The battle for the 2020 Australian Open title begins with the first forays of the opening round on Monday, December 20th. Even though the years are rolling by it is still the elite of the game, namely Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal who are leading the way in the Australian Open 2020 outright winner market.
Some things never change and once again punters will have to ask themselves the question, “is this the year when the power starts shifting away to younger stars?”
Australian Open Outright Winner Odds 2020*
Novak Djokovic 5/4
Rafael Nadal 4/1
Daniil Medvedev 8/1
Roger Federer 9/1
Stefanos Tsitsipas 12/1
Dominic Thiem 16/1
Nick Kyrgois 22/1
Alexander Zverev 28/1
Denis Shapovalov 40/1
Alex de Minaur 40/1
Karen Khachanov 50/1
60/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 13th 2020 at 1:26 pm)
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Table of Contents
Djokovic the favourite in title defence year
Novak Djokovic is the reigning champion at Melbourne Park after toppling Rafael Nadal in last year’s Final. That was the Serbian’s 7th title at the Australian Open and it was a relative cruise for him over three sets as well.
The new season kicked off with the new ATP Cup tournament, a competition for nations. Reaching the final of that was Serbia and Spain. Djokovic went up against Rafael Nadal in that fixture and it was a straight-sets win for Djokovic on hard court.
Key-Facts – teama vs teamb
- When: 20 January-2 February 2020
- The Big 3 of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have won 55 of the last 66 Majors
- Defending champion: Novak Djokovic
So that has strengthened his position as the 5/4 favourite in Australian Open 2020 betting odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 13th 2020 at 1:26 pm).
Given Djokovic’s track record at the tournament and having helped his country win the ATP Cup, plus after having relinquished his World Number 1 spot to Nadal over the back half of last season, he has to be in the mix.
Can Rafael Nadal win his second Australian Open title?
In two of the last three editions of the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal has finished as runner up. Even though he is without question, one of the top two players in the world still, just once before had he claimed the Australian Open title and that was over a decade ago in 2009.
While Nadal has the beating of 99% of the rest of the players on the ATP Tour, when it comes to hardcourt battles with Djokovic, it’s still, more often than not, easy to put Nadal as the underdog.
The Spaniard has made five Australian Open finals in total since his success in 2009 and has failed to add to his tally. Anything less than a semi final berth for a fit Nadal would be a surprise. Him solving the Djokovic equation is a different matter entirely, however.
Can Roger Federer roll back the years (again)?
The legend of the game, Roger Federer is back for another crack at a Slam title. He had those astonishing back to back successes in 2017 and 2018 at Melbourne Park in which he earned his fifth and sixth Australian Open titles.
Federer made a fourth-round exit last year at the Australian Open and his 2018 title there was the last Grand Slam crown earned by him. A way of thinking is that it is early in the season after a winter break. Federer’s bound to have fresher legs than at say the US Open later in the year.
Switzerland did not qualify for the ATP Cup so he doesn’t have the advantage of big competitive matches like Nadal and Djokovic have had in 2020. But still, this is Federer, who knows how to handle his playing time and since 2004 has only fallen short of at least the semi-finals in two Australian Open campaigns.
Medvevev splits the Big 3
A look at the outright Australian Open 2020 winner odds, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has managed to split the big three. The youngster, regarded as one of the biggest young talents on the ATP Tour, made a tremendous run to the final of the US Open last year.
In the early rounds, he was a pantomime villain, but because of the way he played in the latter stages at Flushing Meadow, he had turned the crowd on his side. He came up short in the final against Rafa Nadal, but in the end, it was such a brave, talented performance from him.
That has to have given Medvedev the belief that he can get close to a Slam title in Melbourne. Of the challenging pack, he looks the most likely to break the dominance of the big three. Medvedev faced Djokovic at the ATP Cup and did take a set off the Serbian, something Nadal didn’t manage to do.
At 8/1 Daniil Medvedev will have appeal for punters to shake up the status quo* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 13th 2020 at 1:26 pm)
Thiem and Tsitsipas with claims
Dominic Thiem will be coming in hot after a very good 2019. He took five titles during the season and made his first Slam final in reach the showcase match at Roland Garros. Of course, the predictable outcome was a loss to Rafael Nadal there.
If a Slam comes his way, it would most likely first be on the clay in Paris. He hasn’t managed to make it to the second week of action at the Austrian before, which will cast doubt in punters’ minds.
Stefanos Tsitpsas burst onto the scene at Melbourne Park twelve months ago. He famously stopped Roger Federer in the fourth round on his way to the semi-finals. The Greek star has the game behind him to deliver a Slam title. The consistency may be lacking at the moment to give him the edge over the fortnight.
Other contenders
Alexander Zeverev seemed to lose his way in the game a little bit during 2019, as the young German’s serve was below par. Long touted as a future Slam champion, the performances from the 22 year old on the bigger stages have yet to be there.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is a player on the rise. He is one of the brightest young players on the ATP and it doesn’t look as if it would be too long before the Canadian starts stacking up titles. He broke the top 20 in the world Rankings last year, got a bit hampered by injury at the end of a long season, but is a big hard court player.
Predictions
Djokovic is the one to beat and nothing is going to change that in the game for the foreseeable future. So he makes for an obvious Australian Open 2020 prediction. There’s no better hard court player around than the Serbian.
Djokovic had a nice spring in his step in lifting the ATP Cup earlier this month with his teammates. The 5/4 outright odds won’t appeal to many however* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 13th 2020 at 1:26 pm).
As the “smash the status quo bet” at the Australian Open 2020, it would have to be Daniil Medvedev who gets backing. If he brings the quality that he delivered at last season’s US Open and can build on the sharpness of the ATP Cup this January, he could make waves at 8/1* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 13th 2020 at 1:26 pm).
