The blue hard-courts of Melbourne will once again play host to one of the biggest tennis tournaments of the year as the 2016 Australian Open takes place from Jan 18 - 31. In our latest tennis betting tips article, we offer our Men's Tournament preview.
*** Click here for 2016 Australian Open Women's Betting Preview ***
2016 Australian Open - Men's Tournament
Talking about men's tennis sounds like a broken record these days - and especially the Australian Open. We are just simply in the Novak Djokovic era. He's won this tournament five times and all signs point to him making it a sixth. Last year Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in four sets, but really made it look pretty easy. Murray is once again the second favourite in betting (paying around $6), but there is a reason Djokovic is the heavy favourite at as little as $1.60 at some Australian sports betting sites.
Outside of Djokovic and Murray, the bookies consider Stan Wawrinka the next best chance ($12), while Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are both uncharacteristically paying a massive $13 and $15 respectively.
Can any of these guys win the tournament? I don't think so, but out of these three players I think Federer is showing the most value. He was defeated by Milos Raonic at the Brisbane International last week, but there is no doubt he would know his body and what needs to be done to prepare for a Grand Slam like the Australian Open. However, that doesn't mean I think you should bet on Federer, but don't be surprised if you see him making a deep run.
If Wawrinka is now considered up there with the 'big 4' (Fed, Rafa, Djoka and Murray), then really I don't think any player outside of these five could win the 2016 Australian Open. Raonic would have got confidence in Brisbane, but he isn't quite there yet, while the likes of Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios won't get anywhere near the best five players in the world.
It seems like such a copout tournament after tournament, but you just can't bet against Djokovic. Consider betting on him to win the 2016 Australian Open using the William Hill promotion which sees you get a $5 bonus bet every time he wins a match - that makes the $25 max bet a complete freeroll if he makes it through to the semi-finals. Find out how Djokovic's draw looks on the official Australian Open website.
Tournament Winner Top Odds - William Hill
Novak Djokovic - $1.70
Andy Murray - $6.00
Stan Wawrinka - $12.00
Roger Federer - $13
Rafael Nadal - $15
Milos Raonic - $34
Nick Kyrgios - $41
Kei Nishikori - $41
Grigor Dimitrov - $51
Marin Cilic - $51
