AUSTRALIAN OPEN VIP TIP: Karen Khachanov vs. Sebastian Korda

Details:

Karen Khachanov is 20. in the ATP rankings with his career-best being at no. 8.

The Russian is 7-2 in 2023. He is coming off a blowout win over Yoshihito Nishioka – 6-0, 6-0, 7-6.

Previously, the Russian defeated Francis Tiafoe by 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, Jason Kubler by 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 and Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-6, 6-2, 6-0.

This is the first time for Khachanov to make it to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.

Sebastian Korda is 31. in the ATP standings one spot lower than his career-best.

The American is 8-1 for the season. He is coming off a thriller five-sets win over Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6. Prior to that, Korda eliminated former world no. 1 Daniil Medvedev is straight sets 7-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Korda had no trouble at all in the first two rounds going past Yosuke Watanuki by 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 and Cristian Garin - 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Cristian Garin.

This is the first time for Korda to go this deep at the Australian Open.

Key facts

• Korda leads 2-1 in the previous matches against Khachanov
• The last time these two played was last year in Antwerp with Korda winning 7-5, 7-6
• They played in the Round of 16 in 2019 Wimbledon with Khachanov winning in 5 sets
• Khachanov is 143-89 on hard surfaces while Korda is 72-49

Both players have been pretty dominant so far in the tournament. Khachanov is more experienced and is in his prime while Korda is an uprising star who shows the potential to be a future number 1. They are both with similar physics, tall but quick enough to run on the court. They both have strong serves and can stay alive in long points. Korda made a name for himself after cruising past Medvedev and has a positive record in the past matches against Khachanov. The Russian went deep into US Open and has shown his capability to be a “dark horse” candidate to win a Grand Slam. This will definitely be a long match without many breaks of serve which will lead to over 37.5 games and maybe even five sets.

Value Bet

Over 4.5 sets

3.04

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