The 2013 Australian Open begins on
Monday 14th January at Melbourne Park with the Men’s
final taking place on Sunday 27th. The world’s greatest tennis
players will be keen to get their year off to the best possible start
in the first Grand Slam event of the new year. This year there is a
record AUD$30 million in prize money up for grabs.
The Australian Open’s most important
matches are played at the Rod Laver and Hisense Arenas, both of which
have retractable roofs. The tournament has a long history having
started out as the Australasian Championships in 1905 before adopting
its present title in 1969. Roger Federer is currently equal with
Andre Agassi with four Australian Open titles to his name and will be
hoping to eclipse the American this month.
The favourite in the Mens Tennis Australian Open betting is Novak Djokovic, winner for the past two years and seeking
to join Federer as a four-time winner in Melbourne. The Serbian has
been in great form recently and looks to have timed his preparation
perfectly for his hat-trick attempt. He defeated Andy Murray in
straight sets in the 2011 final and followed up last year in a
thrilling five-set clash with Rafael Nadal. With Nadal absent this
year, it is no wonder that bookmakers are offering no better than 5-4
as the tournament gets underway.
Britain’s Andy Murray finally broke
his duck in Tennis grand slam tournaments in last year’s US Open and that
victory will give him all the confidence he needs to sustain a
challenge in Australia. He showed his well-being when retaining his
Brisbane International title and the Scot will be desperate to go one
better than in 2010 and 2011. He is a top-priced 11-4 going into the
tournament.
Of course it would be foolish to
overlook Roger Federer, winner here in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010. He
enjoyed a fantastic season last year, culminating in his Wimbledon
triumph over Murray. Federer has not played any warm-up events and is
regarded as the outsider of the big three at 5-1. There are also a
handful of dangerous players who are capable of causing an upset.
Milos Raonic has been tipped to put in
a big tournament this season but is currently languishing at around
66-1 in the betting market. Tomas Berdych is available at the same
price whilst Juan Martin Del Potro and David Ferrer will be expected
to reach the latter stages of the tournament. Berdych keeps
threatening to break his way into the big-time, defeating Federer in
the US Open before losing in the semi-finals whilst David Ferrer is
playing better than ever at the age of thirty. The Spaniard is
currently ranked five in the world and ended 2012 with victory in
Paris followed by an impressive performance in the Davis Cup. Bernard
Tomic is expected to lead the home challenge and John Isner is
emerging as the leading player from the United States.
It promises to be a thrilling
competition with live coverage on British Eurosport, multi-court
coverage online and also on mobile via Eurosport Player. There will
be markets on all matches during the tournament including individual
set betting and final set score.
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