2024 Australian Open Best Bets - Day 1
The 2023 tennis season feels like it ended just yesterday, but the 2024 Australian Open is here. There's going to be tons of high-level action in Melbourne Park over the next few weeks, and that presents all sorts of opportunities for bettors. Throughout the course of the 2024 tennis season, VSiN will have you covered with daily best bet write-ups for some of the biggest events of the year. That starts with the 2024 Australian Open, and we're tackling the action for January 13 and 14 here.2024 Record: 12-8 (+5.67 units)
Marin Cilic vs. Fabian Marozsan
Marozsan is mostly known for his absurd upset over Carlos Alcaraz last year, and he has done a nice job of keeping himself relevant since. Marozsan has a unique game and should be a good player for years to come. However, he has had some conditioning issues in the past, and that’s not what you want in Australia. He also happened to get a brutal draw, as Cilic is returning from injury and is a lot better than his current ranking suggests. Cilic has also looked decent in his tune-up appearances, while Marozsan hasn’t played inspiring tennis early in this young season. That said, I think there’s value in backing Cilic in this spot. He has a few more weapons than Marozsan does, with a booming serve and a powerful, flat forehand being incredibly dangerous. That should serve him well in this match, especially considering Marozsan can easily run out of gas late.Bet: Cilic ML (+110)
Dane Sweeny vs. Francisco Cerundolo
This is less of a play on Sweeny and more of a fade of Cerundolo. You’d just be hard pressed to find somebody that is playing as poorly as Cerundolo right now, as he lost all three of the matches he played leading up to this event. Those losses didn’t come against great opponents either, and Cerundolo didn’t win a single set. He’s just really lacking in confidence at the moment, and he’s now facing a local that was able to get himself through qualifying. That means that Sweeny will have the crowd in his corner, plus the benefit of having played on these courts already. That makes it hard not to like Sweeny to win a good number of games in this match. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he wins it outright.Bet: Sweeny Over 17.5 Games Won (-128)
Borna Coric vs. Frances Tiafoe
Coric has beaten Tiafoe in a best-of-five match before, as he defeated him in a five-set match in the 2018 Davis Cup. Coric also happens to be catching Tiafoe at the right time, as the American has lost three matches in a row. All three of those matches came against uninspiring competition, and Tiafoe didn’t win a set in any of them. So, the American is clearly lacking in form right now, and Coric isn’t the guy you want to face under those circumstances. Coric has a very complete game and is an extremely competitive player. He’s going to view this as an opportunity to make a splash, so I’m taking a chance on him to win outright — especially after an impressive win over Tallon Griekspoor in the United Cup a few weeks ago.Bet: Coric ML (+160 - 0.5 units)
Magda Linette vs. Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki is currently ranked outside the Top 200, but that’s because she took two years off. She’s a former Australian Open champion and has been one of the best players in the women’s game throughout her career. Considering she’s still in great shape, it’s only a matter of time before she gets back to the top. Wozniacki also happens to be 2-0 in two career meetings with Linette, and both of those matches were blowouts in hard-court events. On top of that, Linette is just 2-9 in singles action since the start of October. All of this makes Wozniacki the easy call here. She’s a bigger and better version of her opponent.Bet: Wozniacki ML (-145)
