Tennis
2026-01-28 - Elena Rybakina vs Iga Swiatek
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : Australian Open Quarter Final
Wednesday 28th January 2025 - Scheduled 11:30am
12:30am (British Time)
Preview
When the draw was made a little under two weeks ago, most fans would have been hoping that Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were going to be on a collision course.
For moment Iga Swiatek fans may have been wondering if the former World Number 1 was going to be able to come through an awkward Third Round match that headed into a deciding set, but these two players have been untroubled for the majority of the tournament.
The numbers have been most impressive on the side of Elena Rybakina.
Not only has she won all four matches in straight sets, but Elena Rybakina has been serving at a really high level and that will always make her dangerous on the faster surfaces on the Tour. The first serve is about as good as any on the WTA Tour and Rybakina will know that she needs to land plenty of those if she is going to put Iga Swiatek under pressure.
However, it is the way Elena Rybakina has protected her second serve in the tournament which has really caught the eye, although there is no doubt that her opponent is going to offer a real test of that shot.
Before the tournament began, there were some question marks about Iga Swiatek and whether she had really prepared as well as hoped in the off-season.
Those concerns look to have been put to bed with her level in the event, although Swiatek has benefited from a kind draw with the toughest match being the Third Round contest against Anna Kalinskaya and that needed a deciding set.
The World Number 2 has been returning really well with over half of the return points being won by Swiatek, and that always puts an opponent under pressure. It is very unlikely that she will be able to do that against this Rybakina serve, but Iga Swiatek has tended to be able to get into the return games and eventually prove to have too much for the former Wimbledon Champion.
Elena Rybakina was able to break the mental hold that Swiatek may have had over her when beating this opponent at the WTA Finals a couple of months ago, but there is a feeling that the higher Ranked player was not quite at her best in Riyadh.
Another competitive match has to be expected, but Iga Swiatek may have the edge on the return of serve and that could see her through to the Semi Final.
Prediction
This should be a really good Quarter Final, but this could be edged by the slight underdog who has the superior return game of the two players.
The Pick :
Elena Rybakina 1-2 Iga Swiatek
