British hopes high as Australian Open enters eighth day

1) Murray to dash the home bid

Andy Murray has made a serene path to the fourth round of the tournament, only dropping four or more games in two sets so far.

16th-seed Bernard Tomic stands in his way of a quarter final berth, who is the last remaining Australian in either the men’s or women’s draw.

Unfortunately for the locals, Tomic doesn’t have much of a positive history with the Scot, having lost all three previous encounters in straight sets. Murray is 8/15 to win 3-0 again here.

2) Konta to keep British hopes alive

There is a rare chance for Great Britain to have a quarterfinalist in both the men’s and women’s competitions, as Johanna Konta faces off against Ekaterina Makarova.

The Sydney-born 24-year-old hasn’t looked back since disposing of Venus Williams in the first round and has yet to drop a set on her way to this point of the tournament.

She won the only meeting with 21st-seed Makarova, beating the Russian 6-2, 6-4 at Eastbourne last summer and is 11/8 to progress Down Under.

3) Wawrinka to roll on

If Murray’s progress through his side of the draw has been serene, the 2014 champion has had it even easier.

The Swiss star is yet to drop a set on his way to the fourth round and isn’t likely to concede one against Milos Raonic, who he holds a dominant record over in his career.

The hard-hitting Canadian hasn’t won a set against Wawrinka since the opening gambit of their first ever meeting in 2012, losing all eight to have followed.

However, five of those eight sets have needed a tie break to separate the opponents. It’s 1/10 that his match requires one, with 1/1 offered that the first set goes to tie break.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.