Australian Open Day 5 betting tips & preview | Thursday, 16/1/25

Best bet: Alex de Minaur v Tristan Boyer preview

Alex de Minaur was touted as a dark horse before the event started for several reasons. Not only is he a local who will get the backing of the Aussie crowd, but he has played well in Melbourne in the past despite not making the quarters before.

He should move through his second-round clash with Tristan Boyer in similar fashion to his opening match: straight sets. This matchup should not be a problem for de Minaur because he is facing a player who lacks experience and the weapons to trouble him too much.

Next best: Alex Michelsen v James McCabe preview

Alex Michelsen and James McCabe faced each other last year at the Australian Open, and the American was able to win the match in four sets. With healthy odds of +100 across most tennis betting sites, we are betting on the same thing happening again.

Michelsen is a much better player this year and started well by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, but McCabe has enough in his game to make this match complicated. We should at least see four sets because Michelsen, for all his good attributes, can be quite erratic at times.

Value Bet: Jannik Sinner v Tristan Schoolkate preview

Jannik Sinner is the favourite to win the Australian Open, paying a low +120 at BetOnline. He started well in the first round, winning a close match against Nicolas Jarry. His second-round opponent, Tristan Schoolkate, has shown some fundamentally sound tennis, so we expect him to run the defending champion close too. He has the serve and the weapons to stay in touch with Sinner, and with odds of +170, it is worth a punt that he stays within 8.5 games of the Italian.