A lot of the early action has come on Novak here, which isn’t too surprising given the even starting odds. While I think the general public does underrate Medvedev, I’m definitely not looking past Novak to win his 9th Australian Open.
After his Australian Open triumph last year, things just didn’t go the Djoker’s way for the rest of the campaign. Whether it was the media or Nick Kyrgios taking shots, getting embarrassed by Nadal at the French Open final or a bizarre suspension at the US Open, it just wasn’t his year.
Now, he finally gets a chance to put things right on the biggest stage at his favourite grand slam. This is a huge match for Novak and I think he uses every bit of his talent and experience to get the job done.
Medvedev just hasn’t done it consistently at Grand Slam level, previously making just one Final appearance. He has taken 3 of the last 4 matches against Novak, but grand slam men’s tennis is a different beast.
It’s only a matter of time before he claims his maiden grand slam, but I’ve still got Novak rated as the better player for now. Novak has gone 8-0 in his past Aus Open Finals, most of which were against better opponents than the current version of Medvedev. Getting $1.85 for the outright win, I’m banking on him making it 9 straight here.