Australian Open day one predictions & tennis betting tips: Nadal facing a battle

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for day one of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.

Where to watch

Live on Eurosport, midnight Sunday

Best bets

R Nadal to win & both players to win a set
1pt 5-4 bet365, Betfair, Power

Both players to win a set in S Tsitsipas v Q Halys
2pts 4-6 Betfair, Power

S Kenin
1pt 9-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

A Anisimova
1pt 10-11 general

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Day one preview

The Australian Open begins in the early hours of Monday featuring matches from the top half of the men's and women's draws, which means number one seeds Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek are both in action on day one at Melbourne Park.

While the odds suggest women's favourite Swiatek will brush aside Jule Niemeier, the same cannot be said of Nadal, who is expected to have his hands full against rising British star Jack Draper.

Elsewhere, Emma Raducanu will hope to put her injury woes behind her against Germany's Tamara Korpatsch while Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime all look to advertise their claims in the men's tournament.

Rafael Nadal v Jack Draper

Nadal sprung a small surprise when winning the Australian Open a year ago and the most decorated male Grand Slam singles player of all time will be hoping to repeat the trick in Melbourne, starting with a tough first-round clash with Draper.

However, while Nadal is favoured in the match, British ace Draper is an improving player who should make life tough for the Majorcan.

The Sutton-born 21-year-old was ranked outside the world's top 200 in January 2022 but a series of solid results, including a run to the semi-finals of Adelaide 2 this week, mean that he will crack the top 40 when the ATP rankings are updated on Monday.

Nadal returned to action with two defeats in the United Cup and clearly has fitness concerns. He knows how to turn it on in the biggest events and should win, but Draper has enough class to claim at least a set in defeat.

Stefanos Tsitsipas v Quentin Halys

Stefanos Tsitsipas caught the eye in the United Cup, winning all three of his singles outings, but the Greek is no certainty to brush aside Frenchman Quentin Halys.

Parisian Halys is slowly but surely making inroads on the ATP Tour, reaching a career-high 64th in the world and making the latter rounds of tournaments with increasing regularity.

He has made a solid start to 2023, beating Jordan Thompson in Adelaide before losing out 7-6 7-6 to Novak Djokovic and then going down by the same scoreline against Jenson Brooksby in Auckland.

Tsitsipas is a high-class rival but he has a habit of making life tough for himself, so there are no guarantees he saunters to a 3-0 win.

Sofia Kenin v Victoria Azarenka

Two former champions clash in the opening round of the women's draw as two-time winner Victoria Azarenka meets 2020 heroine Sofia Kenin.

Kenin is odds-against to claim victory but Azarenka is not the force of old and the prices appear to underestimate the American, who is showing signs that she is over her injury problems.

The 24-year-old defeated Xinyu Wang before running Coco Gauff close in Auckland before a confidence-boosting run to the semi-finals in Hobart.

Marta Kostyuk v Amanda Anisimova

There's little between Marta Kostyuk and Amanda Anisimova in the betting but it could pay to side with the latter, who has tended to save her best for Grand Slams.

American Anisimova has not yet made the most of her potential but she reached the fourth round of three of the four Grand Slams last season and looked in good touch when beating Liudmila Samsonova in Adelaide.

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