Ricky Dimon
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The Australian Open continues on Monday, when Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka are among those in action on the women’s side. In the men’s draw, a whole host of blockbuster first-round matchups include Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Matteo Berrettini.
Let’s take a look at the best bets to be made on the Day 2 schedule for the season’s first Grand Slam.
Parlay: Storm Hunter over Sara Errani and Ben Shelton over Roberto Bautista Agut (-107)
Whenever you have an opportunity to fade Sara Errani, you simply have to do it. There won’t be many more chances to do so in her career, but at least we have one here. Errani is 36 years old, is outside the top 100 (#101) and has won a grand total of four main-draw matches at major tournaments since the summer of 2017. She owns a poor 36-44 on outdoor hard courts dating back to 2019. Storm Hunter will enjoy home-court advantage in Australia and also has momentum, having successfully qualified for the Aussie Open main draw with a trio of victories. As for Ben Shelton vs. Roberto Bautista Agut, it should be more routine on the court than it looks on paper. Shelton loves the big stage; he reached the AO quarters and the U.S. Open semis in 2023. At 35 years old and with a ranking of 51st, RBA is a shadow of his former self. Count on the 21-year-old American taking care of business.
Taro Daniel over Chris Eubanks (-130)
Chris Eubanks’ rise was one of the best stories of the 2023 tennis season. The former Georgia Tech standout broke into the top 100 for the first time at the Miami Masters in March and then made a dream run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in addition to capturing his first ATP title on the grass courts of Mallorca. Somewhat understandably, however, Eubanks has been unable to sustain such sudden success. The 27-year-old has not won back-to-back matches since July in his hometown of Atlanta. He wrapped up last season losing four matches in a row and then dropped in 2024 opener to Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in the Auckland first round. Eubanks appeared to suffer from a glute injury in that contest, as well. In other words, there isn’t anything to like about the American’s form heading into Melbourne. It’s a much different story for Taro Daniel, who just finished runner-up in Auckland. The Japanese should really be a bigger favorite in this one.
Bernarda Pera +5.5 games over Mirra Andreeva (-115)
Mirra Andreva is a future star on the WTA Tour. She is actually quite a big name already, but I’m not going to put my eggs in the basket of a 16-year-old who has never played at the Aussie Open as a professional. Andreeva will probably win this match, but I expect some nerves to be present on Monday and it’s hard to see her completely dominating a well-respected veteran like Bernarda Pera. The 29-year-old American comes in at #69 in the rankings (just 22 spots behind her opponent) and she played well this past week in Adelaide, beating Paula Badosa in round 1 before taking a set off world #5 Jessica Pegula. Andreeva lost to Linda Noskova in straight sets in the Brisbane quarterfinals earlier this month, so it’s not like the Russian is on fire. I don’t think I would sprinkle any on Pera’s money line, but 5.5 games should be more than enough.
