Australia's Ashleigh Barty celebrates after defeating Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Associated Press
Tennis

Australian Open Women's Picks: Barty vs Riske, Kontaveit vs Swiatek, Halep vs Mertens, Muguruza vs Bertens, Kerber vs Pavlyuachankova

Round of 16. Barty vs Riske goes off at 3 am EST.

Neal Abrams

Australian Open

Women's Round of 16

Barty over Riske

The American is playing her best tennis and is looking sharp, but not sharp enough to overcome he hometown favorite. Color this match Barty’s.

Kontaveit over Swiatek

This is really a tossup, but after Kontaveit knocked off Belinda Bencic with the loss of only a single game it’s hard to think that Swiatek could do better than Bencic.

Halep over Mertens

Want to take lessons in intensity on the tennis court? Look no further than Romania’s Simona Halep. She’s so tough that when she leaves this world I think that she should be put down.

Muguruza over Bertens

Maybe it’s time for Mugurza to dig out a little hole and make her much anticipated “comeback”. After all, where’s she been?

Kerber over Pavlyuachankova

Kerber’s looking awfully efficient, and that’s a good sign coming from the Czech lefty. She may be 32 years-old now, but when her game is on, she’s dangerous, and I think that’s where she is right now.

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