Tennis fans worldwide are super-excited to witness the first grand slam of 2021 as players have started to arrive in Australia for the 2021 Australian Open, starting from February 8th. The tournament, initially scheduled for January 18th-31st, was pushed back owing to the pandemic.
With leading online sportsbooks like Sportsbet coming to the fore, tennis enthusiasts will also be excited to play their part in the first major tennis event of the year. Fans have already fixed their eyes on the Australian Open men’s odds across various online betting platforms to tactically place their bets. The veteran Novak Djokovic is the defending champion in the men’s singles category, and he will be trying to defend the title once again.
Here are three players to watch out for in the men’s singles category of the 2021 Australian Open.
Daniil Medvedev
This young Russian player has a winning percentage of 45.7% against all the top ten players in the ATP rankings. 2019 was an incredible year for him as he reached the finals of various tournaments for six consecutive times, including the 2019 US Open. No other player has won more matches than Medvedev in 2019. Looking at the Australian Open men’s odds in leading online sportsbooks would further verify his form and popularity among fans. His fearless attitude on the court has attracted tennis pundits across the world, though his performance on clay courts is not that impressive. However, he will be high on confidence after having beaten Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to emerge as the champion at the ATP cup held in London last year and hopes to continue his dream run.
Carlos Alcaraz
This young 17-year-old prodigy from Spain is all set to make an impact on the big stage. His aggressive approach on the court reminds one of Roger Federer. The Spaniard already has won 6 ITF titles, and there is no wonder why analysts point out that he can be one of the dark horses of the upcoming Australian Open. He maintains an excellent record on clay, and for that reason, people often compare him with his fellow countryman Rafael Nadal. In the 2020 ITF tour, he won thirty-nine out of the forty-six matches he played, and he became the first player born in 2003 to qualify for a Grand Slam. Another exciting fact about Carlos Alcaraz is that he is coached by the former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, who discovered his adaptability to play on all types of surfaces.
Andrey Rublev
In 2020 alone, Rublev won thirty-one hard court matches. ATP granted the most improved player of the year award in the same year. Though the young Russian has not gone past the 4th round of an Australian Open till date, he will be backing on his form to rewrite history at Melbourne Park his year. When he was just 19 years old, Rublev reached the quarter-finals of 2017 US Open. In the French Open 2020, Rublev reached the quarter-finals and secured the world No.8 ranking after an incredible run at the ATP tour. There is no doubt that he will keep creating ripples in the global tennis circuit with form and age on his side.