This week, Sydney plays host to two events as both the women and men have a tournament here this week. There are a number of high quality players in both fields and I'm going to have a quick look at who the contenders for the titles are. With just a week to go to the first Grand Slam of the year players will be looking to fine tune their games to try and get themselves into form.
Starting with the men's draw and the top seed for the event is John Isner who makes his debut on the tour this season. He faces some tricky matches and if he is to make a run here he will need to be on his game. Isner can often disappoint and I really think he has to show us what he is made of this year in the big events or else he could find himself slipping away from the top of the game. I like his chances this week and I expect him to be in the semi finals at least where he could face an interesting match with Fernando Verdasco. We should see a great match between Gilles Simon and Bernard Tomic early on. I reckon Tomic will have a good run in Australia but I don't think he will lift any titles. Andreas Seppi is a consistent player who is improving all the time and I think he will be tough to beat this week. I think the man to watch this week could be Grigor Dimitrov. I tipped him to have a good season a few weeks back and he started well last week and I think he will continue his form this week with another good run. I think John Isner will lift the crown this week and it could be Dimitrov that he defeats in the final. Isner is 5/1 for the title and that is as good a bet you will get all season. Dimitrov is 13/2 which could also be a very rewarding bets. Verdasco was on form last week in the Hopman Cup and if he carries that momentum over then the 12/1 price on him now could be worth a bet. My money is on the big serving American though.
In the women's event Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed and after winning last week will be full of confidence. She has the sort of draw that will suit her and I fancy her to at least make the semi finals. The dangers in her section could be Jelena Jankovic and Nadia Petrova but I think she'll get past both. Youngster Christina McHale has been drawn against Na Li in round one and that is a potential upset. With Madison Keys and Sam Stosur also in that section, I don't see Na Li contending the crown this week despite her win last week. That being said if she hits top form she will be hard to beat. Sara Errani is a possible dark horse here as she looks to build on an impressive 2012 season. She's got a match with Maria Kirilenko to deal with early on and she might struggle with that. In the bottom section of this draw we have a very interesting match between Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber to look forward to. If both make the third round then they will meet and I think the winner of the event might just be in that match. Wozniacki is as big as 8/1 to win and that price could drop significantly once she starts winning her matches. I think she's in for a great year but I think she will fall just short this week. Kerber is 4/1 and that is very tempting despite her early loss last week. If you fancy Stosur you can get 13/2 and Na Li goes at 5/1. The likely winner for me is the top seed Radwanska. I could only see Kerber beating her unless Stosur shows us something different. Radwanska is as high as 2/1 and that's where my money lies this week.
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