The bad news is that there will be a slight delay to the start of the Australian Open 2021, with organisers pushing the tournament back to February 8th. However, the good news is that, despite all the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the global coronavirus pandemic, the first tennis major of the year is going ahead.
Sadly, World No. 5 Roger Federer, who missed out on last year’s US and French Opens due to injury, is still not fit enough to take part, but that aside, we will still be treated to a star-studded, action-packed, fiercely-contested Grand Slam tennis competition with every combatant eager and primed to make history and achieve fame and fortune.
After failing in Paris and New York, Novak Djokovic will aspire with extra incentive and passion to defend his 2020 title, whilst the likes of Rafael Nadal, who enjoyed more success at Roland Garros last year, Flushing Meadows champion Dominic Thiem and many others will be doing all they can to stop the World No. 1 in his strides.
So, with the Melbourne-based tournament just around the corner, let’s take a look at a number of players leading the way in the Australian Open odds from Paddy Power. Read on to find out more.
Novak Djokovic – 5/4
It’ll come as no surprise that the Serbian superstar with seventeen major titles is the outright favourite in the current outright betting. After all, Down Under is where he has enjoyed Grand Slam success, with eight titles at the Australian Open – three more than Wimbledon, where he has triumphed on five occasions. This year, Djokovic will be hoping to make it three wins on the bounce at Melbourne Park, with successive victories over Nadal and Thiem in the last couple of years. It wouldn’t be the first time he has won the major tournament three successive times either, as he was triumphant over Andy Murray (x2) and Nadal between 2011 and 2013.
Rafael Nadal – 5/1
Spaniard Nadal will be hoping to build on his recent French Open success with just a second win in Melbourne. The 34-year-old defeated Djokovic in Paris in straight sets to draw level with Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles, but the Australian Open is the one he has won the least, with just a single victory back in 2009. In the last four years, Nadal has reached two finals, losing to Federer and Djokovic, whilst he has exited in the quarter-finals on the other two attempts. Nadal also lost an AO final in four sets in 2014 to Stan Wawrinka.
Daniil Medvedev – 5/1
24-year-old Daniil Medvedev had a dream ending to 2020. After failing to better his 2019 final appearance in last year’s US Open, being knocked out by Thiem in the semi-finals, and a rather disappointing first round exit in the French Open, the Russian finished the year in empathic fashion, winning 10 successive matches and landing the Masters 1000 title in Paris and the ATP Finals in London. Medvedev fought off Nadal in the semi-finals of the England-based tournament, before coming back from a set down to beat Thiem 4-6,7-6, 6-4. It’s safe to say he will be heading to Melbourne with the utmost confidence.
Dominic Thiem – 5/1
2020 was the year Austrian Thiem finally got his hands on a Grand Slam title. The 27-year-old progressed to the final of the Australian Open last January, but Djokovic proved to be a step too far for the World No.3. Djokovic barely won in five sets – from a two set to one deficit. Instead, it was at Flushing Meadows where Thiem reigned supreme. With Nadal and Federer not taking part and Djokovic defaulted, the door was blown wide open for Thiem to swoop in. However, the final against Alexander Zverev wasn’t straight forward. The 27-year-old had to fight back from two sets down against the young German, eventually winning 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-7 (6-8).
Other serious threats to worth keeping an eye on to emerge as a first-time Grand Slam champion include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Zverev, Diego Schwartzman and Andrey Rublev.
For those who prefer the long-shot options… dangerous floaters include Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils, and Americans Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz.
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AO · Australian Open · Djokovic · Grand Slam · Nadal · Thiem
Scoop Malinowski · January 19, 2021 at 11:35 am
Djokovic has a LOT of pressure on him now after suffering the two heartbreaking failures in FO and US Open. He also failed to re-establish his supremacy at the WTF in London. It’s possible Djokovic has lost that fraction of speed, reflexes, agility and most importantly, the aura of invincibility he previously had. The young lions sense the vulnerability in Djokovic now and will makes it even harder for him to regain his slipping dominance. I like Thiem to win the title and 5-1 is mightly attractive.