Raonic Sees Odds Shorten to 33-1 After Third Round at Australian Open; Djokovic Now -135
By Hans Themistode in Tennis
Updated: April 8, 2020 at 1:12 pm EDTPublished:
- With Milos Raonic looking like his old self is he a good bet to win The Australian Open at +3300?
- Novak Djokovic has moved to odds-on-favorite: is it time to grab him now?
- Check out how we feel about the chances of both players
The Australian Open is always one of the more interesting grand slams to watch. Since it begins only three weeks into the new year, sometimes you aren’t really sure what to expect.
Players have been working on their games in the offseason but you just never know how some of them will fair.
When the odds for the Open first came out, the usual suspects such as Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were at the top of the leaderboards. That’s understandable. What wasn’t understandable and flat out confusing were the odds given to Milos Raonic at +8000. Now that he’s made it through to the fourth round, his Australian Open odds have improved considerably.
World number 2 Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, has gone from the tournament favorite to the odds-on-favorite, is it time to grab him before his odds continue to soar?
Men’s Australian Open 2020 Odds
Players | Odds |
---|---|
Novak Djokovic | -135 |
Rafael Nadal | +400 |
Daniil Medvedev | +650 |
Roger Federer | +700 |
Dominic Thiem | +1800 |
Nick Kyrgios | +2000 |
Alexander Zverev | +3300 |
Milos Raonic | +3300 |
Andry Rublev | +4000 |
Marin Cilic | +4000 |
Stan Wawrinka | +5000 |
Diego Schwartzman | +8000 |
Gael Monfils | +8000 |
Fabio Fognini | +10000 |
Maron Fucsovics | +15000 |
Tennys Sandgren | +15000 |
*Odds taken 1/25/2020
Milos Raonic is Officially Back
It was a rough 2019 for Milos Raonic. Truth be told, he’s been a little off for the past few years but as previously stated, 2019 was especially rough on him.
Since his career high ranking back in 2016 of #6 in the world, he saw that number drop to #24 in 2017, #18 in 2018 until finally dropping to number 35 in the world — his worst ranking in a decade.
It’s early in the year but Raonic has looked more like his 2016 version.
#MilosRaonic stays boring to knock Tsitsipas out of #AussieOpen in straight sets https://t.co/DWTeHiQwoL pic.twitter.com/Pis0h0NgSd
— Canoe (@Canoe) January 24, 2020
It took just a shade over an hour and a half to get rid of his first round opponent Lorenzo Giustino. Impressive but not unexpected.
Raonic took it up a notch against Christian Garin, a player who really broke out in 2019. His tournament came to an end in straight sets. For as good as Raonic has looked, it was his last performance against world number 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas that really opened some eyes. Not only did Raonic win, but he didn’t drop a single set.
Raonic now has a date with a very familiar opponent in Marin Cilic awaiting him.
Should You Take a Chance on Raonic?
Absolutely not.
Raonic’s matchup against Marin Cilic in the next round won’t be a gimme. Much like Raonic, Cilic has looked like his old self so that contest could go in either direction.
Even if he does get through Cilic, which seems likely, a possible opponent who could be there to greet him is none other than the 16-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic. Just in case you haven’t been paying attention, Raonic and Djokovic have played each other nine times and Raonic has not won a single time.
Simply put, don’t waste your money putting it on Raonic.
Novak Djokovic Looks Phenomenal
There’s a reason why Novak Djokovic was installed as the tournament favorite beforehand. With seven Australian Open titles and 16 grand slams already in his possession, it was easy to see why.
#AusOpen2020 @DjokerNole cruises towards record eighth @AustralianOpen title 🎾#NovakDjokovic thrashed @yoshihitotennis to move into the #AustralianOpen2020 fourth round
Report 👉 https://t.co/PcmTFDi8Ah pic.twitter.com/NRv8WP4wNa
— TOI Sports (@toisports) January 24, 2020
Djokovic had a small slip up in his first round matchup against Jan-Lennard Struff but he quickly ended that contest in four. In his two other matchups against Tatsuma Ito and Yoshihito Nishioka, Djokovic got rid of them both in straight sets.
He’ll now be standing across the net from Diego Schwartzman in a matchup he’ll be expected to win.
Is Novak Djokovic the Best Overall Bet?
Yes.
Look, Djokovic is the defending champion at the Australian Open and he has not lost a game in all year, granted the year did just begin, but the point is that he looks incredible.
Of course Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will have something to say about Djokovic lifting his 17th grand slam but at this point, he seems like the best bet. Put your money on him now before it’s too late.
Sports Writer
Hans Themistode has worked in sports journalism since attending Queens College, and has worked for several newspapers including the BX Times and Canarsie Courier, as well as writing for publications such as Fansided and The Clever. His work has also been featured on Bleacher Report.