The tennis season kicks off in Hong Kong, Brisbane and Auckland this week. There is plenty of tennis on show, as the players find their feet in preparation for the Australian Open in a couple of week. Ace is here to take a look at the draws of all the top level ATP and WTA tournaments on offer this week. He shares his views on the draws and his outright selections below.
Tennis Betting Tips: Monday, January 1st 2024
ATP Brisbane
It’s a pretty competitive field of players will battle for one of the first titles of the season in Brisbane. Number 1 seed Holger Rune leads the field, and there are a number of Aussies in the field, with six of them facing off against each other in round 1.
Let’s take a quick look at each quarter of the draw, and come back at the end to select quarter or outright options that appeal.
Quarter 1
The top name in this quarter is Holger Rune, who is coming off a year that probably didn’t live up to his expectations coming into the year. It’s a funny thing to say about someone ranked 8th in the world, but injury did cruel his chances of improving on his career high of 4 coming into the US Open. He comes in here fresh off a break and off-season, and is probably fortunate that the weather is a little on the cooler side in Brisbane than we have seen in previous years.
Other names to feature in this quarter include Seb Korda, JJ Wolf and Aussie Max Purcell.
Quarter 2
One of the players who made a name for himself in 2023 was Ben Shelton. That run started at the Australian Open to kick off the season, and was highlighted by his run to the semi final at the US Open. He gets a tricky match-up first up in Roman Safiullin, with the winner to face off against one of Popyrin or O’Connell for a place in the quarter finals.
The other half looks a touch weaker, however it’s worth noting that Matteo Arnaldi got to Australia very early to complete his pre-season, so may be one to keep an eye on this month.
Quarter 3
The top seeds here are Ugo Humbert and Aslan Karatsev, however the biggest name in this section is wildcard Rafael Nadal, making his return to the tour. Nadal is the great unknown in this section, and however looking at the odds, the best plan of attack may be to look at Humbert at the bottom of the section. We may not see the best of Nadal after a couple of matches (I don’t think the Brisbane title is on his bucket list for 2023, moreso a warm up event), so Humbert might be well placed here in the bottom half.
Quarter 4
This quarter will largely be set up by the first round clash between number 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov and the unranked Andy Murray. It is likely to set the tone for the quarter, although the Hijikata/Kokkinakis match-up is one that is really interesting to me.
Overview
Just the one small outright selections here at some longer odds. When you look at the layout of the draw, a player that appeals at the current odds is Ugo Humbert. As mentioned above, he sits in a good pocket, and just looks to be slightly better value than Jordan Thompson coming out of that section. Worth a play at the longer odds, but just a small play.
Ugo Humbert to win title
$12 (0.3 Units)
WTA Brisbane
We have a massive tournament in Brisbane to kick off the WTA season. Although world number 1 Iga Swiatek is playing in the United Cup, this tournament is headlined by Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, and Australian Open runner-up and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. It’s a big field, and the top 16 players get a bye through to the second round, so let’s take a look at the draw with that in mind.
Quarter 1
This one is largely dominated by Aryna Sabalenka, however there are some interesting names in the section. Although 2023 was not her best, Danielle Collins demands respect whenever she steps on court and has the game to challenge most. Of the other seeds, Daria Kasatkina and Zhu Lin are the most likely to threaten here, and of the unseeded players Marta Kostyuk is likely the biggest threat.
Quarter 2
The big hitting Jelena Ostapenko sits at the top of the quarter, and she isn’t the only big hitter in this section. Karolina Pliskova didn’t have a strong 2023, Anhelina Kalinina flies under the radar, and Victoria Azarenka’s best is still capable at the level, and she is likely to have benefitted from the break. We also have Naomi Osaka returning to the tour as a mother, taking her place here as a wildcard.
Quarter 3
Big hitting players sit at the top and the bottom of this quarter, with Ekaterina Alexandrova and LiudmilaSamsonova both capable of some blistering tennis, but they are my no means alone in this fascinating quarter. The other seeds in Sorana Cirstea and Sofia Kenin have both made names for themselves with big name wins in recent years, and the likes of Andreeva, Shnaider and Noskova all unseeded in this section, it’ll take some strong tennis to progress to the semi finals from this quarter.
Quarter 4
The big name in this section is Elena Rybakina, and she looks to have found the slightly easier pocket of the draw. In the top half of the section we have some capable players in Veronika Kudermetova and Anastasia Potapova, and a very fascinating unseeded round 1 battle between Katerina Siniakova and Sloane Stephens.
Summary
Going with a somewhat left-field selection here, but I am happy to take a small flyer on Victoria Azarenka first up. Her style isn’t the worst against big strikers, which appear to be littered throughout this field. She should be fresh and injury free here, so the $41 looks to be a little too big considering her place in the draw.
Victoria Azarenka to win title
$51 (0.25 Units)
WTA Auckland
US Open champion Coco Gauff heads the field, which also includes some faces early in their comeback in Caroline Wozniacki, as well as returning players Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu. Let’s take a look at each quarter.
Quarter 1
It’s hard to write too much about this quarter pre-tournament when it includes 8 players, 4 of which are qualifiers. Simply put, looking at the qualifying draw and the other names in the section (Liu, Blinkova and Gracheva), I don’t see myself opposing Coco Gauff in any capacity. This looks to be a great opportunity for the American to make another deep run.
Quarter 2
This is a fascinating little pocket of the draw, and I am incredibly keen to see how Emma Navarro fares early in the season. She looks to be a no-bet here though, with a very tricky first round opponent in Linda Fruhvirtova across the net. Rebeka Masarova put in a strong showing here last year, and Petra Martic commands respect. The winner of this quarter is likely to face Gauff in the semi final, so the outright markets aren’t quite as appealing.
Quarter 3
Wang Xinyu and Lesia Tsurenko are the seeds in this quarter, so it may be a little more attackable than other sections. However, there isn’t one standout name in the pack, except for perhaps Wang Xiyu. She has the power game to be a genuine challenge, and at her best could certainly threaten everyone in this section of the draw. One to watch.
Quarter 4
The seeds in this section are Elina Svitolina and Marie Bouzkova, both quality players but can be overpowered by some players on their day. There are a number of unknowns in this quarter, with Caroline Wozniacki, Amanda Anisimova and Emma Raducanu all featuring in this quarter and not a lot of tennis played in 2023 between the trio. I think I prefer to look elsewhere.
Overview
I am going to keep it simple for this tournament, with a play on Gauff to win outright as the favourite, and a smaller play on Wang Xiyu (note: not Wang Xinyu) to win the quarter and the tournament.
Also Backing:
Wang Xiyu to win tournament at $26 at Bet365 (0.25 units)
Coco Gauff to win tournament
$2.38 (0.5 Units)
