Five awesome 2016 Australian Open specials on eve of tournament
Published:
Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | January 15, 2016
With the Australian Open soon upon us, Coral have some sublime Grand Slams specials for punters to consider.
These range from stages of elimination for the main protagonists to respective men’s and women’s world number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams not dropping a set.
Who will win the quarter sections of the singles draws? How will the British contingent get on? Read on to see five fantastic flutters our tennis writers have picked out.
Any British woman to reach round four
Punters have two chances in the shape of Johanna Konta and Heather Watson here. All either British representative in the ladies’ singles draw have to do is reach the fourth round, and attractive odds of 9/2 are your reward.
Watson faces a likely second Melbourne match against Swiss sensation Belinda Bencic, but her inexperience means that may not be as much of a barrier to British progress as it first appears.
Konta, meanwhile, faces veteran Venus Williams in her main draw opener Down Under, but thereafter the way is clear for her to potentially progress to the required stage.
Milos Raonic wins his quarter
Representing Canada, Raonic is ready to reach the business end of a tournament now. With Rafael Nadal’s powers on the wane and late-bloomer Stan Wawrinka enduring an underwhelming end to last season, this section of the men’s singles draw could be more open than it first appears.
Raonic is rated a 4/1 chance to win his quarter, and potentially faces Wawrinka in round four, and then Nadal or South Africa star Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals.
Rafael Nadal stage of elimination in round four
As touched on above, Spaniard and clay court great Nadal is no longer the force he once was. Injuries and a high-octane approach to tennis have taken their toll on him.
If, as expected, he meets strong server Anderson in round four, Nadal is no longer as nifty as he used to be, so – as a 6/1 shot to be eliminated at that stage – that price is very tempting indeed.
Garbine Muguruza wins her quarter
A sensational 2015 season from Venezuelan-born Muguruza elevated her to number three in the WTA rankings. Although in the same section of the women’s singles draw as two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, the Spanish representative is by far the more consistent player.
Tasty at 10/3 to emerge for their quarter victorious, Muguruza would then go on to potentially face either seventh seed Angelique Kerber, who has historically performed poorly at this Grand Slam, or Timea Bacsinszky. She is capable of beating either to make the semis.
All top three men’s seeds make semi-finals
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray stand apart from the rest of the ATP World Tour nowadays. Each a household name and top tennis pro in their respective countries, you would expect all three to make the semis.
Considering the trio have won almost 30 Grand Slam titles between them, odds of 3/1 for Djokovic, Federer and Murray all to reach the final four of the Australian Open represent real value.
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