Venus Williams and Na Li Collide in the Aussie Open Quarters

Melbourne, Australia – Venus Williams is set to battle Na Li of China for a spot in the semi-finals. Na Li is one of two Chinese players to have reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time and she will hope to join her compatriot Jie Zheng in the semis, after she, Zheng, beat Maria Kirilenko in straight sets yesterday.

Venus Williams trails 0-1 lifetime against Na Li after losing to Li at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 7-5, 7-5. Venus has looked impressive in Melbourne and she reaches the quarters having dropped just one set to Francesca Schiavone in the fourth round.

Na Li has been in stellar form in Melbourne. The 16th seed Li took out Daniel Hantuchova, 2008 semi-finalist, in the third round and backed up her win with a huge upset over world No.4 Caroline Wozniacki. More importantly, she beat Wozniacki convincingly 6-4, 6-3.

Venus finished runner-up in 2003 when she lost to Serena. To date, that is her best result in Melbourne. She was once a semi-finalist in 2001. She is making her sixth quarterfinal appearance this year. Li reaches the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time in her career. She was a quarterfinalist in Wimbledon and twice at the US Open, as recently as last year.

Tennis Betting Line:

• Na Li +3½ -115 +170 21½ O -125 U -115 11½ O -140 U Ev
• Venus Williams -3½ -125 -220 21½ O -125 12½ O +110 U -150

First Set:

• Na Li +140 9½ O +105 U -145
• Venus Williams -180 9½ O +105 U -145

Second Set:

• Na Li +135 9½ O +105 U -145
• Venus Williams -175

Venus -3½ vs Na Li >> Join to Bet Now

Match Set Line:

• Na Li +1½ -170 2½ O +150 U -200
• Venus Williams -1½ +130 2½ O +150 U -200

Match Time: 07:00 PM Eastern Time Tuesday January 26, 2010

Tennis Betting Trend: Smart money will back Venus Williams in this match. She enters as the bookies favourite at -220 and most tennis bettors and experts expect she will win. Most likely, because everyone is seduced by the idea there will be a semi-final clash between Serena and Venus in Melbourne.

Na Li is a viable puppy, listed at +170. She is not priced out of this match. This implies she has more than a real shot to upset Venus. She has the one victory over Venus already, which came on a hard court surface not unlike the surface in Melbourne,

Tennis Free Picks: I expect the betting trend will fall in line with Venus and for the most part, that would be the smart play. However, I think there is room to buck the trend in this match. I like the underdog Na Li at +170 and I would recommend a small wager on her to mastermind the upset. You decide. I think we can all agree this should be a competitive affair so the Over 21 ½ -125 would be a good bet as well as taking Na Li to win a set – the first set is trading at a reasonable +140 and the second set is trading at +135. Na Li to cover the spread is another attractive option listed at +3 ½ -115. If she wins or loses this match, it will be by a handful of points methinks.