Australian Open Predictions 2023: SportsTips’ Top Tennis Picks For Women’s Quarterfinals

What a tournament it’s been so far, and in keeping with previous rounds, there were a lot of upsets in the Round of 16. The number one seed, Świątek, was defeated in straight sets, as well as the fourth seed, Garcia, who was bounced in straight sets, and the seventh seed, Gauff, also in straight sets.

With just eight players remaining at the Australian Open, it is nice to see that America is still represented. We have Pegula left who will be chasing her dream of a first Grand Slam title. Pegula is also the highest seed left in the draw as the third seed, so it’s fair to say that this tournament is anyone’s for the taking.

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

Elena Rybakina (22) vs Jeļena Ostapenko (17)

Not many people would have predicted this Quarterfinal matchup, with Elena Rybakina taking on Jeļena Ostapenko. Rybakina did the absolute unthinkable in the Round of 16, knocking out the number one seed, Świątek, in straight sets. Ostapenko also caused somewhat of an upset in her Round of 16 match, when she knocked out the seventh seed Gauff, also in straight sets. 

Aleksandar Ricliev

We start the first match of the women’s Quarterfinals with a bang, as two of the best power-hitters in the world match up against each other. After beating Collins and Swiatek in the last two rounds, Rybakina comes into this match as the favorite. She has always played an ultra-aggressive style of tennis, and on her day, she is capable of beating anybody. She usually has problems in a match when those attacks end up going long and she starts making unforced errors. And her opponent on the day, Jelena Ostapenko, is probably the only player in the world who plays a more aggressive style of tennis than her.

Jelena Ostapenko burst onto the tennis scene by winning Wimbledon, playing probably the greatest attacking tennis the fans have ever seen. The fact that Serena Williams has won that tournament multiple times says a lot. On her day, Ostapenko can win against absolutely any opponent, and she has been having a lot of “on her day” moments in this tournament. She absolutely outplayed Gauff in the last round, and if she continues her hot attacking streak, she can go all the way in this tournament. This matchup is 50-50 in my eyes, so I am taking Ostapenko to win the match only because of the sportsbooks who placed Rybakina as the favorite.

Denis Kirilov

The 2022 Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, pulled off the upset of the tournament by defeating Iga Swiatek in the fourth round. She dictated the rallies and this paid off in the end as she grabbed her second consecutive victory over the Polish dominant. However, Rybakina will now have to find a new way around against Jelena Ostapenko. The Kazakhstani player is yet to win a set against the 2017 French Open winner. With her performance at this year’s Australian Open, Rybakina has all the necessary tools to give her a tough time on the court. 

Ostapenko has been struggling to keep up the high working rate after her win in Roland Garros six years ago. The 25-year-old Latvian is still considered a young star, but with plenty of experience behind her back. Reaching the Quarterfinal in Melbourne marks the first time in five years making it to the second week at a Grand Slam. She outclassed Dayana Yastremska, Anna Bondar and Katerina Baindl, before dropping the bomb against Coco Gauff in the fourth round. Her meeting with Rybaking promises to be quite compelling as I can easily see them cover the games spread. 

Jack Hartman

As the women’s draw of this year’s Australian Open has opened up, many believe that this year’s winner will come from the top half of the draw which is loaded with talent. At the top of the draw we have an exciting contest between two former Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko. An exciting contest, it’s Rybakina who will start as the favorite for the match following her straight set victory over world number one and top seed Iga Swiatek. Ranked at 25 in the world, Rybakina would be much higher ranked if her Wimbledon win counted towards her ranking and she showed why she should be in the top 5 in the world with one of the best performances of her career in the win over Swiatek. A huge server and armed with weapons on both the forehand and backhand wings – Rybakina has only lost one set in her four victories. 

