The bottom half of the women's draw at the Australian Open contest their fourth round matches tomorrow. The 14th seed, Victoria Azarenka is a strong favourite going into her match against the unseeded Barbora Strycova.

Recent Results

Azarenka came into the Australian Open full of confidence after cruising to the Brisbane title. Despite not having won a title since 2013, the Belarusian didn't drop a set en route, accounting for Angelique Kerber in the final. So far in Melbourne, Azarenka has continued her incredible start to the season, dropping only five games in three matches to reach the last sixteen.

Strycova didn't have a good start to the year, losing in the second round of Auckland and the first round of Hobart. For some reason, the Czech has got her season truly underway this week in Melbourne, accounting for the 32nd seed, Caroline Garcia 62, 64 in the first round and the 3rd seed, Garbine Muguruza 63, 62 in the third. The latter victory was particularly impressive as Strycova hadn't taken a set off of the Spaniard in their previous two meetings and fully took advantage of her opponent's uninspired mood and form.

Past Experience

A former two time Australian Open champion and world number one, Azarenka relishes the pressure and has won 18 WTA titles. Despite two troublesome years with injuries constantly derailing her progress, the 26 year old appears to be getting back to her best and is now inside the world's top 20 at number 16 in the world. Having reached the fourth round in Melbourne for an eighth successive time, the chances of Azarenka winning her third Australian Open look very strong.

Azarenka's new celebratory 'dabbing' dance. Photo: Getty Images/Mark Kolbe

In contrast, this is only Strycova's second fourth round appearance in any of the Grand Slams having reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon 2014. A former world number 20, the 29 year old has won only one WTA title in Quebec City 2011 and has never quite lived up to the success she had as a junior, when she won the Australian Open in 2002 and 2003. That being said, the current world number 48 has had wins over the likes of former Grand Slam winners Petra Kvitova and Na Li.

Head-to-Head

Azarenka dominates their rivalry 4-0 and has never lost a set. Strangely enough, this is the third straight year the pair have met at the Australian Open with each match being progressively deeper in the tournament. Azarenka won 61, 64 in the second round of 2014 and 64, 64 in the third round last year.

The former champion has been playing brilliantly in this tournament so far and will look to smother Strycova from the baseline with her sustained power and depth. Though she doesn't often hit high amounts of searing winners, Azarenka wins so many matches due to her punishing returns and unflappable consistency.

It will be up to Strycova to mix up the play and disrupt Azarenka's baseline rhythm when ever possible. As she's quite capable of attacking the net, slicing the ball and hitting drop shots, it's within her repertoire. However, she might find she doesn't have much time on the ball as Azarenka excels at rushing her opponents right from the return, particularly on her favourite hardcourt surface.

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.

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About the author
Jake Fletcher
Tennis enthusiast!