Jannik Sinner becomes favourite after Australian Open draw

Tennis betting sites have shortened Jannik Sinner’s odds to win the Australian Open after Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were drawn in the same quarter on Thursday afternoon.

Sinner has a favourable draw, with leading bookmakers shortening his title odds from $2.37 to $2.20 as a result.

The Italian faces a potential quarter-final against Alex de Minaur and semi-final against Taylor Fritz – players against whom he owns 4-1 and 9-0 head-to-head records, respectively.

More importantly, he avoids the three other title contenders in Melbourne – Alcaraz, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev – who are all in the bottom half of the draw.

Alcaraz and Djokovic are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals, top betting apps to lengthen the Serbian’s title odds from $4.50 to $5.50.

Alcaraz’s odds to win remain the same ($4.50), despite a challenging draw which could require him to beat Jack Draper, Djokovic, Zverev and Sinner in consecutive matches to claim his first Australian Open title.

Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz – the fourth through sixth lines of betting – remain steady on odds of $11, $15 and $29.

Beyond these six, however, odds have shifted significantly following the release of the draw.

Former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas was paying $29 to win, but now lengthens to $67 after being drawn in Sinner’s quarter.

He faces rising American star Alex Michelsen first round, with a potential second-round match against teen Martin Landaluce.

Both Holger Rune and Arthur Fils have also had their odds to win lengthened dramatically.

The Dane goes from $41 to $67 at Dabble, courtesy of a potential round-of-16 meeting with Sinner.

He faces an uphill battle to even make the fourth round, however, with big-hitting Chinese Zhizhen Zhang up first, followed by Matteo Berrettini and Hubert Hurkacz, potentially.

For Fils, his odds move because of a tricky draw that could require him to beat compatriot Ugo Humbert, Zverev and Casper Ruud to make the final four.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios finds himself in the same section of the draw, with two straightforward matches against Jacob Fearnley and the winner of Sebatian Baez v Arthur Cazaux to start, before a potential third-round clash against Zverev.

However, most betting apps have Kyrgios’ odds to win the Australian Open at a long $126 now, given the 29-year-old’s current abdominal strain and losses in Brisbane last week.

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