People don’t seem to have the perception that Serena Williams’ career is on the decline. Case in point: She remains the heavy favorite to win the 2020 Australian Open. The legendary tennis star, however, faces younger and tough competition in Melbourne this month. If you’re looking for sleepers to bet on, below are three names to keep a close eye on.
Top 3 Sleeper Picks and Predictions for the 2020 Australian Open Women’s Singles Tennis Tournament
TV Broadcast: ESPN, NBC Sports, TSN, Tennis Channel
Angelique Kerber (+2500)
It’s been a while since Kerber has won a singles tournament. She went kaput in 2019. But it was also not that long ago when the 31-year-old German took home a Grand Slam win. The latest was her win in the 2018 Wimbledon. Prior to that, she won two Grand Slam titles in 2016, taking down the competition in that year’s Australian Open and US Open. Kerber made it to the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open and finished the year with a 16-10 record in hard court WTA Tour matches.
Kiki Bertens (+3300)
Unlike Kerber, Bertens didn’t finish 2019 empty-handed. Bertens had two titles last year, winning one in Madrid and another in St. Petersburg. She beat Simona Halep and Donna Vekić in the Finals of those events, respectively If anything, Bertens has won three titles on the hard court since 2018. She’s yet to have some luck in the Australian Open, where she’s traditionally struggled, making it past the second round just once since she started competing in the event in 2011.Bertens is currently ranked ninth in the world
Sloane Stephens (+3300)
Stephens zoomed to tennis stardom in 2018, when she won the US Open. She was among the sports’ darlings that year because of that, and she was able to bring that popularity into 2019, though, it eventually waned. For the most part of 2019, Stephens struggled. She didn’t win a singles tournament and saw herself fall out of the top 10 rankings. Still just 26 years old, Stephens has plenty of room to recover. She had a decent run in the Australian Open last year, reaching the fourth round. She made it to the quarterfinals in Roland Garros and had a third-round appearance in Wimbledon. Stephens is currently no. 24 in the world.
