MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Here are some of the best men in the Australian Openwhich begins at Melbourne Park Sunday morning local time (Saturday evening EST), with odds online via BetMGM Sportsbook:
Jannik sinner
Seedling: 1
Best career ranking: 1
Country: Italy
Age: 23 years old
2024 record: 73-6
2024 titles: 8
Career titles: 18
Grand Slam titles: 2 – Australian Open (1:2024), US Open (1:2024)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-Won Championship, 2023-Lost to 4th, 2022-QF, 2021-1st, 2020-2nd
Aces: Sinner tested positive twice for a banned anabolic steroid in March, but was not suspended because a panel determined he did not use the drug intentionally and was instead exposed to it by his physiotherapist. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed his exoneration. …Won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last January and his second at the US Open in September. … Finished 2024 with winning streaks of 14 matches and 26 sets.
He said: “Of course, I had my ups and downs, and anyone who knows me (knows) that I was a little emotionally depressed and a little heartbroken as well.”
Read all about it: Sinner’s 2024 included two Grand Slam titles and two positive doping tests
The odds are: +125
Carlos Alcaraz
Seedlings: 3
Best career ranking: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 21 years old
2024 record: 54-13
2024 titles: 4
Career titles: 16
Grand Slam titles: 4 — Roland-Garros (1: 2024), Wimbledon (2: 2023, 2024), US Open (1: 2022)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-QF, 2023-did not play, 2022-3rd, 2021-2nd, 2020-DNP
Ace: Can complete a career Grand Slam at the age of 21 by winning the title at Melbourne Park. …As it stands, he is the youngest man in tennis history to win at least one major championship on three surfaces. …Leads Jannik Sinner 6-4 head to head in their budding rivalry. … I went 12-5 against opponents ranked in the top 10 last year. … Is 4-0 in Grand Slam finals.
He said: “I try to make people enjoy watching tennis.”
Read all about it: Alcaraz wants a place at the adults’ table after his fourth major trophy
The odds are: +350
Taylor Fritz
Seedlings: 4
Best career ranking: 4
Country: United States
Age: 27 years old
2024 record: 53-23
2024 titles: 2
Career titles: 8
Grand Slam titles: none – Best: runner-up, US Open (2024)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-QF, 2023-2nd, 2022-4th, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd
Ace: Had never reached more than one Grand Slam quarter-final in a single season until 2024, when he got there at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and reached the final of the US Open before losing to Jannik Sinner. …Also lost to Sinner in the title match at the ATP Finals, becoming the first American to reach that stage at the season-ending championship since James Blake in 2006. …The Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell, won the ATP. Coach of the Year honors for 2024.
He said: “I’ve always said: once I’ve done something once, I feel much more confident that I can do it again.”
Read all about it: Fritz was the first American in 15 years to reach a Grand Slam final
The odds are: +2800
Daniel Medvedev
Seedling: 5
Best career ranking: 1
Country: Russia
Age: 28 years old
2024 record: 46-21
2024 Titles: Zero
Career titles: 20
Grand Slam titles: 1 – US Open (1: 2021)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-RU, 2023-3rd, 2022-RU, 2021-RU, 2020-4th
Ace: Reached the final at Melbourne Park in three of the last four years, but is yet to win the championship. In two of those defeats in a title match, he took a two-set lead before losing in five (to Jannik Sinner last year and to Rafael Nadal in 2022). …Is 1-5 on aggregate in Grand Slam finals.
He said: “I hope I can win more Grand Slam tournaments. I believe in myself. I believe in my tennis.
Read all about it: Medvedev came so close to an Australian trophy again last year
The odds are: +1400
Novak Djokovic
Ranking: 7
Best career ranking: 1
Country: Serbia
Age: 37 years old
2024 record: 37-9
2024 titles: 1
Career titles: 99
Grand Slam titles: 24 — Australian Open (10: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), French Open (3: 2016, 2021, 2023), Wimbledon ( 7: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), US Open (4: 2011, 2015, 2018, 2023)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-SF, 2023-W, 2022-DNP, 2021-W, 2020-W
Aces: Being coached in Melbourne by old rival Andy Murray. …Vying to become the first player in tennis history to win 25 Grand Slam singles titles. …2024 was his first season without at least one major trophy since 2017. …was 20-0 in Australian Open semifinals or finals until last year’s loss to Jannik Sinner in the last square. … 10 trophies in Melbourne is the most for a man. … In 2024, he has only won one title, but it was a big one: an Olympic gold medal for Serbia.
He said: “To have a legend of the game, someone who is known to be as intelligent a tennis player as there is, it’s a great honor, a great pleasure for me.”
Read all about it: Djokovic adds Olympic gold to his resume
The odds are: +500
Alex de Minaur
Seedlings: 8
Best career ranking: 6
Country: Australia
Age: 25 years old
2024 record: 47-21
2024 titles: 2
Career titles: 9
Grand Slam titles: none – Best: quarterfinals (four times)
Last 5 Australian Open: 2024-4, 2023-4, 2022-4, 2021-3, 2020-DNP
Ace: No Australian has won the country’s Grand Slam title since Mark Edmondson in 1976. … This will be the first time de Minaur has cracked the top eight at a major tournament. … Before 2024, he had only reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament once, three times: at Roland-Garros, at Wimbledon and at the US Open. He will now try to do it in front of his home fans for the first time. …I got engaged to British tennis player Katie Boulter in December.
He said it: “I don’t make a big deal. I just put my head down and work on my craft.”
Read all about it: Hip injury forced de Minaur to withdraw from Wimbledon showdown against Djokovic
The odds are: +5000
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis editor since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
