Novak Djokovic vs Aslan Karatsev Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Australian Open

Prediction published on 17/02/2021, 08:16  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 17/02/2021 at 09:23 in Tennis Predictions

The chances of a ninth Australian Open title for Novak Djokovic are looking promising. His main rival Rafael Nadal was knocked out on Wednesday which is always good news for him. Djokovic faces qualifier Aslan Karatsev in his semi-final with the winner taking on either Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas. The world number one has had a few injury problems in this tournament and is being outspoken about the ATP Tour during a pandemic. On the court he has dropped sets in each of his last four matches, including a five-setter against Taylor Fritz in the third round. He's had some tough opposition though with Milos Raonic in round four and Alexander Zverev in his quarter final. He lost the first set to Zverev on a tie-break but fought back well to win the next two for the loss of only six games before winning the match with a tie-break.

Not since 2000 has a qualifier made it to the semi-final of a Grand Slam event. It hasn't happened in this tournament since 1977 but that's just what Aslan Karatsev has achieved. Remarkably he started playing Grand Slams in 2014 but until this tournament had never made it through the qualifiers. He has certainly made the most of his first appearance in a main draw. At the start of this Australian Open, Karatsev was ranked 114th in the world and had actually slipped a place in the last published list. He'll be in the top 100 when the next list comes out. He had to win three qualifiers to reach the main draw, the highest ranked player being 133rd. Most of last year was spent playing on the Challenger Tour but he had a few good results, including a win over Stan Wawrinka. This event has seen him in excellent form with wins over ninth seeded Diego Schwartzmann, 20th seed Felix Auger-Alliassime (who he lost the first two sets to) and in the last eight, he defeated 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov. He lost the first set in that match but won the next three for the loss of only seven games. A bet on under 35.5 games in this match looks the one to go for.