Whereas Rybakina has the recent Grand Slam credentials, Ostapenko will be making her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal since 2018. After falling away dramatically following her shock win at the 2017 French Open, Ostapenko has done a fantastic job in rebuilding her career. Like Rybakina, Ostapenko has lost just one set throughout the tournament and few would have believed that she could have beaten Coco Gauff in the last round. Instead she dominated the young American, bludgeoning her way to victory with 30 winners. This match won’t be for the faint hearted and it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if it were to go the distance.

Jessica Pegula (3) vs Victoria Azarenka (24)

The highest seed and only American left in the draw, Jessica Pegula, will be looking for a win here against the former two-time Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka. Pegula has been completely dominant so far at the Grand Slam, and she hasn’t even dropped a set. Azarenka will be looking to make yet another Semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, and this is only the second time she will face a seeded player.

Aleksandar Ricliev

With Iga Swiatek dropping out of the tournament, in my opinion, Jessica Pegula is the clear favorite to win the Australian Open. The absolutely mesmerizing American has yet to lose a match in 2023 and has displayed utter dominance, not allowing even a single set to her opponents. Jessica Pegula is in her prime years of her career, and it seems she has found the perfect balance in her game. Her powerful attacks can hurt any opponent, and her defense and footwork are impenetrable. However, the match against Azarenka is probably the final before the finals, as the Belarusian has played some amazing tennis in this tournament.

Victoria Azarenka has been awesome in the Australian Open. Her powerful attacks have left her opponents without any answers so far, and on her day, she looks like the best tennis player in the world. She has shown some lapses of concentration which has cost her two sets against Keys and Zhu. She can’t afford to have a loss of focus in the match against Pegula. Whoever wins this matchup will probably win the tournament, so I am betting for them to cover the total games spread.

Denis Kirilov

Jessica Pegula had a really late start to her WTA career. She won her first match in 2015 when she was already 21 years old. It took her four more years to make her way into the top 100 and win her maiden WTA title. Pegula built resilience and experience throughout the years and ever since 2021, she has made it past the first round at a Grand Slam. The talented American is now looking to set a new career best performance at the biggest stage of all and why not winning it all? She is currently on an 8-game winning streak without losing a single set in the process. Her dominance could be felt in her matches against Barbora Krejcikova and Marta Kostyuk who have been playing well lately. 

On the other hand, we might be witnessing Azarenka’s rebirth. After winning two Australian Open trophies in 2012 and 2013, many thought this would just be the beginning of a glorious career. Unfortunately, injuries struck and Azarenka made it to a Grand Slam Final three more times, losing on each occasion. However, she is easily the most experienced player remaining in the WTA singles draw. Moreover, she has already defeated a tough competitor in the face of Madison Keys in the third round. Despite that, it seems that Pegula is in a league of her own as she will surely try to settle things fast and make Azarenka work hard from the baseline. I will go with a straight win for the American here. 

Jack Hartman

Heading into this year’s Australian Open, many believed that Jessica Pegula could win her first major. A consistent performer at this level, the world number three reached the Quarterfinals in all four Slams last season but will be hoping for more this season. With Iga Swiatek crashing out in the last sixteen, Pegula is now the highest seed left in the tournament and will be confident of advancing to her first ever Grand Slam Semifinal. The American has been in superb form in 2023, currently unbeaten; she hasn’t lost a set in any of the eight matches she has played. Dealt a tricky opponent in the form of 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, Pegula showed just why many think she is the favorite for the title, winning the first set 7-5 before pulling away from the Czech player to win the second set 6-2. Everything about Pegula’s game seems to be clicking into place and she will be tough to beat here.

For the first time in six years Victoria Azarenka is back in a Grand Slam Quarterfinal and perhaps it isn’t a surprise that it has come at Melbourne Park. Azarenka clearly loves the Australian Open and the two time former winner will be dreaming of a third title. Azarenka has had a solid tournament and has already beaten two Americans in the form of Madison Keys and Sophia Kenin en route to this stage. This represents a different test entirely and Azarenka will need to play much better than she did in the previous round where she was taken all the way to three sets by Chinese player Lin Zhu. That match took almost three hours to complete and it will be interesting to see how much gas is left in the tank ahead of this match.

