The 107th edition of the prestigious Australian Open is here, marking the start of the new ATP Grand Slam season. Ageless wonder Roger Federer took home the crown last year, but he’s a year older now and faces a stiff competition to the top. In any case, this year’s staging of the Australian Open is expected to be packed with action and drama. However, are tennis media experts anticipating another predictable outcome? Is there a windfall to be made by betting on an odds defying sleeper? Let’s find out what they have to say so that you can make a more informed pick of your own.
Expert picks and predictions for the 2019 Australian Open of Tennis, running until January 27 2019
Tennis.com
Steve Tignor – Novak Djokovic
Ed McGrogan – Novak Djokovic
Nina Pantic – Novak Djokovic
Steve Flink –Novak Djokovic
Joel Drucker – Novak Djokovic
Zach Cohen – Novak Djokovic
Ashley Ndebele – Novak Djokovic
There were seven analysts that Tennis.com polled, but there was only one answer that came out of their mouths: Novak Djokovic. All are seemingly enamored of the Serbian and no one appear to have any trouble picking Djokovic despite the fact that he will enter the 2019 edition of the Australian Open on the heels of an upset loss in the semifinals round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to Roberto Bautista Agut.
Here’s what one of those experts in Joel Drucker said about Djokovic:
“Three words defined the last six months of Djokovic’s 2018: Baby, I’m back. Footwork, balance, sustainability—utterly smothering. If not quite the favorite Nadal is at Roland Garros, a record-tying six AO titles and his impressive resurgence clearly make Djokovic the man to beat in Melbourne.”
FanSided
Harry Ford – Novak Djokovic
Ford did not actually name a pick to win the Australian Open in his recently published piece, but he has Djokovic as his top favorite to win it. Ford thinks that there’s no other player that inspires more confidence among fans and radiates with more potential to take home the crown in the tournament than Djokovic, who is currently priced +130 to be the last man standing in Melbourne. It’s hard for guys like Ford to simply sweep under the rug of memory what Djokovic accomplished last season. While Djokovic stumbled in last year’s Australian Open with a Round of 16 exit and in Roland Garros with a loss in the quarterfinals, he rebounded strong by annihilating the competition at Wimbledon and at the US Open.
Bleacher Report
Matt Jones – Novak Djokovic
This may shock you, but Matt Jones picked Djokovic to win the 2019 Australian Open. But seriously, it appears as though experts won’t be able to accept a world in which Djokovic is not the winner of this year’s Australian Open. Like most other analysts, Jones was left impressed of Djokovic’s resurgence in the latter half of the 2018 season, saying that the 31-year-old tennis superstar “is a deserving top seed, as he found his best in the second half of the previous year.”
Sports Illustrated
Jon Wertheim – Novak Djokovic
At this point, no one is really expecting that that there’s a player not named Chuck Norris or Novak Djokovic who’s going to win the 2019 Australian Open. And count Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated as among those expecting nothing less than a victory at each round of the tournament from Djokovic. A quick glance at Djokovic’s resume would make one realize that Djokovic playing at full health in Melbourne is one of the surest things in sports today. Djokovic owns a 61-8 record at the Australian Open. Out of the 14 Grand Slam trophies he has at home, six were imported from Australia.
Wow. Not much (none) variation with top tennis insiders, with all of the above going with the sportsbook on this one, giving Djokovic (+130 to win it all) the clear edge at the start of the ATP season.
