Betting Preview for the Australian Open

Tennis betting fans are gearing up for the start of the Australian Open. The first grand slam of the 2010 season is the first opportunity for us to assess who are likely to be the major contenders for the titles this season. Players work to varying levels during December when there are no tournaments. We will soon see who is fitter, stronger and ready to improve their ranking. Using the Tennis odds from bwin let us have a look for any value bets in the outright winner market for the men’s tournament.

The favourite is Roger Federer at 2.60. Federer has reached an astonishing twenty two consecutive grand slam semi-finals, which is every slam for five and a half years. This is an amazing record. On paper he is the best there has ever been and only a handful of players can attest to being able to compete with him. Straight away he looks an attractive bet for me as he is likely to make it to at least the semi-final matches and has huge experience and success in five set matches where any bad start does not necessarily cost him the match.

Rafa Nadal is not quite the dominant force since 2008 after which he suffered knee and leg injuries. Nadal still wins regularly but has not dominated Tennis for some time. His odds of 3.05 look good but when you look at his record in the Australian Open he did not do that well until winning the tournament last year beating a demoralised Federer in the final. As defending champion he has to be one of the favourites. He has laboured to beat Wawrinka in a recent tournament 7-6, 7-5 when a year or two ago he would have won against a player of Wawrinka’s level very easy at scores of around 6-2, 6-4 or something like that. 3.05 does not necessarily represent any value but he is certainly a player you would expect to be in contention come the end of the tournament.

Nikolai Davydenko has odds of 6.50 to win. He beat Federer and Nadal to win a tournament in the build up to the Australian Open but still seems to be outside of the top players. In a five set match in a Grand Slam I would suggest any of the top four would beat Davydenko. Until he has a major breakthrough tournament these odds are a little low for me but he certainly has a chance if momentum is a factor you consider for your Tennis bets.

As a British tennis fan we could write many articles on Andy Murray and his chances to win. He has yet to win a Grand Slam and this could be significant with expectation high due to his talent at Tennis. He is an enigma on the court, very likely to test and beat the best players in the world but then lose to a player everyone expects him to easily beat. He plays on the back foot and struggles with the power game of strong players like Wawrinka and Verdasco. To win the Slam he covets so much he needs to attack more. If you believe this is the tournament he wins his first Grand Slam then his odds to win outright are 6.50. Hard courts are his favourite surface so perhaps he will finally achieve his promise at the Australian Open.

Juan-Martin Del Potro has odds of 9.20 to win and for the US Open champion this is long odds. Unfortunately for Del Potro he withdrew with injury from a build up tournament. I would wait to assess his progress and performance in the first two or three rounds before considering a bet.

Novak Djokovics only Grand Slam win came at the Australian Open in 2008. He did not reach a slam semi-final in 2009 but had excellent results at the end of 2009 signalling a return to form. I think the odds of 9.50 odds are value because he was easily the best player in the world in late 2009. His Grand Slam performances are the only blight in a career which has seen him firmly in the top four thanks to strong circuit results. In many respects he is very like Murray, you never know when the Grand slam performance of this talented Tennis player will result in a win. It could very well be the bet of the tournament to back Djokovic to win.

The only other potential contender I can see is Andy Roddick. Desperately unlucky to lose an epic final to Federer at Wimbledon his serve always makes him dangerous. If you want to back an outsider in the betting then Roddick is “the best of the rest”.

The tennis will be broadcast live on television and if you want a live bet check out bwin live betting opportunities. The action starts on January 17th with match betting available on every match during the tournament.

By Malcolm Clarke