The Australian Open is the first tennis Grand Slam event of the year, happening every January of each year.
The 2020 Australian Open will take place from January 20 to February 2, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. It will be the 108th Australian Open and the 52nd in the Open Era. Last February, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka won the men’s and women’s title, respectively at Melbourne Park.
While the 2020 Australian Open is some seven months away and we are just halfway done this year when it comes to majors are concerned, the bookmakers have already come up with their list of tennis betting favorites for the 2020 Australian Open title.
Here are the way too early odds to win the 2020 Australian Open tennis tournament. Odds are taken from MyBookie.ag as of 7/2/19:
Women’s
Player | Odds |
---|---|
Serena Williams | +500 |
Naomi Osaka | +700 |
Simona Halep | +800 |
Angelique Kerber | +800 |
Sloane Stephens | +800 |
Petra Kvitova | +1000 |
Karolina Pliskova | +1200 |
Elina Svitolina | +1400 |
Bianca Andreescu | +1400 |
Garbine Muguruza | +1600 |
Serena Williams has won 23 grand slam titles, the most in the Open Era and one behind Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24. Included in those are an Oper Era record 7 Australian Open titles. When it comes to a particular grand slam, the Australian Open has been Serena’s most productive. Her overall record in Melbourne is 85-11 or 89%. Remember that right before she gave birth in 2018, she made three straight Australian Open finals appearance from 2015-2017, winning twice during that span.
Naomi Osaka is the current world #2. The 21-year old Japanese-American stunned Serena Williams at the 2018 U.S. Open, where she burst into superstardom. She followed that up with a win at this year’s Australian Open but otherwise, she hasn’t had plenty of success. In fact, here wins in both tournaments are the only times she’s made it past Round 3 of any major tournament. Osaka bombed out of the third round of the 2019 French Open and made a 1st round exit at the 2019 Wimbledon.
Simona Halep is the former world #1 who is now at #7 in the current rankings. This 27-year old made the finals of 2018 Australian Open but has never made it past the quarterfinals in any other occasion in Melbourne. In nine appearances at the Australian Open, Halep has exited in the first round on four instances. Her only grand slam win so far has been the 2018 French Open.
Angelique Kerber is currently the 6th ranked player in the world and is a three-time grand slam winner. The 31-year old German won the Australian Open in 2016 and has a record of 29-11 or 73% in Melbourne. Aside from that win, her 2018 semi-finals stint at this tournament is the only other time she’s made it out of the fourth round in 12 years. Kerber also won the 2016 U.S. Open and is the defending Wimbledon champion.
The women’s draw is more competitive than the men’s. Although Serena Williams has won four out of the last 11 installments of this tournament, four different players have won the last four editions of the women’s Australian Open. Of course, Serena is one of them and she will always be a threat in any tournament because of her power, athleticism and championship experience. But I think she’s starting to decline now and the likes of Osaka are going to take her spot. But Osaka and company have been inconsistent or is the competition just too good in the women’s side. This one’s a hard pick. But I’m going with Naomi Osaka. She may be hit or miss but her hits have been in the big tournaments. Prediction: Naomi Osaka
Men’s
Player | Odds |
---|---|
Novak Djokovic | +160 |
Rafael Nadal | +450 |
Roger Federer | +550 |
Alexander Zverev | +1400 |
Stefanos Tsitispas | +1400 |
Juan Martin Del Potro | +2500 |
Dominic Thiem | +2500 |
Marin Cilic | +3300 |
Milos Raonic | +3300 |
Kei Nishikori | +3300 |
Novak Djokovic is the current world #1 and he is the reigning Australian Open champion. Djokovic’s 2019 win in Melbourne was his seventh Australian Open title, the most by any player in history. Djokovic is a 15-time grand slam winner and seven of those grand slams were won in Australia. Overall, Djokovic has won 7 out of 15 Australian Opens played including six out of his last nine. His overall record at the Australian Open is 68-8 or an 89% winning percentage, both are his highest in any grand slam tournament.
Rafael Nadal is the king of clay, the greatest ever on clay. But the Australian Open is played on a hard court surface known as Plexicushion. So while he’s almost a sure bet in clay, you can’t say the same in grass or hard court. That said, Nadal has made the Finals of the Australian Open four times in the last eight years, although he’s never won again since his lone victory in Melbourne in 2009. Nadal has a 61-13 record or 82% in the Australian Open.
Roger Federer cannot be counted out, not in a grand slam tournament, at least not yet. The Federer Express is currently ranked 3rd in the world behind Djokovic and Nadal but when it comes to Australian Open titles the now 37-year old Swiss master has six titles under his belt. Federer last won in 2017 and 2018 but went out in round 4 this year. Federer has made the semifinals in 13 out of the last 16 years. Federer has a record of 97-14 or 87% in the Australian Open.
Let’s stop with those three, for now. Between today and January 2020, there may be one of those youngsters who break out like Naomi Osaka did last year for the ladies but until then, let’s keep it with the Big 3. Since 2006, only these three names have won the Australian Open, save for 2014 when Stan Wawrinka beat Nadal in the Finals. Since 2009, these three men plus Andy Murray have been the exclusive finalists of the Australian Open except 2014 with Wawrinka and 2018 with Marin Cilic. Talk about domination. Of course, when I choose between the three, I’ll go with the one who’s playing better right now and that’s none other than Novak Djokovic. If this were a clay court tournament, hands down it’s Nadal. If not, it’s gotta be Djokovic. I have nothing against old people, but I’m keeping off Federer due to age. Prediction: Novak Djokovic