The Best Preview And Tips For The Australian Open 2019

The first tennis Grand Slam of 2019 is here and 128 of the world’s best male players, along with the same number of female stars, are battling it out across the next fortnight to decide who becomes the new 2019 Australian Open tennis champion.

The tournament has already made headlines after the emotional announcement from Great Britain’s star Andy Murray that this could well be his last tournament after him struggling with a long term hip injury. Murray lost his First Round game earlier today to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and as yet, there has been no official announcement as to whether he will carry on playing or not.

Murray was not the only big name player to lose out on the opening day of action. In the men’s draw, two seeds inside the top 16, John Isner (9^th) and Britain’s Kyle Edmund (13) were both eliminated from the event as was American Steve Johnson. Similarly in the women’s three of the top 32 players have already seen their campaign ended, 32^nd seed Barbora Strycova, 22^nd seed Jelena Ostapenko and 14^th seed Julia Gorges.

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Australian Open Factfile

• The first Australian Open was contested in 1905
• In the early years of the tournament, its remoteness meant that very few players outside Australia and New Zealand competed, which meant the tournament was dominated by players from the two countries.
• From 1905 to 1987, the tournament was contested on Grass.
• From 1988, the tournament switched to Melbourne Park, where it has been contested on hard courts ever since.
• There are AU$60 million up for grabs in total prize money across all the different tournaments with the winning male and female players each taking home around AU$4 million.
• The current Champions are Roger Federer in the men’s tournament and Caroline Wozniacki in the women’s tournament.
• Margaret Court holds the record for the most number of singles titles with 11, followed by Serena Williams with 7. Three men have won six Australian Open’s each, Roy Emerson, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
• Only four players, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Wawrinka have won the men’s Australian Open title since 2006.

Australian Open Previous Winners – Men’s

• 2008 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2009 – Rafael Nadal (Spain)
• 2010 – Roger Federer (Switzerland)
• 2011 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2012 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2013 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2014 – Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)
• 2015 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2016 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
• 2017 – Roger Federer (Switzerland)
• 2018 – Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Other notable winners of the tournament prior to this period include Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors, Ken Rosewall, Arhur Ashe and Rod Laver.

Australian Open Previous Winners – Women’s

• 2008 – Maria Sharapova (Russia)
• 2009 – Serena Williams (US)
• 2010 – Serena Williams (US)
• 2011 – Kim Clijsters (Belgium)
• 2012 – Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
• 2013 – Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
• 2014 – Li Na (China)
• 2015 – Serena Williams (US)
• 2016 – Angelique Kerber (Germany)
• 2017 – Serena Williams (US)
• 2018 – Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)

Other star players to win the tournament prior to 2008 include Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Justin Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Hana Mandlikova, Evonne Goolagong and Virginia Wade.

Top 16 Men’s Seeds

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain)
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland)
4. Alexander Zverev (Germany)
5. Kevin Anderson (South Africa)
6. Marin Cilic (Croatia)
7. Dominic Thiem (Austria)
8. Kei Nishikori (Japan)
9. John Isner (United States) – Eliminated
10. Karen Khachanov (Russia)
11. Borna Coric (Croatia)
12. Fabio Fognini (Italy)
13. Kyle Edmund (Great Britain) – Eliminated
14. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
15. Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
16. Milos Raonic (Canada)

Who to back from the Men’s tournament?

It may sound somewhat obvious given that we have only had one other winner of the tournament since 2005, but the winner of this years Australian Open men’s tournament will, in my view, be either Djokovic, Federer or Nadal. Only Stan Wawrinka has won this event other than those three players since Marat Safin’s win in 2005 and in truth, it is hard to see any of the current generation of players coming through the ranks challenging the elite trio.

For me Federer may be the man, having won the last two Australian Open events, he seems to love playing on this surface and with him knowing he will sit out the French Open later in the year, he may be prepared to put more on the line in these games. Djokovic will likely be his big threat after returning to winning ways at the US Open last year.

If you want a decent each way bet then it is worth noting that Maran Cilic at 25/1 did reach the final last year where he was well beaten by Federer, while Kevin Anderson at 28/1 has been in the form of his life after reaching the Wimbledon final last summer. While both could reach the final, I can’t see either having the ability to win the tournament, hence an each way bet being the best option.

Top 16 Female Seeds

1. Simona Halep (Romania)
2. Angelique Kerber (Germany)
3. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
4. Naomi Osaka (Japan)
5. Sloane Stephens (United States)
6. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
7. Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
8. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
9. Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)
10. Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
11. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
12. Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia)
13. Elise Mertens (Belgium)
14. Julia Gorges (Germany) – Eliminated
15. Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
16. Serena Williams (United States)

Who to back from the women’s tournament?

The women’s event is far more open than the men’s tournament with Serena Williams, the 16^th seed the clear favourite, but not as strong a favourite as either Djokovic or Federer in the men’s event. The American should do well in Melbourne, but I think she faces a stern test from a new generation of players especially Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka, both of whom have impressed me a great deal of late.

I think in terms of an each way bet, the 20/1 with bet365 on Simona Halep is a great value each way bet, especially as she reached the final last year, but to back the winner, I’d still be banking either on Serena Williams, or Angelique Kerber and I think I would just plump for the American.