Could towering Canadian Raonic priced at 50.00 stand tall at the Australian Open?

LONDON. Novak Djokovic was the player of the year in 2011 by some distance, winning three of four Grand Slams.

The Serb is the favourite to win back to back titles in Melbourne at 2.30 in odds with online bookmaker Betclic while Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are priced at 5.00, 6.00 and 7.00 respectively. Could Canadian giant Milos Raoic challenge them priced at 50.00?

Will Djokovic be dominant once more or will another player from the “big 4” steal the show? Or will we see an outsider marching through in Melbourne like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008) and Marcos Baghdatis (2006) who were surprise finalists in recent years.

We checked with Simon Hogg, tennis trader and expert at Betclic:

Simon, Djokovic won his second Australian Open title last year. Will he start the new season with another triumph?

“The odds suggest he will. He was simply the most outstanding player of last year. The Serb was playing tennis from a different planet on a frighteningly consistent basis. Djokovic has already won the tournament twice and it would be a huge surprise to me if he doesn’t complete the hat-trick this time round. Quite simply, having watched him dismantle Murray, Federer and particularly Nadal with apparent ease, I don’t see who can beat him.”

Is he capable of winning all 4 Grand Slams this year, having won 3 last season?

“This is a massive ask but by no means impossible providing he remains fit over what will be a very gruelling ‘Olympic’ year. If Djokovic manages his schedule carefully, he can play at a level required to dominate on all surfaces in the ‘major’ tournaments, especially considering the physical concerns of his main rivals.”

Andy Murray reached the final last year. Is he up for it this time with Ivan Lendl as new coach?

“The Scot has reached the final of this event twice but is yet to take a set having been dismantled by both Federer and Djokovic in recent years. No disgrace in this but the big concern is that while he is more than capable of beating these top players in tour events, the added pressure of a Grand Slam environment and desperate British media, seem to take their toll on a man who without question has the talent to win the greatest prizes of all. Perhaps Lendl will be the man who holds the key to Murray’s psyche, as this appears to be his major flaw.”

How is the form for Federer?

“The Swiss legend was back to his imperious best when winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London last year but there are question marks about his fitness having withdrawn, for only the second time in his long, illustrious career,  from the ATP Doha event a couple of weeks ago. If the back spasms can be contained then Federer will almost certainly be the main threat to Djokovic, with the pair highly likely to meet in what could be another mesmerising final.”

And Nadal, how is he looking?

“So often the favourite, the Spaniard comes into this tournament without the usual pressure and expectation and it will be interesting to see how he responds. Rafa’s physical problems are well documented and time may well have caught up with the 10 time Grand Slam winner but it would be foolish to right him off and highly surprising if he wasn’t to make at least the semi-final. “

Any outsider to flag for?

“It is very hard to look beyond the ‘big 4’ and possibly Del Potro who has the weapons to beat anyone on his day. Big serving Canadian Milos Raonic could be a dark horse having won a recent tournament in Chennai without getting broke.”

The Giant Canadian Raonic, 23^rd seed and priced at 50 times the money with Betclic to win the tournament, can face Andy Roddick or Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt in the third round before a potential fourth-round clash with Djokovic.

This is the first major since the 2005 French Open where Nadal and Federer have been drawn in the same half.

Title winner odds Australian Open 2012:
Novak Djokovic   2,25
Roger Federer   5,00
Andy Murray   6,00
Rafael Nadal   7,00
Juan Martin Del Potro   16,00
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga   16,00
Tomas Berdych   40,00
David Ferrer   50,00
Milos Raonic   50,00
Bernard Tomic   75,00
Gael Monfils   100,00
Gilles Simon   100,00
Janko Tipsarevic   100,00
John Isner   100,00
Mardy Fish   100,00
Andy Roddick   150,00
Fernando Verdasco   150,00
Richard Gasquet   150,00
Alexandr Dolgopolov   150,00
Marcos Baghdatis   150,00
Feliciano Lopez   200,00
David Nalbandian   200,00
Fernando Gonzalez   200,00
Ivan Ljubicic   200,00
Ivo Karlovic   200,00
Jurgen Melzer   200,00
Nikolay Davydenko   200,00
Philipp Kohlschreiber   200,00
Radek Stepanek   200,00
Stanislas Wawrinka   200,00
Grigor Dimitrov   200,00
Ernests Gulbis   250,00
Lleyton Hewitt   250,00
Mikhail Youzhny   250,00
Nicolas Almagro   250,00
Kei Nishikori   250,00

For all odds go to Betclic