Karolína Plíšková (30) vs Magda Linette

The 30th seed, Karolína Plíšková, will take on one of only two unseeded players left in the women’s side of the draw, Magda Linette. Plíšková has made light work of her opponents so far at the Australian Open, as she is yet to drop a set. Linette has enjoyed a fantastic run so far, and she has eliminated the 16th, 19th and fourth seeds.

Aleksandar Ricliev

Karolina Pliskova might be a bit past her prime, but she has played an outstanding Australian Open. The experienced Czech star had yet to lose a single set in the tournament, and her performances have been pretty impressive. However, she has played mostly against opponents who insist on playing a defensive and counter-attacking style of tennis. That has suited Pliskova perfectly, as she doesn’t move as well as she used to, but her attacking game has stayed well on point. Magda Linette will present a completely different challenge, and we will see how Pliskova will cope with her attacks.

Magda Linette has been taking down favorites in every round of the tournament so far. The outstanding Polish star had some injury concerns before coming to Australia, but that seems to be a thing of the past, and she is looking better than ever. The match against Pliskova will be lots of fun to watch. Both of the players prefer to play an attacking style of tennis, and that would create some amazing highlights! On her best day, Pliskova would outlast Linette in a run-and-gun kind of a match. However, as I said earlier, Pliskova hasn’t been moving as well as I would like to see, so I am taking Linette.

Denis Kirilov

Karolina Pliskova was on top of her game in 2017 when she reached world number 1. Unfortunately, she couldn’t materialize her chances at Grand Slams as she has always lacked something. The hard-hitting Czech might not have another opportunity and she will be determined to at least make it to the last 4. Pliskova seems to be quite dominant at this year’s Australian Open defeating tough players like Putintseva and Shuai Zhang. Her aggressive playing style suits her well on hard surfaces. However, it was her mentality that held her back from winning titles in the past.
Her opponent, Magda Linette, enjoyed the biggest win of her career in the fourth round. She fought back from 0-3 down in the first set to claim a straight set victory over fourth-seeded, Caroline Garcia. Linette managed to keep her composure throughout the whole match and suffered just 14 unforced errors. This number was even smaller (9) in her 2-0 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round. I think that Linette might surprise Pliskova as well, but keeping in mind the depth of the stage, experience will certainly play a decisive role. Pliskova has an abundance of that and I personally believe she will be able to win from behind and book her spot in the Semifinals after a 3-set thriller. 

Jack Hartman

Over the last few seasons Karolina Pliskova has been one of the best and most dominant players on the WTA Tour but after a rough 2022 where Pliskova slipped out of the world’s top ten, Pliskova arrived at this year’s Australian Open flying very much under the radar. Generally, this is a tournament that Pliskova has struggled in as she has never reached this phase in the ten years that she has been on the WTA Tour. Pliskova has rewound the clock to when she was one of the game’s elite players cruising through the draw without losing a set. Due to the majority of seeds crashing out in and around her quarter, it can be argued that Pliskova has had a good route through to this stage but she has certainly taken full advantage. A golden opportunity awaits here as she takes on the unseeded Magda Linette for a chance to reach the Semifinal. The pair have played on eight occasions with Pliskova leading the series 6-2.

Despite trailing in the head to head series, Magda Linette won the last meeting between the pair which came just a few months ago in the Billie Jean Cup. Nobody would have expected Linette to have advanced this far and her dream run to the Quarterfinal marks the furthest she has ever reached in any Grand Slam. Linette certainly hasn’t had it easy, the Polish number two has beaten the dangerous Ekaterina Alexandrova before putting on a superb display to land arguably the biggest win of her career when she defeated world number four Caroline Garcia in straight sets. This match will land on the racquet of Pliskova. Too often in the past we have become accustomed to Pliskova spraying the ball all over the court and if she does that again she will come off second best. If Pliskova can maintain her consistency she should win here. 

Aryna Sabalenka (5) vs Donna Vekić

Aryna Sabalenka will be looking to book her spot in the Semifinals, but first she will need to get past unseeded Donna Vekić. Sabalenka has been stringing together amazing performance after amazing performance, and she is yet to drop a set. Vekić was almost eliminated in the first round, holding on in a third set tiebreak to advance through, and in total she has dropped two sets.

Aleksandar Ricliev

Aryna Sabalenka has been having an outstanding 2023. She has yet to lose a single match in the year, and she has won eight in a row already. Not only that, an opponent is yet to take a single set off of her in a match! With Iga Swiatek dropping out of the tournament, Sabalenka and Pegula are the two favorites to win the whole thing. Sabalenka’s quest for the trophy continues with a match against the Croatian Vekic, who has completely dominated Sabalenka in the past. To the complete surprise of everyone, the pair has played six matches against each other, and Vekic has won five of them.

Donna Vekic is playing in great form as well, and she has yet to lose a single game in 2023. This match will be an absolute firecracker to watch, and I expect to see the highest level of tennis possible. Marathon rallies, breathtaking winners, and an absolute fight until the last breath. Will Sabalenka have her revenge against Vekic for the many defeats, or will Vekic continue to dominate in this matchup? In all honesty, no one can predict that, so I will take them to cover the total games spread.

Denis Kirilov

Aryna Sabalenka remains one of the top favorites to win the 2023 Australian Open. The 24-year-old Belarusian reached a career-high world number 2 back in 2021 when she made it to the Semifinals at Wimbledon and US Open. However, she has been struggling with her serve in the following year which saw her take a step back before once again being a semifinalist in New York. It seems that Sabalenka has found the right recipe to utilize her serve potential as she slowly but surely becomes a great threat to everybody. Alongside Pegula, she remains the only other player who hasn’t lost a set in 2023. Let’s not forget that Sabalenka has already won a title in Melbourne after defeating the competition in the doubles tournament in 2021. 

Donna Vekic has been unable to lift the curtain that hides her potential. She reached her first WTA Final at the age of 16 and many predicted a bright future for the Croatian. Unfortunately, she only made it to world number 19 in 2019 and won three career titles. On top of that, she only has one Quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam (2019 US Open) throughout 10 years of professional tennis. Vekic almost suffered an upset against the much more inexperienced Linda Fruhvirtova in the previous round. The Croatian can only brag with her victory over Ludmila Samsonova who also seems to be out of rhythm at the moment. Hence, I see no other option, but to go with a 2-0 win for Sabalenka in this Quarterfinal clash.

Jack Hartman

After a frustrating 2022 where Aryna Sabalenka was banned from playing at Wimbledon and where she lost in the final of the season ending WTA Finals, Aryna Sabalenka has started 2023 with a real point to prove. The big hitting Belarusian is yet to win a Grand Slam but undoubtedly has both the game and talent to win. Sabalenka season started in the best possible way when she breezed her way to win one of the warm up titles in Adelaide. Clearly full of confidence, Sabalenka has been in scintillating form through the first four rounds of this year’s Australian Open. Never before has Sabalenka advanced this far and she will be confident of going all the way here and ending her major drought. Yet to drop a set, she will be confident of keeping that run going here. 

Standing in the way of Sabalenka reaching her first Australian Open Semifinal is Croatian Donna Vekic. Vekic was once hailed as one of the future stars of the women’s game but things haven’t quite gone to plan and she has spent several years in the tennis wilderness. Now ranked at 62 in the world there are signs that Vekic is returning to the force she once was. This is only the second time in her career that she has reached this stage of a Grand Slam and is the furthest she has ever advanced at Melbourne Park. Like Sabalenka, Vekic is yet to lose this year and her gutsy three set win over the talented Linda Fruhvirtova showed just what a good place Vekic’s game and mind must be in. Vekic leads the head to head series 5-1 including a win just a few months ago. That win came over three sets and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this match was to go the distance once more

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