Australian Open 2023: The Essentials

The 2023 Australian Open is set to be an exciting tournament with several top contenders vying for the championship title.

In the men’s competition, Novak Djokovic is the clear favourite with the highest Australian Open betting odds to win his 10th record title in Australia. Djokovic has had an impressive career, and his absence from the previous tournament only adds to the anticipation of his return to Melbourne.

However, he will face stiff competition from Rafael Nadal, the reigning champion, and Daniil Medvedev, who has been in exceptional form in recent years.

Additionally, there are several other players who are considered potential sleeper picks in the men’s competition. This includes names like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios, and Jannik Sinner. Tsitsipas has been performing well in recent tournaments, Kyrgios is always a formidable opponent, and Sinner has been making a name for himself on the tour.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek is the best pick for the title with the highest Australian Open betting odds of winning. Swiatek has had an impressive year, and her aggressive style of play is well-suited to the hard courts of Melbourne.

Following closely behind her are Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka, who have both been active in recent tournaments. Additionally, Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur are considered sleeper picks, as they have the potential to cause upsets in the tournament.

Important things to know

The Australia Open began on Monday, January 16 and will round up on January 29 with the men’s finals. The women’s finals will be held on January 28.

Matches in the tournament will be played at Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and outside courts at Melbourne Park.

The Australia Open is one of the four major tournaments constituting the Grand Slam. It is the first of the four to be played each calendar year, and it could as well set the tone for the rest of the season.

The Australian Open is played on acrylic courts, primarily outdoors, with 128 single players, and double events, including wheelchair and senior competitions.

The tournament is structured into four rounds: Australian Open quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.

If you’re interested in betting on the AO or any other sports, check out our sports betting page.

First Games/Opening Game

The first round opens the game and easily sets the pace. Rafael Nadal opened the stage with a glorious win against Jack Draper to assert his dominance. The story was also the same for Novak Djokovic who clinched a flawless 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Roberto Carbelles Baena.

Both winning seeds are considered favourites to progress to the finals in the men’s singles. No.1 seed Rafael Nadal looks to further extend his record while No.4 seed Novak Djokovic looks to match that record. Placing Casper Ruud as the no.2 seed might make him seem like a potential threat, however, experts have their eyes set on No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev as the next favourite to win the crown if Nadal is ousted.

Second Round

The second round brought the biggest shocker with favourite Rafael Nadal being ousted by McDonald amid a hip injury. Nadal went 1-6 in his seven matches leading into the Australian Open and was in perfect form until his shocking exit in the second round.

Third Round

The third round saw Sebastian Korda record the biggest win of his career that left the men’s singles draw in awe. The 29th-seeded American ousted Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Friday in Melbourne. This came as a shock considering that the Russian was one of the favourites to reach the men’s final from the top half of the bracket.

Men’s Singles Results

· No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Tallon Griekspoor, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-3

· No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime def. No. 28 Francisco Cerundolo, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

· Sebastian Korda def. No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (4)

· No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz def. No. 20 Denis Shapovalov, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3

· Jiri Lehecka def. No. 11 Cameron Norrie, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

· No. 15 Jannik Sinner def. Marton Fucsovics, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0

· No. 18 Karen Khachanov def. No. 16 Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9)

· No. 31 Yoshihito Nishioka def. Mackenzie McDonald, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2

Women’s Singles Results

No. 1 Seed Iga Świątek def. Cristina Bucsa, 6-0, 6-1

No. 3 Seed Jessica Pegula def. Marta Kostyuk, 6-0, 6-2

Unseeded Zhu Lin def. No. 6 Seed Maria Sakkari, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-4

No. 7 Seed Coco Gauff def. Bernarda Pera, 6-3, 6-2

No. 24 Seed Victoria Azarenka def. No. 10 Seed Madison Keys, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1

No. 22 Seed Elena Rybakina def. No. 13 Seed Danielle Collins, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

No. 17 Seed Jelena Ostapenko def. Kateryna Baindl, 6-3, 6-0

No. 20 Seed Barbora Krejčíková def. Anhelina Kalinina, 6-2, 6-3

Fourth Round Clash

The fourth round saw the American athletes set historical records at the 2023 Australian Open. Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, and Sebastian Korda progressed to the men’s singles quarterfinals with victories at Melbourne Park on Monday.

Shelton’s win came from defeating American J.J. Wolf, while Paul defeated Roberto Bautista Agut. This is the first time three American men have made it to a Grand Slam Quarterfinal since the 2005 U.S. Open.

Djokovic maintained his dominance by knocking out Alex de Minaur in straight sets in Melbourne. He still remains the clear favourite for the crown in Melbourne.

The women’s singles saw some unexpected results, as two unseeded women landed spots in the quarterfinals. Donna Vekic and Magda Linette got their spots in the final eight of the women’s draw. This makes it Vekic’s second-ever Grand Slam quarter-final. Linette also put up a stunning performance against No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia, ousting her in straight sets.

Men’s Singles Results

• No. 4 Novak Djokovic def. No. 22 Alex de Minaur, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
• No. 5 Andrey Rublev def. No. 9 Holger Rune, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (9)
• Tommy Paul def. No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
• Ben Shelton def. J.J. Wolf, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2

Women’s Singles Results

• Magda Linette def. No. 4 Caroline Garcia, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 12 Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 6-2
• No. 30 Karolina Pliskova def. No. 23 Zhang Shuai, 6-0, 6-4
• Donna Vekic def. Linda Fruhvirtova, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3

The Finals

The semi-finals of the tournament take place at the Rod Laver Arena. There, Karen Khachanov will face Stefanos Tsitisipas. No, 3 seed Tsitisipas of Grecee is the highest seed left in the game. Being a three-time Australian Open Semifinalist, it would be tough to see Khachanov make it out of this one.

Novak Djokovic, the favourite of the tournament will play against Tommy Paul (USA). Djokovic is expected to walk over Paul with a stunning win considering the Serbian is in his best form and has put up a stunning performance since the beginning of the tournament. Tommy Paul’s qualifications are definitely a shocker but 4-seeded Novak Djokovic is expected to soar to the finals with little difficulty.

There were no surprises in the Women’s singles with Elena Rybakina defeating Victoria Azarenka to make it to the finals. The game recorded a score of 7-6(4), 6-3, which indicates a bit of difficulty for Rybakina in the first set. This would make it the second final that Rybakina has reached in a span of three major tournaments.

The finals are set to take off on Saturday, January 28, where she and No.5 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will battle it out on the court. Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam title match when she crushed unseeded Magda Linette 7-6(1), 6-2, in the semifinal. Judging from the little difficulty of the game, she does seem to be the favourite for the finals. She has also improved to 10-0, winning all 20 sets she’s contested this season.

Rybakina was seeded 22nd in Melbourne, though she ranked 25th in number. While these numbers can be misleading and do not indicate the talent or form of the player, they might actually give some insight into the results of the finals this Saturday.

Finals Results Update

In the men’s singles, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitisipas were the favourites to head into the final and lived up to the hype by competing in the men’s final, with Djokovic’s gutsy victory achieved in a straight sets win, 3-6, 6-7(7),6-7(7)

The women’s singles continue with many upsets. While Sabalenka might have an easier time in the finals, Rybakina does seem to have a good shot at claiming the prize money.

In fact, at the time of writing, Aryna Sabalenka had an incredible win in the women’s final, on the court playing incredible tennis coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final, 4-6 6-3 6-4.

The doubles finals were won by two local boys from Australia on the court playing tennis together for the first time, winning a tough match at Rod Laver Arena after a great display in their last few matches of 6-4 7-6(4) to win their first Grand Slam championship.