Favourites day beckons at last for women at Australian Open

With Viktoria Azarenka joining the likes of fellow top seeds Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova out of the Australian Open before the semi finals, a new winner of this Grand Slam is now guaranteed.

Na Li is the only Grand Slam winner of any kind still standing in the women’s draw and it is for this reason that she may be the 1/1 favourite in the Australian Open betting for tournament victory.

She faces Canada’s first Australian Open semi finalist next in Eugenie Bouchard, with Agnieszka Radwanska’s reward for a first win over Azarenka in eight attempts being a last-four meeting with Dominika Cibulkova.

Eugenie Bouchard v Na Li

Li beat Bouchard in straight sets in their only previous meeting on the hard courts of Montreal last year, although the young Canadian did secure eight games in that home contest.

Bouchard is the 3/1 underdog to beat Li, with 1/1 the more attractive-looking price that she wins when allocating a 4.5-game handicap start.

Coral are offering the top price of 1/4 on Li progressing to the final, with other markets to keep an eye out for being the first set having fewer than 9.5 games and Bouchard serving the most aces in the match.

Li is also 1/3 to win the first set, which could prove profitable as Bouchard has dropped the opening set in the last two rounds before battling back.

Agnieszka Radwanska v Dominika Cibulkova

Radwanska has been the dominant force in the previous meetings between this pair, winning five of their six career showdowns.

This could come down to how many unforced errors Cibulkova makes, as he made more in her 15-game demolition of Simona Halep in the last round than Radwanska did in 25 games against Azarenka.

It is 2/5 that Radwanska triumphs again, with Cibulkova the 2/1 underdog.

Aces are likely to be at a premium here, so backing unders could be an astute option.