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Thirteen days ago, 128 hopefuls took to the courts of Melbourne Park in Australia with aspirations of winning the men’s Australian Open 2023.
Now, a little less than a fortnight later, only two men remain. The finalists for the Australian Open 2023 have been found, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic the last men standing. While the past thirteen days have seen plenty of four hour plus epics, both men navigated their semifinals in a relatively straight forward manner, with Tsitsipas winning in four, and Djokovic needing just the three sets to overcome his opponent.
Yesterday saw the men’s side of the draw take a break, as Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina battled it out in the women’s final. Both men will be hoping to have the grit of Sabalenka, who navigated three tricky sets to win the match. Ahead of this men’s final today, here’s a look at who’s ahead in the betting odds.
2023 Australian Open Men’s Event – Favourites to Win
Contents
Here’s a run down of the current favourites to win the Australian Open 2023 men’s draw, now that we’ve reached the final stage of the competition. All odds are taken from bookmaker Ladbrokes, and were correct at the time of writing.
Novak Djokovic @ 1/5 (1.20)
- Record at the Australian Open: 82-8
- Best result: Champion (nine titles)
Heading into the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was the overwhelming favourite to win the tournament with odds of 11/10 (2.10) Now, after six matches, his odds have improved even more. The nine-time champion now sits at an incredible 1/5 (1.22) to win the tournament, with just one match between Djokovic and a tenth Australian Open title.
Interestingly, Djokovic’s odds have really only begun to improve after his Round of 16 and quarterfinal victories. Prior to this, even though he’d moved through his first three matches for the loss of only one set, it was evident that a hamstring injury was hampering the Serbian. However, his recent performances against Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul have dispelled any injury concerns, as the former world No 1 has appeared to move fluidly and is looking untroubled now.
Not only has Djokovic been looking untroubled, he’s been in some of the best form of his life. Against de Minaur, a Top 30 player playing at home, he dropped only five games. In a his most recent quarterfinal against Andrey Rublev, a Top 5 player and six time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, he dropped only seven games. While Djokovic did have a small blip in his semifinal, conceded two breaks and a 5-1 lead in the first, he still swept aside an unseeded Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in a little over two hours.
Ahead of the Australian Open 2023 final, Novak Djokovic looks laser focused on winning this 10th title here. It would take a major dip in form or his hamstring injury to flare back up for the Serbian to not lift the trophy on Sunday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas @ 18/5 (4.60)
- Record at the Australian Open: 15-5
- Best result: Semifinals (2019, 2021 and 2022)
Stefanos Tsitsipas is playing lights out tennis, and in any other tournament would be the heavy favourite to win.
The fact that he’s only a 18/5 favourite to win here is more a reflection of how Djokovic is playing, rather than Tsitsipas. The Greek has been the second favourite in the betting odds for some time now, since the exit of Daniil Medvedev from the Australian Open 2023. He has carved his way through his first six matches for the loss of only three sets—two to Jannik Sinner in an arm wrestle of a Round of 16 match that saw Tsitsipas play fantastic under pressure, and one in his semifinal against Karen Khachanov.
With the exception of a ten minute window in his semifinal, the Greek was impeccable. After building a two sets and a break lead, he briefly tightened up and let go two match points, losing the third set in and 8-6 tiebreaker. However, outside of this minor lull in his form, Tsitsipas was ruthless, striking his forehand powerfully and accurately, and serving excellently for a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 win.
Tsitsipas has never won a Grand Slam, and has lost in heartbreaking fashion to Djokovic in his only other Grand Slam final. It would take some doing for the 24-year-old to find it within himself to defeat Novak in the final, and would require his best tennis of the tournament, plus a little help from his opponent.
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