Defending Champion Sabalenka Rolling Early At the Australian Open
Top-Seeded Iga Swiatek Continues to Lead the 2024 Women Australian Open odds
US Open Champion Coco Gauff Is The Top US Open in Melbourne
While many of the big names have been taking care of business in the early rounds, there have been some results that have impacted the 2024 Women’s Australian Open odds.
The biggest development was the first-round exit by reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets by qualifier Dayana Yastremska. She was one of the five top-20 seeds knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
No. 3 Elena Rybakina, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, and No. 6 Ons Jabeur were among the contenders to fall in the second round in Melbourne.
Six former World No. 1 players entered the tournament but just three remain following losses by Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, and Caroline Wozniacki.
Even though top-seeded Iga Swiatek hasn’t advanced past the semifinals at the Australian Open, she still leads the way with +175 odds to win the first of the big-time tennis events in 2024.
When looking at the tennis odds, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff aren’t far behind as they are priced at +300 in the Australian Open outrights.
Keep on reading for an update on where the 2024 Australian Open women’s singles draw stands after two rounds of play.
Americans Test the Top Seed
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Swiatek.
She needed to win a first-set tiebreaker against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round. That set up Swiatek to take on another American player.
Danielle Collins pushed Swiatek to the limit before Swiatek emerged with the 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win. That has done little to impact the 2024 women’s Australian Open odds.
Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko, and Elina Svitolina are among the seeded players left in Swiatek’s portion of the draw.
Top Seeds Tumble In the Second Round
No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina never got to set up a potential semifinal showdown with Swiatek as Anna Blinkova pulled off a stunner in the second round.
Blinkova won 22-20 in the third-set tiebreaker to eliminate one of the pre-tournament favorites according to the 2024 women’s Australian Open odds.
That could open the door for unseeded American Sloane Stephens as she eliminated No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round as only seven of the top 16 seeds advanced to the third round.
Stephens becomes the top American hope in the second quarter after fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula fell to Clara Burel 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.
No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari had another early exit in a Grand Slam with No. 16 seed Caroline Garcia also being eliminated.
Sabalenka Rolling Along
While many of her top challengers are either out of the tournament or facing stern tests already, Sabalenka has dropped just six games in her first two matches.
A Round of 16 match between either American Amanda Anisimova or Paula Badosa could be interesting for the defending champion.
However, multiple seeds in her quarter of the draw have already been sent packing.
Youth Is Being Served
The feeling is that teen prodigy Mirra Andreeva was ready to break through as a Grand Slam sooner rather than later.
There is no time like the present.
Andreeva rolled to a 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur to advance to the third round.
Next up is a showdown with Diane Perry with Andreeva priced at -1800 to win that match.
The winner of that match may end up meeting No. 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Of course, Sabalenka could be waiting in the quarterfinals.
A Look At the U.S. Hopes
Pegula’s loss was a surprising development as she was one of 14 American women eliminated in the first two rounds of the tournament.
When looking at the Australian Open schedule, at least one U.S.-born player will reach the fourth round as No. 4 seed Coco Gauff meets up with Alycia Parks in the Round of 32. Parks is coming off a straight-set win over No. 32-seeded Leylah Fernandez.
The total of games in the match has been set at 18 with -125 odds to go over that total and -105 to land under.
Keep an eye on Stephens. She reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2013. However, Stephens lost in the first round in seven of her previous eight Australian Open appearances.
The former US Open champion can be a dangerous tennis player when she is in the zone and that seems to be the case right now.
Anisimova began the tournament with an impressive win over No. 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova and now faces the dangerous Badosa in the third round.
No. 27 seed Emma Navarro joins Gauff as the only other seeded American in the women’s singles draw. The 22-year-old already has her best Grand Slam showing. If she gets by Yastremska, either 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko or two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka would be next.
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