Two men – Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic – have been consistently the last two standing on the men’s side of the Australian Open over the past few years. The consensus is that the two will be the men to beat in this year’s tournament, but who exactly will take home the crown? Let’s take a look at who some of the top tennis experts have picked as their 2017 Australian Open men’s champion.
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2017 Australian Open Men’s Tennis Expert Picks
ESPN
| Expert | Champion |
|---|---|
| Nic Atkin, ESPN UK | Andy Murray |
| Carl Bialik, FiveThirtyEight.com | Novak Djokovic |
| Peter Bodo, ESPN.com | Andy Murray |
| Greg Garber, ESPN.com | Novak Djokovic |
| Gaurav Kalra, ESPN India | Andy Murray |
| Lucas Hanashiro, ESPN Brasil | Andy Murray |
ESPN called on its expert tennis writers from across the globe, and of the six polled, Andy Murray (+150) came out on top of Novak Djokovic as the popular champion, 4-2. Despite five finals defeats, Atkin, Bodo, Kalra, and Hanashiro are confident Murray can finally break his Australian Open duck this season.
Kalra noted that Murray will be carrying the momentum into the year’s first Grand Slam after winning his last four tournaments of the 2016 season.
Bialik, though, remains convinced that World No. 2 Djokovic is actually still the man to beat in Melbourne. It’s hard to blame him, as the Serb has taken home the title in five of the last six years. The oddsmakers also agree, as they have the Djoker as the +130 favorite ahead of Murray.
Fox Sports
| Expert | Champion |
|---|---|
| Harry Floyd, FanSided via Lob and Smash | Andy Murray |
Harry Floyd of the Lob and Smash blog got a head-start with his predictions for the men’s Grand Slam winners this season. And for the first tournament of the year, he’s also gone with Murray to finally end his Aussie Open drought. He also sights momentum as a factor in his decision. (Although, Djokovic may have regained some of that after he just beat Murray in Doha.)
Nevertheless, Floyd believes 2017 is Murray’s best shot at winning the Aussie Open, and he picks the Scot to do so eventually.
Rod Laver
The opinions of the great Rod Laver are always well-respected, and the Australian tennis legend has given his pick to win this year’s Aussie Open. He hasn’t gone with either Murray nor Djokovic; instead, he’s gone with another living legend: Roger Federer, who is +1,000 to win it all.
Federer missed most of 2016 due to injury, and will enter the tournament only as a No. 17 seed. But Laver believes the 35-year-old Swiss still has enough left in the tank to come back and win his fifth career Australian Open crown this year.
Find yourself siding with the experts? Create a betting account now and cash in with all the action Down Under with America’s top online sportsbook.
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