Australian Open 2019 Main Contenders

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic is leading the field at the Australian Open and is the undeniable favorite to win the title. The world No.1 is one of the most successful players in the Open Era with six titles in 14 appearances at Melbourne Park. From the four players remaining, Djokovic is the only one with odds below even money on the outright at 1.86 with Pinnacle. The 31-year-old Serbian also won the past two Grand Slam titles – at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open – and is currently riding a 19-match winning streak at majors.

Rafael Nadal is the other main contender still in action at Melbourne. The 17-time Grand Slam champion is playing in his first tournament since pulling out of the U.S. Open semifinal in September and also withdrew from the Brisbane International earlier this month. Nevertheless, Nadal said he was confident that he would be at 100 percent for the Australian Open 2019 and the concerns over his physical condition seem to have dissipated. The world No.2 has played some of his best tennis at this year’s tournament and has yet to drop a set in Melbourne. The sportsbooks are well aware of Nadal’s impressive run with Betfair offering 2.40 for the Spaniard to win his second Australian Open title.

Rising Star

Stefanos Tsitsipas enjoyed a breakthrough 2018 season, climbing from No.91 in the ATP rankings to No.15. The 20-year-old won his maiden ATP Tour title in Stockholm, the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and reached his first Masters 1000 finale in Toronto. After an incredible campaign in 2018, Tsitsipas revealed that reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam was one of his goals for the new season.

It only took 22 days for Stefanos to reach his goal and rewrite history at Melbourne Park. Tsitsipas became the first Greek to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam and the youngest man to make the last four at the Australian Open since Andy Roddick in 2003. However, it won’t be easy for Stefanos to extend his run in Melbourne. The Greek will next face Rafael Nadal with the Spaniard being the big favorite at 1.14 with Bet365. Tsitsipas might even take a set from Nadal but his fairytale run probably will come to an end on this match. Pinnacle only offers 1.73 for Stefanos to cover the +2.5 Set Handicap, which is not enough for us to find valuable.

Dark Horse

Lucas Pouille has been the true “dark horse” at this tournament. The 24-year-old arrived in Melbourne after losing all his three singles matches for France in the Hopman Cup before a first-round defeat against Andrey Rublev at the Sydney International. Adding to this, Lucas had also lost in the opening round in all his five appearances at the Australian Open.

Despite Pouille’s terrible record at Melbourne Park, the world No.31 defeated Milos Raonic in four sets to become the first Frenchman to reach the Australian Open semifinals since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2010. Pouille returns to action this Saturday against Novak Djokovic for a place in the finale in a match where the Serbian should get a comfortable win with the -7.5 spread at 1.87 at Pinnacle as an interesting line.

Australian Open 2019 Outright Betting

As mentioned above, Djokovic and Nadal should make it into the finale of the Australian Open 2019. This is one of the biggest rivalries of all time with 52 previous meeting between them. Djokovic leads 27-25 on the head-to-head and won 18 of their previous 25 encounters on hard court. On the other hand, the Serbian superstar also emerged victoriously in their previous encounter at the Australian Open in 2012. For all these reasons, placing a bet on Djokovic’s outright at 1.86 with Pinnacle is the most interesting line to take on this tournament.

Get Daily Tennis Betting Tips

Tsitsipas vs Nadal Betting Odds