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Sofia Kenin will face an unranked opponent in her first career Grand Slam final Saturday at the Australian Open, but she’s also a decided betting underdog.

That’s because her opponent is two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza, who has already knocked off four ranked players en route to her first finals appearance in Melbourne.

Muguruza is a -184 favorite by FanDuel, -182 by DraftKings and -185 by PointsBet, with the three books offering the 14th-seeded Kenin at +156, +150 and +150, respectfully.

FanDuel is offering Muguruza at +130 to win in straight sets and +290 to win in three, compared to +380 for Kenin in straight sets and +360 in three. Other prop bets by the book include Muguruza -106 to win by more than three total games.

DraftKings is offering Muguruza at -177 to win the most games overall, compared to Kenin at +135. The book is also offering a -240 moneyline on Muguruza winning her first service game and -200 for the same bet on Kenin.



This year has marked a career turnaround for Muguruza, who exited the Australian Open in the second round in 2018 when she had an opportunity to take over the No. 1 ranking. She struggled for most of the past two years before parting with coach Sam Sumyk and hiring Spanish legend Conchita Martinez.

Earlier this year, Muguruza reached the semifinals in Shenzhen and the quarterfinals in Hobart before withdrawing due to illness. She arrived in Melbourne and survived a pair of three-set wins to open the event, but she since has not dropped a set in knocking off No. 5 Elina Svitolina, No. 9 Kiki Bertens, No. 30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No. 4 Simona Halep.

Muguruza, a 26-year-old Spaniard, will be seeking to add the Australian Open to her Grand Slam trophy case, which already includes the 2016 French Open and Wimbledon the following year.

“Definitely the mission is to get away from here with a big trophy,” Muguruza told reporters after upsetting Halep. “Big or small celebration, it’s incredible achievement. It really depends of how you’re feeling. I believe in myself that I have what it takes to play these kind of matches and to be in this stage.”

🏆@GarbiMuguruza sets her sights on the big prize after powering her way past Halep to reach the #AusOpen final on Day 1️⃣1️⃣

Match report 👉https://t.co/dl2n41fJq1#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/s0aarReqSi

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020

Kenin, 21, was born in Moscow, but her family moved to the United States a few months later. She has three career WTA titles, but this is the first time she has advanced to the quarterfinals of a major, much less a final.

“I’m just going to also focus on what I need to do, focus on my game,” Kenin told reporters after beating top-seeded Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals. “I got here, it’s time to shine, do the best I can. Hopefully do something more special.”

B-E-L-I-E-V-E@SofiaKenin's inner mantra 💯

#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/rLRBOVZvFR

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020

–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)