The Australian Open marks the real beginning of the tennis season. Players have had a tournament or two to get the rust off and they are all coming into the Aussie Open determined to kick off the season with a big performance.
Federer comes into the tournament as the favourite after an amazing 2017, but you can also not count out Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, who looks like he will be able to return from injury to compete in the tournament. Andy Murray will still be on the sideline due to injury, but Dimitrov has been playing well lately and Alexander Zverev looks primed for a breakout in a major this season. It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out.
2018 Aussie Open Winner Odds
Here are the odds for the outright winner of the Men’s Singles tournament from SportsInteraction.com, our top rated betting site for Canadians.
- Roger Federer 2.75
- Rafael Nadal 5.75
- Novak Djokovic 5.75
- Grigor Dimitrov 10.75
- Alexander Zverev 11.25
- Juan Martin Del Potro 15.25
- Nick Kyrgios 15.75
- David Goffin 18.75
- Dominic Thiem 26.00
- Stanislas Wawrinka 27.00
- Milos Raonic 33.00
- Marin Cilic 34.00
These odds are from the week prior to the tournament. To see up to date odds head over to SportsInteraction.com and see the updated odds for yourself.
These are the 12 players in the tournament with better than 50/1 odds of winning the tournament and really the only players who I believe could pull out the major heading into this week.
My Picks
The big three…
First we have to look at the big 3 players in the tournament: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Federer had a great 2017 going a ridiculous 52-5, while winning two grand slams at the age of 36 after everyone had written him off. The Australian Open was Federer’s first slam win last year, so he will be the defending champion and look to get off to another great start in 2018.
Nadal, who is the current #1 ranked player in the world, also had a resurgent 2017 going 67-11, winning the other two slams of the season (French and US Open). Nadal is returning from an injury he suffered in the ATP Tour Finals at the end of 2017, but he’s looked good in some tune-up matches, so he should be close to his best this week.
Djokovic is the biggest question mark of the 3. He had a 2017 to forget going 32-8, while struggling with injuries. He’s not played since Wimbledon and has seen his ranking drop to 14 heading into the Aussie Open. There were question marks as to whether Djokovic would even be able to play in this tournament, but he played an exhibition match with Dominic Thiem this past week, winning in dominant fashion and he looks to be 100% and have a new determination heading into the tournament.
Let’s not forget that Djokovic has been absolutely dominant at the Aussie Open over the past decade winning 6 titles between 2008 and 2016. Djokovic lost in the second round last year and I expect him to bounce back in a big way. If Djokovic is at 100% he’s the man to beat in this tournament. I don’t think his 6 month absence will affect him in a negative way because most players will be a little bit rusty returning from a quiet couple months in the tennis season, and I think the added rehabilitation time will do wonders for Djokovic’s ability on the court both from a physical perspective and a mental one.
Play: Djokovic 5.75
The dark horse…
For my dark horse pick I’m going all the way down the odds to Canadian superstar, Milos Raonic. He has put together some solid results at the Aussie Open over the past 3 seasons (QF, SF, QF) and if he’s healthy he has the ability to beat the top players in the world. Raonic shut it down for the season last October and the 3 months away from the game should have allowed him to come back 100%. He’s struggled a little bit in the tune-up events, but if he can gain some momentum through the first few rounds of the tournament I think he has the ability to do some damage.
Play: Raonic 33.00
Raonic had odds of 16/1 last year and I couldn’t pull the trigger on him at those odds. This year we’re getting twice the return, which I think makes him a solid value play to compliment my Djokovic play, who is my outright pick to win the tournament.
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