The Australian Open is one of the more interesting tournaments on the tour calendar. It brings Northern Hemisphere fans a welcome bit of sunshine to watch in the middle of winter, kicking off the year in style. What’s more, the hard courts are much more likely to produce surprise results than the grass of Wimbledon or the clay of the French Open.

This year’s tournament has been slightly delayed and will happen outside of January for the first time. The competition starts at Melbourne Park on 8^th February and will run through until 21^st February.

The Australian Open takes place on the other side of the world, but fans can still place bets online and live-stream action on TV. But after a disrupted year for tennis, who is the best bet to start 2021 with a Grand Slam win, and will we see any of the shocks that the Australian Open is famous for? Let’s take a look at the fields.

Men’s Tournament

It’s always hard to look beyond eight times Australian Open winner, Novak Djokovic. The world number one has an unrivalled record of 75 wins from 83 matches in Melbourne and has never lost in the final. With Roger Federer saving himself for later in the season, few others could challenge Djokovic’s domination down under.

One who could be worth a watch, however, is last year’s defeated finalist, world number three, Dominic Thiem. He pushed Djokovic to five sets in last year’s Australian Open final and there was a lot to learn from that match that will only make him a better player. Thiem got the better of Djokovic in the ATP Finals at the end of last year, beating him in the semi-final before falling to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Thiem comes to Melbourne on a high following a much more successful year than Djokovic, which included his win at the US Open in Flushing Meadow in September. Djokovic may be the clear favourite with most bookmakers, but Thiem could be the best value.

Women’s Tournament

As is often the case, the women’s tournament is much more difficult to predict, with seasoned veterans, bright young things, local heroes and more, all in with a shout. Arguments could be made for any one of half a dozen serious contenders, with many others waiting in the wings to spring a surprise.

Leading the betting is world number three, Japanese Haitian, Naomi Osaka. Like Thiem, she also comes to Melbourne riding the wave of a US Open victory, and she also has form in Australia, winning the Open in 2019. However, her shock third round exit in last year’s tournament proves that she can blow hot and cold and could be a risk.

World number one, Ashleigh Barty sits second in the betting but has not played competitively since last year’s tournament. While the Australian does have home advantage, this can be a double-edged sword, with so much expectation on her shoulders to be the first home grown player to win at Melbourne since Evonne Goolagong won four times on the run between 1974 and 1977.

In a wide-open field, defending champion, Sofia Kenin, world number two, Simona Halep, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek all have a chance, and of course, you can never rule out Serene Williams. Even as her power starts to fade, on her day she can still beat anyone in the world.

Whoever does make it through to the Rod Laver Arena on the 20^th and 21^st February will be collecting a significantly smaller cheque, with The 2021 Australian Open prize money down over 33% on last year. However, they will still pick up an impressive $2,750,000, with the runner up collecting $1,500,000, so there is plenty to play for.