-time matches which will lead to Saturday’s Australian Open women’s singles final. Let’s look at the top contenders from the remainder of the field, which has been whittled down to a few players from the original draw of 128.

Ashleigh Barty

It’s hard to pick against Barty, but then again, Barty has not finished the job in Melbourne – not this week, and not in past instances in her career. She made the semifinal round two years ago and fell to Sofia Kenin in a close match. Playing in front of her home-nation fans gives her an adrenaline boost, but it is also a source of immense pressure. Barty has looked confident and self-assured in her first four rounds, but Jessica Pegula, whom she will face in the quarterfinals, is a tough player who has beaten fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari to get to the round of eight. That’s a match Barty should win, but it’s not a cupcake or a layup by any means. If Barty can get by that match, she would return to the semifinals. Being able to handle the pressure of the occasion matters. The form of her opponents also matters. Barty, though, has certainly played like the World No. 1 in the first four rounds of the tournament, so it’s hard to deny that she has a very good chance here.

Barbora Krejcikova

The 2021 Roland Garros champion has looked very strong in Melbourne. She crushed Victoria Azarenka, a former Australian Open champion, earlier in the tournament. She is the No. 4 seed here and is intent on building upon her breakout 2021 season, in which she qualified for the WTA Finals, the year-end championship event on the WTA Tour. Krejcikova has the advantage of playing regular tour doubles, which gives her so much practice at net play and handling other skills and facets of tennis competition. When she gets to the net, she’s a much better volleyer than most of her competitors on tour. That gives her a real chance to win it all in Australia.

Danielle Collins

The American has made the Australian Open semifinals before, so she won’t be intimidated by the crowd or the environment or anything else she encounters. She beat Danish sensation Clara Tauson in one of the best matches of the tournament. She overcame Belgian star Elise Mertens to get this far. She has a favorable draw in the quarterfinals and can do serious damage as the tournament continues.

Iga Swiatek

The 2020 Roland Garros champion came back from a one-set deficit to beat Sorana Cirstea in the fourth round. This is Swiatek’s first major quarterfinal at a tournament other than the French Open. She is elite on clay. Now Swiatek is trying to show that she is elite on hardcourts as well. She has a great draw and should frankly be viewed as the favorite to make the final and play Barty. Those are the two favorites, but Krejcikova and Collins figure to be very tough to beat.