Barbora Krejcikova v Elena Rybakina: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova, two former Grand Slam champions, are set to face off in the Wimbledon 2024 semi-finals on Thursday.

Rybakina has been in impressive form throughout the tournament as she looks to repeat her women's singles title win of 2022. 

The Kazakh player secured her spot in the last four with a dominant 6-3 6-2 victory over last year's surprise semi-finalist Elina Svitolina. 

Meanwhile, Krejcikova overcame No.13 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 7-6(4) on Wednesday to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final.

The 2021 French Open champion has rediscovered the winning thread after a testing first half of the year marred by illness and injury.

The popular 28-year-old was sidelined for two months between February and April due to first a back injury and then severe flu.

She came into Wimbledon having won just two matches in six tournaments, which included first-round exits in four consecutive clay-court events.

But she has renewed confidence and will look to extend her unbeaten record against Rybakina, having previously bested her over three sets at the 2021 Grampians Trophy and in the 2022 Ostrava semi-final.

Barbora Krejcikova v Elena Rybakina betting tips and predictions

First Set Score 6-3 Rybakina - 11/4

Head-to-head, Krejcikova holds an advantage over Rybakina, having never lost to her in their previous two encounters. 

This psychological edge could play a crucial role in this contest, but it is also worth noting that the Czech player lost the opening set on both occasions.

Rybakina will come out firing powerful forehands to both flanks and Krejcikova may adopt the same tactics that saw her beat Ostapenko in the quarter-final by taking pace out of the rallies when she can.

She gradually shook the Latvian out of her rhythm with a series of slices and blocked returns, although it did not have an immediate effect.

Both players have won the first sets of all five of their matches in this year's tournament, but Rybakina has settled into a regular pattern of taking the opener 6-3.

The only time the No.4 seed did not take the first set by that score was when she completely steamrollered Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-1 in the third round, but a repeat of that looks very unlikely against Krejcikova.

Elena Rybakina -4.5 Match Aces Handicap - 1/1

Rybakina has hit the joint-most aces at this year's tournament, tied on 31 with New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun.

She certainly hit her spots in Wednesday's comfortable quarter-final win over Svitolina, winning 85 per cent of her points on first serve, while acing her opponent seven times.

While the Kazakh's serve has been a major weapon in her armoury this year, the same cannot be said of Krejcikova.

The No.31 seed has served only 16 aces across her five matches at SW19, roughly half the number that Rybakina has produced.

The Czech player is unlikely to serve more unreturnables than her opponent on Thursday and Rybakina may be able to cover the -4.5 handicap assigned to her for total match aces.

She served six more aces than Svitolina - a player who has served four more in the tournament than Krejcikova - in the quarter-final. 

Barbora Krejcikova Under 5.5 Double Faults - 8/11

The handicap line for Krejcikova's double faults, however, appears a touch high given she served only three during the entirety of her quarter-final win over Ostapenko.

Two of those came in her opening service game, perhaps belying some nerves on the big occasion, but she soon settled down and served only one more double in her next 10 and the second-set tie-break that got her over the line.

The Czech star is averaging five double faults per match at Wimbledon, but there were more than a few signs in her last game that she has ironed out the issues that dogged her earlier in the tournament.  

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Barbora Krejcikova v Elena Rybakina odds

Barbora Krejcikova - 10/3
Elena Rybakina - 2/9

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.