In less than two weeks, the highly-anticipated 2023 Australian Open tournament will commence.
This year’s tournament will run from Jan. 16 to Jan. 29. As per tradition, the event will be held at Melbourne Park — located in Melbourne, Victoria. Rafael Nadal is the reigning men’s singles winner, while a new winner will be crowned for the women’s singles tournament. Last year’s winner, Ashleigh Barty, announced her retirement in March at the age of 25.
The aforementioned Nadal and Novak Djokovic — a nine-time Australian Open winner — No. 1 ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are among the prime favorites to win the tournament this year.
It’s already been a year since the state of New York launched mobile/online and in-person sports wagering. Tennis fans in New York will once again have the opportunity to place wagers on the winner of Grand Slam tournaments such as the Australian Open.
New sports bettors in New York can also enjoy several promos/bonuses if they sign up at NY sportsbooks now. For instance, WynnBET is running a promo where if you wager $50, you’ll gain $100. DraftKings is handing out $200 in free wagers if you place a $5 wager, and FanDuel is offering a $1,000 “No Sweat First Bet”.
Taylor Fritz Aims To Become First American To Win Australian Men’s Singles In 20 Years
He may not be one of the hands-on favorites, but 25-year-old American Taylor Fritz is a dark horse who looks poised to make some noise in Melbourne.
Currently ranked No. 9 in the world, Fritz stands the best chance of becoming the first American to win the Australian Open men’s singles tournament in 20 years. The legendary Andre Agassi is the last U.S.-born player to have won it, having defeated Rainer Schüttler in the 2003 finals.
Unsurprisingly, Djokovic is the wagering favorite to win at multiple sportsbooks, including FanDuel (+110) and DraftKings (+115). But Fritz is a good value wager at both sportsbooks; FanDuel has him at +2900 and DraftKings lists Fritz at +2800.
Fritz has had his fair share of close calls in the Grand Slam tournaments, even reaching the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open. There, he was defeated by then-23-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. The latter got as far as the semi-finals but fell to Medvedev, who lost to Nadal in the finals.
Fritz also turned heads with a stellar performance at the 2022 Wimbledon men’s singles tournament. He went all the way to the quarterfinals, but the dream ended with a heartbreaking loss to Nadal. Unfortunately, the latter had to withdraw from his semi-final matchup with Australian Nick Kyrgios, who fell to Djokovic in the finals.
Fritz has shown that he’s not overwhelmed by the pressure of the Grand Slam stage. If he’s playing at his best, he can give a heavy favorite like Nadal or Djokovic a run for their money.
But if Nadal and/or Djokovic get upset by someone else, and if Fritz manages to go further than the both of them? The door will be open for the surging Fritz to win his first Grand Slam tournament.
The Main Favorites
Nadal and Djokovic are among the top favorites to win for good reason. Along with the now-retired Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic absolutely dominated their era of tennis, and the latter two are still at the top of their respective games.
Nadal, of course, has enjoyed most of his success at the French Open (14 victories). He’s won two Australian Opens — in 2009 and 2022. But of course, Djokovic is going to be considered the man to beat in this tournament because of his aforementioned nine Australian Open victories.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz advanced to the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open tournament, where he was eliminated by Matteo Berrettini. Alcaraz’s incredible 2022 season was highlighted by a victory over Casper Ruud at the 2022 US Open finals back in September.
Masters of movement on a hard court ???
@DjokerNole v @andy_murray#AusOpen ? #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/dJjrqzJGDm— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) December 30, 2022
We’ll see if the No. 1 ranked Alcaraz can add to his rising legendary status by claiming his second Grand Slam title.
Medvedev has reached each of the last two Australian Open finals, losing to Djokovic in 2021 and to Nadal in 2022. Medvedev won the 2021 US Open and got to the fourth round and quarterfinals of the 2021 Wimbledon and 2021 French Open, respectively.
He broke through with the first Grand Slam win at the US Open. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time until Medvedev, another significant favorite to win the 2023 Australian Open, adds Grand Slam title No. 2 to his trophy room.
