American Danielle Collins aims for her first Grand Slam final appearance on Thursday morning when she faces Poland's Iga Swiatek in the 2022 Australian Open women's semifinals. Collins, the 27th seed, breezed past Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-1 in Tuesday's quarterfinals, while the seventh-seeded Swiatek needed more than three hours to beat Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Collins reached this stage in Melbourne in 2019, losing to Petra Kvitova. This also is Swiatek's second semifinal, as she went on to win the French Open in 2020.
First serve is set for 4:45 a.m. ET. Swiatek is listed as the -150 favorite in the latest Collins vs. Swiatek odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while Collins is a +120 underdog. There are a number of other Swiatek vs. Collins bets you can make, including an over-under on total games played at 21.5. Before you make any Collins vs. Swiatek or 2022 Australian Open women's semifinals picks, you need to see what proven tennis expert Gavin Mair has to say.
A renowned women's tennis handicapper, Mair has cashed in huge in the past. In the 2020 French Open, Mair picked Swiatek to win (-163) and win in straight sets (+140), and he was right on both counts.
He also called unseeded Jelena Ostapenko (80-1) winning the 2017 French Open, Naomi Osaka (32-1) winning the 2018 U.S. Open and Bianca Andreescu (20-1) winning the 2019 U.S. Open.
Now, Mair has broken down the latest 2022 Australian Open women's semifinals odds and released his coveted best bets for Collins vs. Swiatek. He's sharing all of his Australian Open picks and expert tennis analysis at SportsLine.
Danielle Collins vs. Iga Swiatek preview
Swiatek's run to the French Open title gives her the edge in experience. Collins reached this stage once before, but she had not won a Grand Slam match before then and was under little outside pressure. Swiatek should have some confidence from beating Collins in their only previous matchup. She went up 6-2, 3-0 before Collins had to retire with a back injury in a quarterfinal at Adelaide last February. Swiatek went on to win that tournament over Belinda Bencic.
The 20-year-old Swiatek played a long match Tuesday, but her youth should help her bounce back. Collins has a powerful serve, but the Pole leads this tournament in first-serve return points, which will help neutralize that. Swiatek is 44-16 in matches since the start of 2021, and her energetic style creates a lot of winners and unforced errors. She has battled through this tournament while not at her best, and she should be mentally prepared for another tough test.
Collins is a fierce competitor with a lot of power, and she is finally healthy and ready to prove she is a top-10 player. The 28-year-old, a two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Virginia, was diagnosed with endometriosis last year. That led to surgery to remove a tennis-ball sized cyst, and she says she feels like a new person. She has been playing like it, losing just two sets in this tournament. She is 45-15 in her matches since the start of last season.
How to make Collins vs. Swiatek picks
Will Collins finally break through to her first Grand Slam final or will Swiatek get a shot at a second major victory? Mair has released a confident pick on the winner, as well as advice on match betting for the 2022 Australian Open. Make sure you check out Mair's predictions and analysis before making any Australian Open 2022 women's semifinals picks of your own.
Who wins Swiatek vs. Collins in the 2022 Australian Open women's singles semifinal? And what match picks should you be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see Gavin Mair's best bets for Collins vs. Swiatek, all from the acclaimed expert who has called three long-shot winners of Grand Slam women's titles since 2017, and find out.
