The opening
Grand Slam tournament of 2017 will once against take place in
Melbourne with the Australian Open where those who really put the
work in during the off-season get rewarded in scorching-hot
conditions in the Australian city.
Andy Murray
starts the New Year as the world number one for the first time in his
career. The British player had a superb campaign in 2016 where he won
Wimbledon and the gold medal in Rio at the Olympics.
He also reached the final of the Australian Open and French Open
where he was beaten on both occasions by Novak Djokovic.
Murray sealed
his number one spot in the world rankings at the end of this year
with his first success in the ATP World Tour Finals in London. He
defeated Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in an impressive performance in the final
event of the calendar year.
At 13/8 in the
outright market for the 2017 Australian Open, Murray looks to be the
best bet in the men’s draw. He is also one of the tips
from oddschecker in their 2017 New Year accumulator as
they think the world number one will make a flying start to the
campaign.
Murray has been
to the final of the Australian Open more often than any other Grand
Slam. Sadly for the Brit, he has been beaten in all five of those
finals. The fact he has been runner-up on five occasions should give
backers of the world number one confidence though as it clearly
suggests he is always in great shape for the opening major of the
year.
During the
off-season, Murray has been training with his team in Miami. He
missed the ceremony for the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
in Birmingham in order not to break his training camp. The
British player is expected to make his opening appearance of 2017 I
the Mubadala World Tennis Championship which will work as ideal
preparation for Melbourne.
The biggest
threat to Murray will of course be Djokovic again. It is difficult to
predict what kind of form the defending champion will return to next
season but on the evidence we have seen in recent months, Murray
definitely has his number going into the 2017 Australian Open.
Kerber
Can Defend Her Women’s Crown
Angelique Kerber
goes into the women’s Australian Open next month as the defending
champion as she defeated
Serena Williams in the final in 2016 to claim her
maiden Grand Slam title.
That success in
Melbourne last January really did kick-start a huge year for the
German. She won her second Grand Slam title in New York when she beat
Karolina Pliskova, while she was also runner-up at Wimbledon where
Williams gained revenge for her defeat in the Australian Open.
At the age of
28, Kerber is at the peak stage of her career so there is no reason
as to why she can’t improve her Grand Slam tally in 2017. She is
4/1 to defend her title in Melbourne which is a generous price given
how well she played last year.
Kerber is now
the number one ranked player in the women’s game. She was the
runner-up at the WTA Championship finals in Singapore as Dominika
Cibulkova beat her to the title on that occasion. There was also a
silver medal in 2016 in Rio at the Olympics where the German lost in
three sets to Puerto
Rico’s Monica Puig.
We could be set
to see another big year from the world number one in 2017. Her
confidence is sky high and she has been the most consistent player on
the tour over the last 12 months.
Serena Williams
tops the outright market for the women’s Australian Open at 7/4
which is a short price given she has only won this tournament once in
the last six years. There is no question if Williams brings her top
game, she will be difficult to beat, however, Kerber no longer needs
to fear the American as she has proven she has what it takes to beat
the 22-time Grand Slam winner.
Selections
Andy Murray to
win men’s 2017 Australian Open (13/8 with Boylesports)
Angelique Kerber
to win women’s 2017 Australian Open (4/1 with Skybet)