Daniil Medvedev Is The Favorite (-120) To Win The Australian Open

LaMelo Ball was +45 in 38 minutes last night and dropped a triple-double 👀 — let’s talk Australian Open semis 👇

Australian Open Final Four

Is the changing of the guard officially underway in tennis? A sport that has been dominated by the trio of Federer-Nadal-Djokovic for over a decade, there’s a young player now emerging as a perennial Grand Slam contender

Fresh off a US Open win in September, 25-year-old Daniil Medvedev is in position to capture his second straight Grand Slam title in Australia this weekend. Here’s how he stacks up against the other semifinalists in the eyes of Vegas 👇

Odds to Win the 2022 Australian Open

• Daniil Medvedev: -120 (opened at +140)

• Rafael Nadal: +225 (opened at +600)

• Stefanos Tsitsipas: +450 (opened at +2000)

• Matteo Berrettini: +700 (opened at +3300)

Three of the four quarterfinal matches went the full five sets — if that’s any indication, we should be in store for three more battles before a champion is crowned 👑

Medvedev vs. Tsitsipas Preview

The highest seeded players remaining in the field, Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, will face off in the semifinals. The two are quite familiar with each other, having met eight times in their careers. Take a look at the lines ahead of their ninth matchup 👇

#2 Daniil Medvedev vs. #4 Stefanos Tsitsipas

• Moneyline: Medvedev -270 (bet $270, win $100), Tsitsipas +205 (bet $100, win $205)

• Set Spread: Medvedev -1.5 (-120), Tsitsipas +1.5 (-105)

Medvedev holds the series advantage, 6-2, but Tsitsipas came out on top in their most recent match — a straight set victory at the 2021 French Open. The pair also met in last year’s Australian Open semifinals, with Medvedev the straight set winner in that one

• With the defending champ and #1 seed Djokovic sent home prior to playing a single match, Medvedev has operated as the de-facto top seed in the tournament, and he’s played like it. Prior to the quarterfinals, he had dropped just two total sets

• Félix Auger-Aliassime (a personal favorite of mine) gave Medvedev quite the battle in his most recent match, winning the first two sets, but the Russian rallied to take the last three

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas breezed through the quarterfinals with a straight set victory. He’ll have the fresher legs today, but Medvedev just showed he only gets stronger as the match goes on 😤

Trivia question: If Medvedev is able to win his second straight Grand Slam, he’d be the first player outside the dominant trio of Federer-Nadal-Djokovic to do so in over 20 years. Who last pulled off two in a row prior to the Big Three? (answer below)

Nadal vs. Berrettini Preview

In the other semifinal matchup, we have two players who have met just once, and couldn’t be further apart in their careers. One is arguably the greatest player of all time, and the other is a 25-year-old in his first Australian Open semifinal. Here are the lines ahead of this showdown 👇

#6 Rafael Nadal vs. #7 Matteo Berrettini

• Moneyline: Nadal -190 (bet $190, win $100), Berrettini +155 (bet $100, win $155)

• Set Spread: Nadal -1.5 (+110), Berrettini +1.5 (-135)

Nadal needs no introduction, but for those who are unaware of how good Berrettini has looked recently, it’s time to take note

• The Italian has reached at least the quarterfinals in four straight Grand Slam tournaments, including a finals appearance at Wimbledon last July 

The next step in Berrettini’s emergence as a young star is that elusive first Grand Slam title, but standing in his way tonight is the guy who is tied for the most all-time 💪

• Nadal won in straight sets the only time these two have faced off (2019 US Open semifinals)

Both players took part in five-set epics in the quarterfinals that came down to the wire — I wouldn’t be shocked if its more of the same in this match 😎

For My Parlay Gurus

Medvedev came up just short in last year’s Australian Open, losing to Djokovic in the finals. I think he’ll be highly motivated to return and finish the job this year. On the other side, I’m going with Berrettini to cover in what should be a close one

Matches won’t start until around 10pm EST, but you might want to stay up. Take a look at this parlay 👇

• Daniil Medvedev -1.5 set vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas: -120

• Matteo Berrettini +1.5 sets vs. Rafael Nadal: -130

$100 on this bet would win you $224 — if we hit, make sure to email [email protected] for $100*. First come, first serve 😉

Trivia question: Andre Agassi, one of the greatest American players off all-time, captured the Australian Open title in 2000 after ending 1999 with a US Open victory