Tennis
2025-01-20 - Eva Lys vs Iga Swiatek
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis: Australian Open Fourth Round
Monday 20th January 2025 - Scheduled 9pm
10am (British Time)
Preview
She is only 23 years old, but Eva Lys would have arrived in Australia hoping to have an impact at a warm up event and then earn a place in the main draw at the Australian Open to earn some valuable Ranking points.
She would have admitted some disappointment having been beaten in Brisbane in the opening Qualifying Round before Eva Lys was able to make it through two matches in the Australian Open Qualifiers. It was not to be as the German was beaten in the Third Qualifying Round and Eva Lys admitted that she had booked a flight out of the country and back onto the slog of the Tour.
The World Number 128 was given a reprieve by earning a Lucky Loser spot in the main draw in Melbourne and Lys has taken full advantage.
Fortune has been on her side having faced a Qualifier in the First Round of the main draw and Eva Lys has won two more matches, but against opponents Ranked 69 or lower. She still had to win the matches though and Eva Lys will be entering the top 100 for the first time at the end of this tournament, which means direct entry into further Grand Slam tournaments and an opportunity to play bigger events than she has been fighting through.
It has been all positive for Eva Lys, but she is going to have to raise her level significantly in this Fourth Round match on Monday when taking on World Number 2 Iga Swiatek.
A flawless performance saw Iga Swiatek drop just a single game in her crushing win over former US Open Champion Emma Raducanu and the Polish player has admitted that she feels much stronger than when preparing at the United Cup.
Iga Swiatek has to be really happy with her level having beaten three opponents Ranked 61 or higher, and she has dominated behind serve. In the last two matches she has not even faced a Break Point, while Swiatek has won 53% of return points played in the Australian Open.
Her level is considerably higher than someone like Eva Lys and Iga Swiatek looks to be really focused right now.
As long as that continues to be the case, Iga Swiatek should dominate this match and there is every chance she can avoid giving too much away to her opponent. This is a massive line, one that is more along the lines that the men are asked to cover in a best of five set match, not a best of three, but Iga Swiatek is playing at such a standard that she may just have the capabilities of securing another one-sided victory in the tournament.
Their sole previous meeting was on Iga Swiatek's favoured clay courts in 2022 and Eva Lys was able to win just two games on the day- she may double that total here, but even that may not be enough to prevent the Number 2 Seed from easing through to the Quarter Final.
Prediction
Lay the huge line with the World Number 2.
The Pick :
Eva Lys 0-2 Iga Swiatek
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Iga Swiatek - 7.5 Games at 2.00 with BetFred
