Australian Open 2020 Betting Tips, Odds and Predictions

The first Grand Slam the decade gets underway in Melbourne as the world’s elite tennis players converge on the South Australian city to do battle in the soaring heat. Here are our Australian Open 2020 betting tips.

  

Tournament History

The Australian Open has been an event on the tennis calendar for 114 years and it is now the largest annual sporting event held on the Southern Hemisphere. The 2019 edition of the tournament saw over 770,000 spectators attend the event – making it the largest attended tennis competition on the planet. With over A$71 million distributed as part of the Australian Open prize pot, it is one of the most lucrative tennis tournaments in both the male and female game.

 

Format 

The Australian Open adopts the same format as Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open. Once the qualifying rounds are completed, 128 players make up both the male and female main draws – with matches taking place over a 2 week period.

 

Venue 

Melbourne Park has been the home of the Australian Open since 1988 – having moved from the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. Originally, the event was held on the grass courts at Kooyong but the move to Melbourne saw the tournament take place on hard courts.

 

Dates

Monday 20^th January 2020 – Sunday 2^nd February 2020.

 

Previous Winners (Men’s)

As the youngest of the 4 Grand Slams (it became a slam in 1969) the roll call of Australian Open champions is broken down in to pre and post-Grand Slam eras. Roy Emerson was a six-time champion in the 1960s as the Australian produced a potent brand of tennis. The subsequent record holder is a man that should feature heavily this year: Novak Djokovic. The Serb is the defending champion in Melbourne and he has won the event 7 times with old foe Roger Federer hot on his heels with 6 Australian Open titles to his name.

 

Previous Winners (Women’s)

Margaret Smith Court was a player so synonymous with success at the Australian Open that there is a stadium named after her at Melbourne Park. She spanned the eras, winning in both the pre and post-Grand Slam years and won the tournament a remarkable 11 times. Serena Williams has won the Australian Open on 7 occasions and is looking for her first win in Melbourne since 2017 Other notable names on the list include Steffi Graf and Monica Seles who dominated the event in the late 1980s and early 1990s and won the tournament 4 times each.

2020 Tournament Preview 

Men’s: 

Defending champion and 7-time winner Novak Djokovic picked up another 2 Grand Slams in 2019 and looks to be the man to beat in Melbourne once more. World number one Rafael Nadal hasn’t won the Australian Open since 2009 and looks well set to challenge once more whilst Roger Federer and is always a threat. The next generation is still looking to make an impact on the ATP Tour and the likes Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas will all be looking to start 2020 in style in Melbourne.

 

Women’s:

Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka failed to kick on in 2019 after her Melbourne triumph but she will be eager to start the year off well here. Serena Williams didn’t manage to win a Grand Slam last year but is always in the mix whilst the likes of French Open champion and home favourite Ashleigh Barty, Wimbledon winner Simona Halep and US Open winner Bianca Andreescu are sure to be in contention. Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina both enjoyed impressive seasons in 2019 but are still awaiting their first Grand Slam triumphs and they will be looking to open their respective accounts at the Australian Open.