Australian Open 2021 - Punters Preview

2021 Australian Open Preview

As the first slam of the year, the Aussie Open is certainly one that both players and fans get excited about. Having been deprived of tennis, usually for a month or so, players understandably love coming to Australia to compete in this event and dust off the cobwebs. This is all the more true in current COVID times, where the tournament is starting almost a month later than usual - meaning the winter break has been even longer! With that said, we are super happy that the event will actually be going ahead, as it looked touch and go just a few months back.  In this quick guide to tennis matches for the Aussie Open, we shall be looking at potential winners, rising stars, and more. So, let’s get started.

The Warm-Up

You could say that the warm-up before the Australian Open has been very different this year. Not only have players needed to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival down under, but many of the standard warm-up events have been scrapped altogether. As you can imagine, this means that the players haven’t been able to compete, practice, or prepare adequately for the event. But on the flip side, this has caused quite a frenzy in another department surrounding The Open - tennis betting online. It would seem that punters are flooding the markets for upsets ahead of this event, and who could blame them really!  But online betting, quarantine, and COVID aside, there is still the ATP Cup going ahead this week - so at least the players can get some competition in. There is also Melbourne / Adelaide being played for both men’s and women’s, not that these events will have an enormous impact on form or confidence since the events consist of just a few matches.

The Men’s Draw

At the time of writing, the draw has yet to be made, so we won’t know how good or bad the draw is looking for some of the key players. Then again, we don’t need to know the draw to highlight some of the most exciting prospects for this year. In terms of young guns, this year's event is going to be full of them, and over the last 12 months, we’ve seen some superstars arise. Specifically, players including Rublev, Tsitsipas, Sinner, and Medvedev are going to be troublesome for anyone, and we can’t rule any of them out for going deep into the draw - especially Medvedev!  But moving away from the younger and more unpredictable prospects, we cannot leave this section without mentioning who we think will lift the crown. Although Djokovic has reigned supreme at the Aussie Open for quite some time, we are shooting for Dominic Thiem to win the event - especially given how close he came last year.

The Women’s Draw

Just like the men’s draw, the women’s promises to be another unmissable event for tennis fans. Once again, we’d like to start with highlighting the younger stars ahead of this event, and it’s quite different from the men’s side. Currently, 5 of the top 10 female players in the world are under the age of 25 - so you could say that the game is dominated by youngsters right now. And before we reveal who we think will emerge victorious, let’s mention some hot prospects. We believe that Osaka, Swiatek (French Open Champion 2020), and of course, last year’s champion, Sofia Kenin all have great chances to win the event.  However, with the way things have been going on the tour, and given the home advantage, we are shooting for Australia’s own Ash Barty to win her second slam this time around. Agonizingly, she lost out to Kenin in last year’s semi-final. But with another year of experience under her belt, and with the fact that she is currently number 1 in the world, we really believe that this is her time. 

Final Thoughts

As we continue to observe the warm-up events before the Aussie Open begins next week, we feel it’s appropriate to give a few honourable mentions here too. Of course, there are more players that could win the men’s than the ones we’ve mentioned. Such players include the likes of Djokovic, Nadal, Zverev, and Berrettini - all with a fighting shot at winning. And on the women’s side, it’s just impossible to write off players like Halep, Svitolina, Andreescu, Pliskova, and, of course, Serena Williams.