With just three matches remaining in the men's draw of the Australian Open, it is semifinals day in Melbourne.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will clash with Karen Khachanov on Thursday night (in terms of US viewers) while American Tommy Paul will clash with the nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
Tennis experts Kenny Ducey and Luke Holmberg gave their analysis of the two matches, offering full previews and best bets for the matches.
Read below for snippets of their picks.
Australian Open Semifinal Odds & Picks
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Karen Khachanov
10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Ducey: I continue to think Khachanov is undervalued by oddsmakers, and will continue to advocate for betting on him in what is a very big fade of the public.
Tsitsipas may struggle here with these low, flat Khachanov groundstrokes and I’m not quite sure his returning has been strong enough for my liking entering a match against a man who has been dominant on service.
Khachanov can break down the Tsitsipas backhand and he’s done well against some big servers in recent rounds. I think he has all the tools to finally crack Tsitsipas, and I’d argue that in the five previous meetings he’s never been playing at such a high level.
At the very least, I think Khachanov will make this a very close match. I’ll happily grab the games here on a man who’s been hard to negotiate a break against and who looks like the second-best player in the tournament.
Pick: Khachanov +4.5 games (-110 via DraftKings)
For Ducey's full preview, click here!
Novak Djokovic vs. Tommy Paul
3:30 a.m. ET, ESPN
Holmberg: Djokovic played two vastly different styles of opponents in his previous two rounds.
There was Alex de Minaur, who has incredible defensive skill but no massive offensive weapon. Then, there was Andrey Rublev, who plays with pure fire, but is typically one-dimensional without a second plan. Neither of these players were able to push Djokovic or his hamstring to the limits.
Now Djokovic gets Paul, who adds in the variety factor but falls somewhere in between de Minaur and Rublev on the offense versus defense spectrum.
It may be an unpopular play, but I believe he will make Djokovic answer questions that he has not yet been asked in this tournament. Unless we see a Djokovic hamstring issue arise, it’s hard to see any way Paul ends victorious, but this won’t be as straightforward as Djokovic’s prior two rounds.
Expect energy, variety and fearlessness to exude from the American’s game, pushing this match over the total.
Pick: Over 29.5 games (-130 via DraftKings)
For Holmberg's full preview, click here!
