Australian Open Predictions 2023: SportsTips’ Top Tennis Picks For Men’s Semifinals

It’s the final four here at the US Open, and on the men’s side of the draw we still have one American left, Paul, who is the only unseeded player left in the tournament. In terms of the other three men left in the draw, we have the third seed, Tsitsipas, fourth seed, Djokovic, and the 18th seed, Khachanov.

With so much to play for, who will rise to the challenge, and who will crack under the pressure? Both matchups are set to be a cracker and you don’t want to miss this, as a spot in the Final is up for grabs.

Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round at the Australian Open for the 2023 season.

Karen Khachanov (18) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (3)

Karen Khachanov will be looking for his first Grand Slam Final at the Australian Open, but standing in his way is the top seed left in the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Khachanov has played an excellent tournament so far, and he is yet to play a five set match. Tsitsipas has had a fairly easy ride to the Semifinals, as he has only faced one seeded player, Sinner, in a match that went the distance.

Aleksandar Ricliev

Karen Khachanov has been absolutely dominant in the Australian Open, displaying a wide range of powerful serves and precise attacks that have proven to be an unsolvable enigma for every opponent he has faced in the tournament so far. However, his opponent on this day, Tsitsipas, has him completely figured out. They have played six matches against each other, with Tsitsipas winning five of them. Khachanov will have to bring his A-game if he wants this match to be competitive and if he wishes to have any hope of a victory.

Tsitsipas has also been brilliant in the Australian Open. The fiery Greek seems to have found a way to channel his emotions for good, and he has been playing really stable tennis. Tsitsipas has won four of the five matches in this tournament so far by 3-0, displaying outstanding performances. He possesses much better footwork and defensive ability than his opponent and has an overall much deeper bag of tennis skills. However, Khachanov is a really outstanding server, and break points will be hard to come by. This match should be tons of fun to watch, and I expect to see five sets. Betting them to cover the total games spread seems like the obvious choice.

Denis Kirilov

Karen Khachanov reached a second consecutive Semifinal of a Grand Slam after defeating the injured Sebastian Korda in the Quarterfinals. The experienced Russian has been playing significantly better these past few months as he showcased some high consistency levels. However, he typically struggles to transfer such performance from one match to another which might take its toll against Tsitsipas. Khachanov will certainly rely on his first serve that helped him immensely in his Australian Open journey so far. He manages to wear out his opponents and rarely suffers more than 30 unforced errors in a match. 

On the other hand, Stefanos Tsitsipas loves playing in Melbourne. With his win over the 21-year-old sensation, Jiri Lehecka, in the previous round, he secured his fourth appearance in a Semifinal here. Following Nadal’s early exit, he is once again on a road to make it back into the top 3 in the world rankings. If he manages to win the entire tournament, he will climb the leaderboard and reach world number 1. This will surely put a lot of pressure on his shoulders and that’s why I think he might struggle against Khachanov. All in all, the best pick seems to be anything related to a tight, long, and even a 5-set clash.

Jack Hartman

For the second successive Grand Slam Karen Khachanov has qualified for the Semifinal phase where he will take on former three time Australian Open semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. Heading into the contest, both men have been in good form. Khachanov who is seeded 18 in this year’s draw has lost just two sets in the tournament and has won both his last two matches in straight sets. It’s a similar story for Tsitsipas who has only lost two sets which came in his epic five set victory over Jannik Sinner in the last sixteen. Karen Khachanov has long had the skills that belong at the upper echelons of the game. A giant of a man, the Russian has a booming serve, huge forehand and for a man of his size, can move extremely well. Where Khachanov seems to have improved is in his mind, with the Russian clearly starting to believe he can mix it with the best players in the world. 

Khachanov has enjoyed a good draw but has still had to beat the likes of Frances Tiafoe and was well in control of his Quarterfinal clash against Seb Korda before the young American had to withdraw. Khachanov has a dismal head to head record against Tsitsipas but will be hoping his new found confidence can help turn that around. Stefanos Tsitsipas will be hoping it’s a case of fourth time lucky as he takes to the court to prepare for yet another Australian Open Semifinal. The Greek star has fallen at this stage in the last three years but will start as the overwhelming favorite to reach his first Australian Open Final. After suffering a mixed 2022, Tsitsipas’s game now seems to be trending in the right direction. He is unbeaten in 2023 and looks full of confidence. He leads the head to head series against Khachanov and he will be supremely confident of netting another victory here. 

