Five outsiders for 2016 Australian Open men’s singles title
Published:
Sam Barnard, Assistant Sports Editor | January 14, 2016
The Australian Open men’s singles event doesn’t usually produces shock title triumphs going by recent history, with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal winning all but one since 2006.
However, in 2014 Stan Wawrinka broke that run as he saw off Spaniard Nadal in four sets and, ahead of this year’s edition, Coral tennis experts pick out five other outsiders who can triumph Down Under…
Kevin Anderson
Giant South African Anderson was a threat in both hard court Grand Slams and Wimbledon last year, reaching at least the fourth round in all three, and broke into the top 10 in the rankings for the first time.
On top of that, he made it to three ATP Tour finals, winning one, and has beaten a number of top names in the process, while also leading Djokovic 2-0 in sets at SW19, which make his outright odds of 100/1 are highly enticing.
Grigor Dimitrov
Dubbed ‘baby Fed’, Dimitrov failed to deliver on his promising showings in 2014 for last year, but at 24 still has the potential to be a top player.
The Bulgarian reached the quarters here two years ago, and would’ve no doubt put his head down over the brief winter break in a bid to get his career back on track. Back Dimitrov at 50/1 to go all the way.
Nick Kyrgios
He may be tennis’ bad boy, but fellow controversial players in years gone by such as Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors all became multiple Grand Slam-winning stars.
If young Aussie Kyrgios can do his talking as much on the court as off it, he can go far in the game, as his recent Hopman Cup title exploits suggest. The 20-year-old beat in-form Andy Murray on the way to winning that team trophy, and is priced at 33/1 to lift the Australian Open on home soil.
Milos Raonic
Also priced at 33/1, Raonic has been on fire of late, and recently shocked Federer to grab the 2016 Brisbane International title under the watchful eye of new coach Carlos Moya – a former Australian Open finalist.
Yugoslav-born Canadian Raonic reached the quarters here last year and was all the way up in fourth in the rankings in May, so is certainly a brilliant shout to beat the rest of the field.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tsonga is one of tennis’ nearly men, but at 30-years-old is still far from done, as Stan Wawrinka proved by snatching two Grand Slams at a similar age.
The exciting Frenchman is a former finalist here, back in 2008, and is back into the top 10, making his title odds of 50/1 very enticing.
Related
Check out more in our tennis archive, ahead of the 2016 Australian Open.
