Ons Jabeur vs Linda Noskova Prediction: Noskova Will Fancy Her Chances

On Saturday, January 7, first seed Ons Jabeur will face emerging Czech star Linda Noskova in the semifinals of the 2023 Adelaide International.

Top seed Ons Jabeur has had the easiest road to the semifinals in Auckland. The 7-6(3), 6-1 victory against Sorana Cirstea was followed by a 7-6(5), 7-5 triumph over Marta Kostyuk, who had a bye into round two.

The 28-year-old, who is now rated World No. 2, had a fantastic season last year and intends to maintain that pace in 2023.

Her career highlights include Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon and US Open), two WTA 1000 events (Madrid and Rome), and two WTA 500 events (Charleston and Berlin). In the process, Jabeur defeated some of the tour's top players.

Ons finished the year with the WTA Finals but did not go past the group round.

Despite this, she is the overwhelming favorite going into this match due to her expertise and pedigree.

Linda Noskova debuted in the top 100 last year and is now poised to rise much higher.

She began as a qualifier in the Adelaide 500 and advanced through seeded competitors such as Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova to reach the main draw.

In the first round, she defeated third-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3. She defeated Claire Liu 6-2, 6-2 after collecting her second top-10 career victory.

The former world number one, Victoria Azarenka, was up next. The youngster was put to the ultimate test in that game. Linda survived a match point in the fourth set to win 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6 in a three-hour, rally-heavy contest (6).

Azarenka had 15 aces and a little superior service game, but Noskova's tenacity and agility carried her through. The problem for her is to maintain this pace against Jabeur.

There are plenty of precedents for the 18-year-old to learn from, so defeating the Tunisian is not out of the question. She also has some ITF Tour experience, having won two singles championships and three doubles finals last year.

This will be a thrilling event. Jabeur is the overwhelming favorite, but Noskova has what it takes to pull off the upset, putting at least three sets on the line. In fact, at 11/5 to win, Noskova is a tempting bet.

• Total Under 21.5 for 1.85
• Handiсap Linda Noskova (+4) for 1.87
• Individual Total 1 Under 12.5 for 1.83