Australian Open Tip Sheet: How to bet on Jenson Brooksby vs. Casper Ruud, plus three other picks

Extreme heat and rain delays in Melbourne have blurred the lines between one day ending and another beginning, but make no mistake about it: this is a Day 4 Australian Open betting preview. Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, Caroline Garcia and Aryna Sabalenka are some of the stars taking the court on Thursday, and we're particularly interested in one of their matches.

JJ Wolf vs. Diego Schwartzman

Schwartzman was able to outlast Oleksii Krutykh in a physical match that was played on Court 17, where the heat was unforgiving. The Argentinean, who had already been playing with one of his legs wrapped, will now need to find the strength to compete with a feisty youngster, Wolf. But even if Schwartzman was 100% we'd have our doubts about this matchup. Schwartzman saved 14 of the 16 break points he faced against Krutykh, but the hard-serving Wolf isn't going to let that many opportunities slip away. We're not even thinking twice about this one. BEST BET: Wolf -2.5 Games (-135)

Yulia Putintseva vs. Karolina Pliskova

This will be the sixth meeting between Putintseva and Pliskova, and the Czech has never lost. In my best Adam Sandler voice, "that's history right there, you understand?" Pliskova is a much better server than Putintseva, and she looked great in the opening round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Xiyu Wang. Pliskova needed just an hour and five minutes to advance; look for her good form to carry over. LEAN: Pliskova -2.5 Games (-145)

Jenson Brooksby vs. Casper Ruud

Brooksby knows how to make his opponents uncomfortable—he's a relentless competitor that plays world-class defense. But that might not be enough against a player of Ruud's caliber. The Norwegian made it to the finals of two Grand Slams last year, and he has worked his way up to No. 3 in the ATP rankings. Ruud did that by improving his backhand, which was one of his only weaknesses. Overall, he has an advantage over Brooksby in every facet of the game. Brooksby can hustle as much as he wants, but how is he going to find ways to flip the script and put Ruud on the defensive? He probably can't. That's why we're rolling with Ruud. LEAN: Ruud -3.5 Games (-150)

Nicolas Jarry vs. Ben Shelton

Jarry beat up on world No. 27 Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, earning a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory. Now, tennis fans will have the opportunity to soak in a meeting between two players with serious power. Jarry and Shelton both have the ability to breeze through service games; they can both dial up aces in a hurry, or simply serve to the spots necessary to get their opponents out of position for quick points. It's a little difficult to pick a winner in a match-up between two players that want to do similar things, but it would be rather surprising if this match didn't feature some lengthy sets. For that reason, we're hopping on the Over. LEAN: Over 41.5 Games (-125)