Australian Open title pick
The Aussie Open is underway and Pam Maldonado has your pick for the title game matchup as well as the overall winner. Make sure to stay until the end for her best bet of the tournament.
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Video Transcript
PAMELA MALDONADO: Well, welcome to the Yahoo Sportsbook Daily. It is Tuesday, January 18. I am your gambling guide Pam Maldonado bringing you my best bet for the 2022 Australian Open. That's right, I'm looking at tennis. Straying away from PGA for this week, and we are starting to wind down from the NFL. So instead, I'm looking at the men's side of the draw for the Australian Open.
World number one Novak Djokovic, he is not in the mix. As an unvaccinated player entering Australia and after days of a legal battle-- you might have seen it all over Twitter-- Djokovic's visa was, in fact, cancelled, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament where he holds nine titles, including winning the last three straight. So nope, Djokovic is not in the field to defend his title this time around.
So that leaves the big question, who's going to win this year? The first round is already underway, but you can still buy futures to get up until the start of the quarterfinal.
At the time of recording of Monday night, world number two Daniil Medvedev is set as the plus 150 favorite. And I am telling you right now, stop what you were doing. Stop listening to this podcast and go put your money on Medvedev at 1 and 1/2 to 1.
There are many big names in the field absolutely, including a member of the big three, Rafael Nadal. However, Medvedev, he does have the most favorable path to the final.
If you do love Djokovic's game, then you will love Medvedev. He's basically a taller version of the Joker with a strong baseline game and one hell of a reach. Nothing gets past him.
Just how simple is Medvedev's quarter? There is a prop for it. I would not be surprised if he did not drop a set en route to the final. You can also wager on Medvedev to reach the final at minus 140 odds, which has ticked up from the minus 125 opening line, absolutely still worth a grab.
If I do like Medy to reach the final, then who is he going to face? That's definitely the big question. With Djokovic out, that opens up the door for the most likely candidate to be 2021 Gold Olympic winner Alexander Zverev. The 6 foot 6 German is 2 and 1/2 to win the Australian Open. And I know that there are so many great players at the top of the draw, even without Djokovic, including up-and-coming Spain phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz and, of course, Rafa Nadal. But, you know, Zverev, he has one hell of a massive serve, and he has an aggressive baseline game, playing some of the best tennis that he has played over the last year.
You can find odds to predict the exact final with Zverev versus Medvedev at plus 275. However, I am sticking with my best, most confident, and I am rolling with Medvedev to reach the final at minus 140. I know that it is a bit juiced, but I promise you, it is warranted. And I'm also rolling with Medvedev plus 150 to win the 2022 Australian Open. I guarantee that he has the highest chance of success based off of his draw, so I'm telling you right now, go fire away.
You can follow me on Twitter over @PamelaM35, and do make sure you follow all of our content over at the Yahoo Sportsbook.
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Nick Bromberg will be back tomorrow on the "Yahoo Sportsbook Daily," but until then, good bye, and good luck with your bets.