The first Grand Slam of the tennis season is upon us even though the year is barely two weeks old. The best in men’s tennis head to Melbourne Park in Australia for two weeks of hard court tennis to determine who will make a statement in 2023 and set the pace for the rest of the ATP Tour.
Plenty is on the line as Rafael Nadal looks to snap his poor form and defend the title he won against all odds 12 months ago. Novak Djokovic is back this year and looking to add a tenth Australian Open crown to his already bursting trophy cabinet, while Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be eager to claim both their first Grand Slam titles and ascend to the World No. 1 position with a win in Melbourne.
We look at the odds for the Australian Open from bookmaker William Hill and offer some of the best bets to be made ahead of the first ball being served this Monday.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 15th, 11:30 A.M. (GMT)
It speaks to the dominance of Novak Djokovic in Australia that the odds for him to win this tournament are almost four times that of his next rival. Sitting at 1.83, Djokovic is the clear favourite with Daniil Medvedev the next most likely at 7.00. After Medvedev, there’s a long drop off in the odds to Stefanos Tsitsipas at 15.00, who is closely trailed by Rafael Nadal, Holger Rune and Nick Kyrgios on 17.00.
Betting on Novak Djokovic to win the 2023 Australian Open may be cliché, but it’s that way for a reason. Since his debut at the tournament in 2005, the Serbian has gone all the way to win the title nine times, including the last three times he has participated. Add to this the fact that Djokovic is in white-hot form currently, having only lost twice since May 2022, and the 21-time Grand Slam champion is an excellent bet to win the Australian Open in a fortnight’s time at 1.83.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 15th, 11:30 A.M. (GMT)
The big question is, who is Djokovic’s rival likely to be in the final, should he make it that far? We say the Spanish great Rafael Nadal has a good chance of getting there and a bet on a Nadal vs. Djokovic final has excellent odds as well at 13.00.
The reason these odds are so long is because Rafael Nadal has been in poor form since injuring himself at the US Open. The current World No. 2 has lost six of his past seven matches and limps his way into this tournament looking somewhat vulnerable. However, this is where Nadal is at his best. A long off-season, plus the occasion of a Grand Slam, is exactly what the great needs to break his run of poor form. Expect Nadal to exceed expectations and fight his way to the final but defeating Novak will be one step too far for the Spaniard.