Novak Djokovic (4) vs Tommy Paul

Novak Djokovic’s quest for yet another Australian Open title is still alive, but standing in his way is the final American and unseeded player left in the draw, Tommy Paul. Unsurprisingly, Djokovic has been playing extremely well so far this tournament, and he has only dropped on set. Paul has certainly been on the court for a longer period then his opponent, he has played two four set matches and one five set match.

Aleksandar Ricliev

Novak Djokovic has been having an awesome time in Australia. After winning the Adelaide tournament in a dominating fashion, in the Australian Open, he has lost only one set on the road to the Semifinals. Because he wasn’t allowed to play in the past due to vaccine restrictions, he has been on a mission to show the crowd what they have been missing out on. And the crowd has responded. Every single match of Djokovic feels like a spectacle, and Novak feeds off that energy the audience brings. With the rest of the favorites dropping out in the previous rounds of the tournament, we can crown Djokovic as a champion before the matches even start. 

Tommy Paul has a decent tournament. The Quarterfinal between the two Americans brought a lot of fight and desire to win the match, and Paul was the last man standing. However, Djokovic is a much harder opponent for Paul than the youngster Sheldon who made 50 unforced errors and practically threw the game. There are levels to this, and simply put, Novak Djokovic is miles above the abilities and capabilities of Paul. With the crowd at his side as well, I can’t see any other result than Djokovic winning 3-0.

Denis Kirilov

Novak Djokovic is currently living yet another life in Melbourne after stabilizing his position on the court following an ongoing injury. The Serbian has been merciless in his last three matches as he crushed his opponents in straight sets. His meetings with Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev were quite one-sided as they were never close to him in any of the sets. The 21-time Grand Slam champion will try to take advantage of his experience against the younger ones who remained in the draw. Djokovic is in a fantastic shape at the moment which puts each and every one of his opponents in a huge trouble. 

Tommy Paul is certainly an interesting presence in the Semifinals as the world number 35 had quite a bit of luck with the draw. Paul had to outclass his fellow compatriot, Ben Shelton, in the Quarterfinal. Prior to that, the talented American was forced into 5 sets against Davidovich-Fokina and had to dig deep into the hat to find a solution for Bautista-Agut’s consistent performance. However, a match against Djokovic always feels different. His ability to adapt and to find weaknesses in his opponents’ game has always been quite unparalleled. Keeping in mind that the Serbian is currently on a 26-game winning streak at Australian Open and on a 10-0 run from the beginning of the year, I believe that he will easily cruise past Tommy Paul. 

Jack Hartman

It wouldn’t be an Australian Open if Novak Djokovic wasn’t in the latter stages of the tournament and his dream of landing a tenth Australian Open title very much remains on track. The Serbian hasn’t lost on Australian soil for 35 matches and looks set to make another appearance in the Final. Standing in his way is American Tommy Paul who is playing at this stage of a Grand Slam for the first time. Unseeded and ranked 35th in the world, the odds seem stacked against the American but he will arrive at this contest believing he can pull off the upset. In what has been a wide open draw, Tommy Paul has made the most of it. Whilst wins over Jenson Brooksby, Roberto Bautista Agut and Ben Shelton are hardly wins to suggest that Paul can beat Djokovic, the American should be applauded for keeping calm and taking advantage of the situation presented to him. 

This will be by far the sternest test of his career and to make the Final he will need to do something he has never done before and that is to beat the nine time winner. Despite the threat of a niggling hamstring, Novak Djokovic carried on easing his way through the draw with a complete performance over Andrey Rublev. Djokovic swatted his Russian opponent away in the Quarterfinal advancing in three easy sets – losing just seven games. In his last two wins the Serbian has lost just twelve games. Clearly heading towards playing his best tennis, Djokovic in this mood will be tough to stop. He has never played Paul and the matchup is interesting. Paul is superbly consistent and moves well, he does have the tools to make the rallies long and will be wanting to test Djokovic’s leg out. The problem for Paul is that he plays an identical game to Djokovic but the Serbian just does it better. I envisage problems for Djokovic but he should just have too much class for his opponent. 

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.