Australian Open: Kvitova to see off former finalist Ivanovic
Published:Petra Kvitova can put down a big marker in her quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a convicing win against former Grand Slam champion Ana Ivanovic this Monday.
Kvitova currently shares the favouritism with Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka at 3/1 but a dominant display against Ivanovic would surely see the Czech shorten – at least until Williams takes to the court a few hours later.
Kvitova has had an extremely straightforward route to the last 16 and it was made even simpler in the last round when Maria Kirilenko was forced to retire after just seven games because of injury.
The Wimbledon champion is currently 2/7 to see off Ivanovic while the Serbian is out at 11/4 to produce a big shock.
While a win may be beyond Ivanovic, she is more than capable of picking up a set against Kvitova who dropped a set against Spain’s Carla Suárez Navarro in the earlier round.
Backing Kvitova to win 2-1 looks worth a punt at 3/1.
Meanwhile, another last 16 clash sees Sara Errani take on Jie Zheng in what should be a straightforward victory for the latter.
Zheng is favourite at 2/5 to win the match and it’s hard to see beyond a win for her.
The Chinese has won all of her matches so far in straight sets and saw off the very decent Marion Bartoli in the last round.
A bet on Zheng to beat Errani – who has never been beyond this stage at the Australian Open – looks the one to take on.
