As with just about every Grand Slam in professional tennis, the first rounds have provided some surprises. One of them was a first-round win by Australian Alexei Popyrin, an unseeded entrant who took down 13th seed David Goffin, prevailing in five sets. He saved four match points, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3. This is the third straight year in which Popyrin has advanced to the second round in Melbourne, and beating a top seed gives him an excellent shot to progress even further. His next match will come against unseeded Lloyd Harris. Alex de Minaur and Chris O’Connell also made it through the first round, making the host country proud of their own.
As you consider your Australian Open betting for the first Grand Slam of 2021, check out our top three predictions for the tournament.
Tennis News: 2021 Australian Open — Top 3 Predictions
Novak Djokovic will win the men’s draw
At the end of 2020, Djokovic was the #1 men’s tennis player in the world for a sixth time, tying an all-time record. He won two ATP 1000 tournaments (the Rome Masters and the Cincinnati Masters). However, after the restart, the U.S. Open was an unpleasant memory for him, as his temper ended his run through a bizarre disqualification. He dropped four matches to end the season, falling to Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Sonego and Dominic Thiem. However, he has had time to recharge his game and get his head back on straight, and a win in Melbourne would give him nine victories.
Djokovic would have to rely on an upset taking down Medvedev or Thiem — or the possibility that either or both of them has stagnated a bit over the winter. The comments that Djokovic made about the way he felt tennis players had been treated in Victoria will not make him a court favorite. However, he has never received the same adulation here that Roger Federer or Nadal receive. Nadal did beat Djokovic at the French Open here, but Djokovic has the upper hand on a hard court.
Dominic Thiem will emerge as the best player of the next generation
Thiem knocked off Alexander Zverev in five sets to win the 2020 U.S. Open, a match that saw Thiem two sets down before roaring back to win. HIs hard court game has improved, and he has been waiting to avenge his loss to Djokovic in the 2020 Australian Open finals. Thiem played out of his mind in a win over Djokovic in the ATP Finals suggests that he is ready to elevate into the top tier of men’s tennis. Another solid player out of the next generation is Daniil Medvedev who has a higher ceiling than any other player on the tour but has had a difficult time stringing together complete matches. He won the 2020 ATP Finals and the Paris Masters, and if he can leverage that form again, he could also push hard as a top young player.
Andrey Rublev will shake his status as the dark horse
Rublev posted a 41-10 record in 2020, with five titles. In contrast, Novak Djokovic only won four titles. He did not do well in the ATP Finals, but he won three of the nine tournaments he entered after tennis restarted, prevailing in Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Vienna. His style is energetic and constant, and it has helped him to the round of 16 in four straight Grand Slams. He is now ranked eighth in the world, and moving up to fifth is definitely a possibility. He has not shown the same propensity for complacent play in the early rounds as some of his peers, particularly Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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