THE first tennis Grand Slam of the year is rapidly approaching with the Australian Open kicking off on Monday.
It’s one of the big sporting events to kick-off each calendar year, so our betting experts at SunSport are here to serve you with some of their top bets and tips, while also netting you with exclusive sign-up offers from our betting partners.
Find The Sun’s betting publishing principles here
Odds from Bet365
Odds correct at 3pm on January 8, 2025
It seems a lifetime ago now but it was 12 months ago that JANNIK SINNER scooped his first ever Grand Slam victory here.
Fast forward 12 months and he’s now a two-time Slam winner – having scooped the US Open in September – and heads into his title defence as the warm favourite to do so.
The Italian has racked up 18 singles titles on the ATP Tour and was the only man to reach at least the quarters in every Slam.
With the lack of big names contesting deep into tournaments in the field, it’ll take a big performance from someone to beat him to the title.
Could that man be Carlos Alcaraz? He’s without a doubt the closest challenger to Sinner having scooped the other two Grand Slams last year.
His issue is he’s yet to progress beyond the quarter finals here, though with this new, era-defining rivalry with Sinner he won’t want to concede another Slam to the man from Italy.
Novak Djokovic can rarely be written off but age catches up with everyone and that looks to to be the case here for him unfortunately.
He’s won this tournament a stunning ten times and now has Andy Murray amongst his coaching ranks for Australia but a straight sets drubbing in Brisbane from Reilly Opelka – world number 293 – is hardly inspiring.
Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz are notable names in contention but they’ll have to go some to beat Jannik Sinner.
Odds from BetMGM
Odds correct at 3pm on January 8, 2025
Aryna Sabalenka is the obvious frontrunner to claim victory Down Under having won successive champions.
The world number one was a straight sets winner in last year’s final, doubling her career Slam wins.
She added to her haul in the US Open in September – similarly to Sinner – taking her tally to three so far.
But the second and third in the bookmakers list won’t make things easy for her.
It’s hard to believe Coco Gauff is still only 20 years old, with plenty of time to add to her one Gland Slam.
She was dominant in winning the end of season WTA Finals too, ensuring she comes here in top form.
While IGA SWIATEK lost in straight sets to Gauff in the United Cup final last week as continues her search for her first Aussie Open win.
She’s won four times in France and the US Open in 2022, so winning isn’t the issue. Her best performance here was a semi final appearance in 2022.
There is also an Olympic bronze last year to add to the collection and at a decent price, she’s the pick for this tournament.
Wouldn’t it be great if Emma Raducanu’s career rebooted here? She’s a longshot but we live in hope….
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk
