Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction and Odds: Australian Open

One of the big underdog success stories of the 2023 Australian Open has been 30-year-old Magda Linette’s run through to the semi-final. It’s the furthest she’s ever been at a Slam. But now in the final four, she faces a massive challenge against 5th-seed Aryna Sabalanka.

These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.

Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka – Match Predictions

We look at the Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka semi-final and make our tennis predictions for the match. The winner will move ahead to face either Elena Rybakina or Victoria Azarenka in the showcase match.

Sabalenka -4.5 Handicap

Aryna Sabalenka is the outright favourite to lift the title at this year’s Australian Open. Having not been past the Fourth Round before the event before this current edition, she is now in with a big chance of Slam glory.

Her service game continued to look impressive in her easy Quarter Final win over Donna Vekic. Sabalenka dropped only five games in the fixture. She has conceded more in only one of her matches in this campaign. So we follow the trend with a Sabalenka -4.5 handicap.

Sabalenka 2-0 Set Betting

The other big trend with the Sabalenka campaign is the 5th-seed not dropping sets. So the Sabalenka 2-0 in set betting looks like a solid enough play in what could be a one-sided match. The Belarusian has handled a couple of seeded players in this tournament.

So it’s worth remembering that and the fact that she’s facing an unseeded player who hasn’t been in this kind of high-pressure arena before. A positive start by Sabalenka could see her rapidly sweep her way to victory, which is our prediction for this AO duel.

Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka Preview

With our Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka predictions on the table, we study their current form next as well as look at their respective Grand Slam pedigree.

Magda Linette

Poland’s Magda Linette has defied some huge odds to get to the final four in Melbourne. She hadn’t been past the Third Round of any Grand Slam tournament before this Australian Open run. Linette had only been beyond the Second Round in Melbourne once before.

She has never been ranked higher than 33rd in the world, but the 30-year-old did finish last season strongly on the regular Tour and shone at the Billie Jean King Cup. Linette held her composure brilliantly to beat Karolina Pliskova in the Quarter Finals, playing some bold, fearless tennis.

Aryna Sabalenka

Long-tipped to be a future Grand Slam champion, Aryna Sabalenka has not fulfilled that goal yet. But she’s the highest seed left in the 2023 AO draw and is the front-runner in Melbourne. Sabalenka has three semi-final appearances in her last five Grand Slam tournaments.

On neither of those occasions (one and Wimbledon, two at the US Open) could she progress. The big baseline player has tremendous power behind her serve and has looked fully dialled in during this campaign.

Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka Head to Head

There have been two previous matches between Magda Linette and Aryna Sabalenka. The latter has won both of them, but by a fair margin too. In neither of her victories over the Polish player did Sabalenka concede more than four games. The most recent of those wins was at the 2021 Olympics.

Magda Linette vs Aryna Sabalenka Match Details

When will the match start? The match will start from 10:00 am GMT on Thursday, January 26th.
On which court will the match be played? The match will be played on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Where to watch AO 2023 in UK? You can watch Australian Open on Eurosport broadcast and online, or stream it on Discovery +.