Australian Open: Men's Singles Tip

In a year that many predict will see Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray go nip and tuck in a battle to be world number one, it’s hard to say who will come out on top. However, the bookies have made it easier to choose where we put our money for the Australian Open simply because of price divergence.

My theory for last year’s US Open was that the British number one had to be backed due to momentum and because of his price relative to the Serbian’s. Strangely, despite Murray’s glorious victory at Flushing Meadows, the same points still apply now. Djokovic is a best price of 10/11 with the mainstream bookmakers, the Scot is 3/1 with Sportingbet.

Those in the Djokovic camp will cite the fact that he has won in Melbourne two years running. But it’s easy to forget that the hard courts of ‘Oz’ are also traditionally where Murray shines the most as well. He has made two finals and only lost to his arch-rival in an epic five-setter last January.

If Murray was still a ‘nearly-man’ you would say fair enough. But the psychological warfare changed forever last summer when the Scot won the Olympics and then his first major soon after. I just don’t see how the man from Dunblane can be three times less likely to win Down Under than Djokovic. With that viewpoint, we will stay patriotic, but for entirely pragmatic reasons.