STAR PREVIEW: The Australian Open

The first Grand Slam of 2020 is here, and with Australia suffering one of their worst ever bush fire seasons – will it be on? writes JORDAN COX. Air quality in Melbourne – the location of the tournament, is said to be the ‘worst in the world’. With the city covered in smog, conditions have been punishing for players in qualifying this week. Australian Bernard Tomic sought medical treatment on Tuesday because he “couldn’t breathe”. Later the same day, Slovenian Dalila Jacupovic was forced to retire after collapsing during a coughing fit.

Tournament director Craig Tiley said, “There is a lot of speculation about the Australian Open not happening, or starting later.

“The Australian Open is happening.”

It will be intriguing to see how the next two weeks unfold. Don’t be surprised to see a significant number of retirements because of the conditions.

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MENS

It’s not hard to see why we’ve seen unwavering support for Novak Djokovic in the trading room, the Serbian led his country to victory in the inaugural ATP Cup earlier this month and is very much in peak fitness ahead of the new year. Djokovic has dominated tennis for the last decade is showing no signs of weakness as he goes for an eighth Australian Open title and a 17th Grand Slam title.

#1 seed, Rafael Nadal has been very easy to back ahead of the tournament. Five times runner-up Down Under, Nadal is never fully tuned up at this time of year and was beaten in straight sets by David Goffin before withdrawing from the ATP Cup final with injury earlier this month – he is very much one the punters want to avoid here.

What about the outsiders? Can the new generation finally make a break-through in a Grand Slam this year and take it to the ‘big three’?

Daniil Medvedev (pictured) has been knocking on the door for a while now and he’ll want to get the new decade off to a flyer. The relentless Russian’s unique style can be somewhat unpredictable for his opponents and I expect him to meet a shaky Nadal in the semi-finals where he will have a huge opportunity to make his impact. Medvedev sensationally won 29 out of 32 matches over six straight tournaments last year. He will win a Grand Slam title and I believe it will be this year. You can back him at 15/2 with Star Sports to win the Australian Open.

Medvedev is also my selection for most aces in Australia, and is great value at 3/1. He served up 690 aces in 79 matches last season and started the season off well with another 45 aces in the ATP Cup. He can rely on his serve not coming back to him in the big moments.

If anyone else can take it to the ‘big three’ it will be Stefanos Tsitsipas, who arguably is a much better player than when making the semi-finals here 12 months ago. The 21-year old made his breakthrough by winning the ATP Tour Finals in London at the back end of last season and as the youngest player ranked in the men’s top 10, surely it’s a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ the Greek wins a Grand Slam. He could find himself up against Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals however – a clash where the pair are 2-2 in the head-to-head. He is 14/1 with Star Sports.

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WOMENS

One woman we certainly won’t want to see winning in Australia is Danielle Collins, having built up a six figure liability ahead of the tournament. Collins fought through a career-threatening injury last year but seems to be finding her form at just the right time. A semi-finalist here last year and a solid semi-final run in Adelaide last week, the American has been well backed with us at 80/1 and 66/1, and is now sitting at 28/1 in our outright market.

After winning her 73rd singles title in Auckland last week Serena Williams finds herself 4/1 favourite to win her 24th Grand Slam, but I’d be keen to take her on. The American should meet defending champion Naomi Osaka in a potentially title deciding quarter-final match, if Williams were to come out on top there she could then find herself against the Australian #1 Ashleigh Barty, in Melbourne.

I’m with Karolina Pliskova (pictured) EW. The 27-year old is incredibly consistent in Melbourne, reaching the quarter-finals for the last three years, including a semi-final in 2019. She is in form too having already won the Brisbane International earlier this month, beating Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys in the process. Yet to win a Grand Slam, the world #2 can change that this year. Pliskova avoids many of the big hitters in her side of the draw and can be expected to go well in-form.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK MEDVEDEV 3 points 15/2 with
BACK MEDVEDEV MOST ACES 4 points 3/1 with
BACK TSITSIPAS 2 points EW 14/1 with
BACK PLISKOVA 3 points EW 11/1 with

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