Australian Open men's final Djokovic v Thiem betting preview & free tip

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the men's singles final at the 2020 Australian Open.

When to watch

Eurosport 1, 8.30am Sunday

Best bet

Novak Djokovic -1.5 sets v Dominic Thiem
1pt 4-7 Betfair, Paddy Power
Click to bet on this tip with Paddy Power

Men's final preview

There's a school of thought that says if Dominic Thiem keeps on chipping away at tennis's holy triumvirate of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, his time will come in the majors.

The Australian Open final is a first hard-court major title-decider for Thiem, whose game has seldom been better, but standing in his way at Melbourne Park is the all-conquering ante-post title favourite Novak Djokovic.

Thiem has been on the opposite side of the net against a Big Three player in three of the last eight finals of Grand Slam tournaments.

That's a pretty impressive record, but while the Austrian's triumphs over Taylor Fritz, Nadal and Alexander Zverev in Victoria mean he thoroughly deserves another day in the sun, trying to bring down the finest fast-court player in tennis history is likely to be a bridge too far.

Thiem fans will point to the fact that he has won four of his last five matches against Djokovic, the latest of which was in the indoor ATP Finals in London in November.

However, the first major of the year is Djokovic's favourite, the one at which he looks most comfortable, and his tilt at an eighth singles trophy is likely to result in success.

Djokovic lost to Federer as well as Thiem in London at the end of last season. And Thiem, runner-up to Nadal in the last two years at Roland Garros, has become the second-best clay-court performer in the world.

There is hope for Thiem. Aged 26, the fifth seed is arguably at his physical peak while Djokovic, 32, may soon start to find it difficult against the most talented younger opponents.

But for now, the super Serb is doing little wrong. He has upped the speed of his second serve to a new high and even though he dropped a set in his Melbourne curtain-raiser against Jan Lennard-Struff, he has since made light work of seeds Diego Schwartzman, Milos Raonic and Federer.

And perhaps most importantly to Djokovic, in the incredible race for major singles crowns the pair who lead him, Federer and Nadal, cannot add to their tally until June.

This is a huge chance for Djokovic to make it 17 wins in Slam events and eat further into the lead of Federer (20) and Nadal (19).

Djokovic is 8-5 to win in straight sets and that can definitely be considered, but given that Thiem is playing so well and in his pomp, it could be wiser to take the odds-on about Djokovic successfully giving up a set-and-a-half start on the handicap.

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