Have you bet on Federer or Nadal to win the Australian Open but realise that you might not make much if they do? Then you might want to look at round 2. This year the fight is most definitely on, and with the second round about to kick off, there are a number of bets that could prove to be much more rewarding.
For a start, consider Marcos Baghdatis. OK, as an overall tournament winner he’s definitely too much of a gamble, however, in his next match, when he comes up against Juan Martín Del Potro, he could be a bit of a money earner. Why? Well he’s got past the second round five times out of the last six Australian Open tournaments, and although he just managed to beat unseeded Grega Zemlja in their last 5 set match, he has the majority, if not all of the crowd behind him giving him that much needed confidence that he doesn’t receive during the other Grand Slams, therefore he might just surprise us! And what about Del Potro? The past year’s been tough for him due to a wrist injury and he didn’t sail through his match against Sela, whom he beat 7-6, 6-4, 6-4, so, although it could be close, Baghdatis might be the one to back.
Now another bet that is a more of a sure thing is Robin Soderling when he comes up against Gilles Muller. Although Soderling does not actually have a good Australian Open record, he certainly appears to have pulled himself together over the past eighteen months. He’s managed to reach the French Open finals in the past two years and last year he won the Paris Masters, the biggest title of his career. Although he has changed his coach, which may slightly affect his consistency, he certainly doesn’t seem to have much to worry about when it comes to his opponent. Currently ranked at 122, Muller really isn’t one that gives us much confidence. He’s not managed to get beyond the third round of any Grand Slam, apart from the US Open in 2008 where he managed to reach the quarter finals, so it’s hard not to see Soderling acing this one.
One player that is catching our eye in this tournament is unseeded Lukasz Kubot, the Polish player that managed to beat the 18th seeded US player, Querrey, in 5 sets 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6 in the first round. If he’s not exhausted from his previous match then when he comes up against Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round, it’s likely he’ll want to prove the last one wasn’t a fluke and be ready to put up a fight. And it could well be a big fight. Stakhovsky sailed through his last match and managed to get through to the third round at the US Open last year. Even so, Kubot definitely seems to be thriving on a determination unseen so far and he could have enough to go one step further than the second round.
Finally, although we all love to back Roger Federer and he's always a popular bet to win the tournament, a shock exit could be imminent. He is due to meet French unseeded player Gilles Simon who, after being unable to perform at his best over the past couple years due to a knee injury, has recently shown that he has regained his form by winning his eighth title after defeating Victor Troicki in the final of this year’s Sydney International. With this in mind, and the fact that he has beaten Federer twice before any knee troubles arose, backing Simon, although a long shot, could be worth a small bet.
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