The second Australian Open Women’s Semifinal match scheduled for Thursday promises to offer plenty of offensive fireworks. Both 7-seed Iga Swiatek and 27-seed Danielle Collins play a style of tennis rooted in aggression. With each having gone on an impressive run to reach the final four, being able to manage fatigue and reduce unforced errors figures to be vital in the semifinal match between the two. The Australian Open tennis betting odds view this match as a virtual toss-up. Oddsmakers have given the slightest of leans has been given to the higher-ranked player ahead of this Swiatek vs Collins duel.
The following Australian Open tennis betting preview will provide you with the current odds, head-to-head trends and a prediction for the first women’s semifinal match between Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins.
Australian Open Tennis Women’s Semifinal Details
(7) Iga Swiatek vs. (27) Danielle Collins — Australian Open Women’s Semifinal No. 2
Date: Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022
Venue: Rod Laver Arena — Melbourne, AU
Start Time: Approx. 4:45 a.m. EST
Coverage: ESPN
Iga Swiatek Background and Overview
In many ways, it’s hard to fathom that Iga Swiatek is already a Grand Slam Champion at the age of 20. The Polish star captured the French Open title in 2020 and is proving that she has plenty more success on the horizon. This final four appearance at the Australian Open marks only the second time she has reached the semifinals at a major in her young career. Swiatek did, however, extend her stay to the Fourth Round at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year. She has three career singles titles to date and entered the Aussie Open ranked No. 8 in the world.
As one might imagine given the various results listed above, Swiatek’s playing style suits any and all court surfaces. Her approach is very aggressive and focused heavily on playing offense. Swiatek is at her best when she is dictating a volley and forcing her opponents to react to her. Of course, she can play defense from time to time too and displayed as much in her Match Point win in the quarterfinals. The downside to Swiatek’s aggressive style of play is her propensity to make a lot of unforced errors. This was also a common theme in her quarterfinal match.
Danielle Collins Background and Overview
Joining Madison Keys in representing the United States in the Australian Open Women’s Semifinals is 28-year-old Danielle Collins. This marks her second trip to the final four at a Grand Slam with the first one also coming at Melbourne Park back in 2019. Collins forced eventual runner-up Petra Kvitova to a first-set tiebreak in their semifinal match that year before getting shut out in the second set. Besides that run, her next best showing at a major was her quarterfinals appearance at the 2020 French Open. Collins only turned pro in 2016 and has won two titles over her brief career thus far. She entered the Aussie Open ranked No. 30 in the world and was seeded 27th in the tournament draw.
While Swiatek’s playing style can certainly be characterized as “aggressive” one could argue that it pales in comparison to that of Collins. Nicknamed the “Danimal”, Collins has no fear about letting her emotions show on the court either. The Univerisity of Virginia alum is among the hardest hitters on the WTA Tour today. She combines a powerful serve with strong groundstrokes and a fearless attitude. Her strong volleying skills enable her to strike for winning shots from literally anywhere on the court. That being said, much like her Aussie Open semifinals opponent, Collins is prone to a high number of unforced errors as a result of her aggressive style.
Australian Open Women’s Semifinal Tennis Betting Odds
Tennis betting odds taken from BetMGM Sportsbook.
Moneyline: Swiatek: (-145) | Collins: (+115)
Games Spread: Swiatek: -1.5 (-125) | Collins: +1.5 (-110)
Total Games: 22.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-125)
Iga Swiatek vs Danielle Collins Head-to-Head Trends
- Swiatek won her only previous head-to-head match against Collins.
- The only previous match between Swiatek and Collins was played in August of 2021 on a hard court surface at the Adelaide International in Australia.
- Swiatek won the first set of that match 6-2 and got out to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Collins retired.
Iga Swiatek vs Danielle Collins Australian Open Tennis Betting Prediction
Unlike the other women’s semifinal match, there is not a true height discrepancy between these two women. The 5’10” Danielle Collins will have all of a one-inch advantage in height over the 5’9” Iga Swiatek. Given the uber-aggressive style of both women, this match could very well come down to who plays a cleaner game and commits fewer unforced errors.
Another key wrinkle for bettors to consider when handicapping this second semifinal is that Swiatek and Collins just played their respective quarterfinal matches yesterday. Thus, both women are looking at little more than a 24-hour turnaround coming into this semifinal match. While Collins needed a full three sets to get through both the Third and Fourth Rounds of the tournament, she got past Alize Cornet quite comfortably yesterday. The opposite played out for Swiatek, as she outlasted Kaia Kanepi in a three-setter that exceeded three hours of real-time from start to finish.
Swiatek does have the experience factor of having won a Grand Slam title once before. However, fatigue figures to play a real factor for the Polish player in this match. Swiatek was also visibly dealing with nerves in yesterday’s quarterfinal. Needless to say, the plus-money price on Collins seems like a solid bet to make given how yesterday’s matches played out for each woman. Note that Collins has also been in her fair share of big matches as well, albeit at the amateur level. She won the NCAA singles title in both her sophomore and senior seasons playing at Virginia.
Prediction: Danielle Collins ML (+115 at BetMGM Sportsbook)
