The Australian Open is the annual first Grand Slam on the tennis calendar and this year’s event at Melbourne Park takes place from Jan. 14-27. Novak Djokovic the clear favorite with the bookmakers to win the men’s title for a seventh time–and his first since 2016.
Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer are among the favorites according to the Australian Open 2019 odds as usual, but here are five names that could cause a shock Down Under and lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup later this month.
1. Alexander Zverev
The 6’6” German is expected to go on and win a Grand Slam or two in his career, so why not kick off 2019 by winning his first? Zverev hasn’t had much success in Australia previously–being eliminated in the third round in each of his previous two attempts.
At only 21 years of age, Zverev’s time is yet to come–but 2019 could be his year. He won the ATP Finals back in November, defeating both Federer and Djokovic in straight sets, and is currently ranked fourth in the world. Perhaps considered by one of the favorites for the Australian Open by some, it’s worth remembering whom he will be competing against at the very top of the pile.
2. Marin Cilic
The 2014 U.S. Open champion reached the final of the Australian Open 12 months ago, only to lose in five sets to Federer. No shame in that. The 30-year-old soon heads to Melbourne Park as the world No. 7 looking to go one further than last year’s performance.
With a big serve behind him and having reached the quarterfinals of both Roland Garros and the U.S. Open last year, Cilic cannot be ruled out from springing an upset in Australia. Victories in last year’s tournament came against Nadal in the quarterfinals and in straight sets over Kyle Edmund in the semis.
3. Dominic Thiem
2018 was a breakout year for the 25-year-old Austrian, who reached the Roland Garros final before ending the Grand Slam season with a quarterfinal appearance at the U.S. Open for the first time.
Thiem saw off the likes of Zverev and Kei Nishikori before losing to Nadal in straight sets in Paris. Later in the season he was beaten in five sets on hard court by Nadal at the U.S. Open. He had reached the quarterfinals with a victory over big-serving Kevin Anderson in the previous round.
4. Kei Nishikori
Big things had been expected of the Japanese standout when he first broke through a decade ago, but now at 29 years of age, time is running out for Nishikori to get his hands on a first major title. The current world No. 9 has reached the quarterfinals of this tournament on three occasions in the past; can he go all the way in 2019?
In the last Grand Slam, the 2018 U.S. Open, Nishikori reached the semifinals with victories over the likes of Cilic, Gael Monfils, and Philipp Kohlschreiber before losing to Djokovic in straights.
5. Milos Raonic
With odds of 80 to 1, the former world No. 3 is considered a long-shot to go all the way in Melbourne. Great things were expected of Raonic as a teenager and in his early 20s, but a disappointing season in 2018 sees him down at No. 18 in the rankings.
Prior to a first-round exit in this event last year, Raonic had a good history at the Australian Open–a quarterfinalist in both 2015 and 2017 and a semifinalist as a teenager in 2016, when he lost in five sets to Andy Murray.
[polldaddy poll=10184185]
Zverev – yes
Cilic – no
Thiem – no
Nishikori – maybe
Cilic – maybe
Wawrinka?
Given his relatively shoddy play, I’m not overly surprised Djokovic lost in Doha… though I am shocked it came at the hands of RBA. Anyway, I think it’s a ray of hope for the field.
Still, the stars would have to align just right for the contender list to include Raonic. As in, the entire top 8 would need a collective case of food poisoning. Zverev I can see. Cilic I can see (sort of). Thiem teeters precariously on the “clay court specialist” line, so while he’s no schlub, Rafael Nadal he is not.
What about Khachanov, coric, medvedev, Tsitsipas and Edmund? And kando? Isner? All of them should have been put instead of Raonic.
I agree
Raonic has a better record in Slams than most of them. Esp.the AO.
Maybe wildcat doesn’t consider those players dark horses? Isner is, but the rest of them are at least outside contenders in my opinion.
Depends how you split dark horses from outside contenders
i dont see all five spoken of making any real impact at this year tournament.
Anderson surely .
Nishikori semifinalist
This is one of the best prediction and analysis about Roger, Rafa, and Novak for 2019. An interesting read … http://www.138mph.com/atp-tennis-will-the-big-three-continue-to-dominate-in-2019/
I would put Stanimal ahead of Milos and Kei. He is slowly making his way back, and he had an encouraging start to the year with a quality win over Khachanov and a close loss to red hot Bautista Agut. I think Stan is back. It just depends on his draw and which Stan shows up.
I would include both Anderson and…..John Isner!!!