A new year is just around the corner and that means the Australian Open, which is the first Grand Slam of the 2024 campaign, is fast approaching.

The dust has settled on the 2023 season on both the ATP and WTA Tour’s and the new campaign begins Down Under with a host of smaller events before the world's elite head to Melbourne.

In the men's event, all eyes will be on Novak Djokovic, who is in pursuit of an 11th Australian Open title, while the women's competition has a more open feel to it as Aryna Sabalenka looks to defend her title.

Tip 1 - Carlos Alcaraz to win Australian Open Men @ 3/1

It is a bold move to oppose Djokovic in any Grand Slam event, let alone his beloved Australian Open, but there could be value elsewhere in the men's outright betting.

The Serbian hoovered up three of the four majors on offer last year, finishing runner-up in the other at Wimbledon, and he is on a 28-match unbeaten run at the Australian Open, having won the tournament in 2019, 2020 and 2021 before missing the event last year.

But last season Djokovic did not have to contend with the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz, who was world number one ahead of the season's opening Grand Slam but missed out due to a leg injury.

Since then, Alcaraz has added another Grand Slam title to his repertoire, defeating Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final last season.

The Spaniard already has a hard-court title to his name, having won the US Open back in 2022, and he is a significantly better player than when reaching the third round in Melbourne two years ago.

Djokovic is the man to beat but Alcaraz is the most likely to topple him and he looks the value selection.

Tip 2 - Jannik Sinner to win Australian Open Men @ 6/1

It is hard to look past the top two when selecting a winner for the men's Australian Open but Italian Jannik Sinner is a dark horse.

Sinner showed he can mix it with the very best when beating Djokovic twice back in November in the ATP World Finals and the Davis Cup.

He showed signs of improvement in the back end of 2023, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, and he looks ready to go further than his best run of the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

Tip 3 - Aryna Sabalenka to win Australian Open Women @ 4/1

While Djokovic dominates the men's equivalent, there has been less of a monopoly in the Australian Open women's competition with four different winners in the last four years..

Sabalenka was, however, the most likely to come out on top, beating Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the 2022 final and she could defend her title.

At her best, world number Iga Swiatek can beat anyone but she is not at her best on the hard courts, having exited both the Australian Open and the US Open in the fourth round last season.

She showed glimpses of her quality in the WTA Finals at the end of the 2023 season but she rarely shines in Australia and is worth taking on.

The 2023 season was one to remember for Sabalenka, who achieved her best finish in each of the four Grand Slams during the campaign.

After winning the Australian Open, she was a semi-finalist at both the French Open and Wimbledon before finishing as runner-up at the US Open.

She won 35 of her 44 matches on the hard courts in 2023 and it would be no surprise if she was the pick of the bunch in the women's tournament once again.

Tip 4 - Jessica Pegula to win Australian Open Women @ 10/1

With Swiatek's form on the hard courts coming under scrutiny, it is an open draw in the Australian Open and that gives players further down the rankings the opportunity to go deep.

One player who could capitalise is American ace Jessica Pegula, who was one of the most consistent performers on the WTA tour in 2023, having reached the quarter-finals in both the Australian Open and at Wimbledon.

It means she has now reached the last eight of all four of the Grand Slams but it is at the Australian Open where she has enjoyed the most success, reaching that stage in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

She loves the hard courts and has a lot of experience behind her heading to Melbourne this time around, so do not be surprised if she emerges as a surprise title contender.

For the full range of odds, check out our dedicated Australian Open betting page.

Monday marks the start of the first Grand Slam of the season in tennis with the Australian Open set to get underway in Melbourne.

The best men's and women's players in the world have been Down Under for the last week or so preparing for the major and as the hard-court Grand Slam edges closer, here are the best outright and match bets for week one.

Tip 1 - Jannik Sinner to win the Australian Open @ 6/1

Novak Djokovic is the undisputed king of the Australian Open, having won the Melbourne major for a record 10th time last season.

The Serbian went on to win a total of three Grand Slams in 2023, making the final of the other.

He is most certainly still the man to beat Down Under but, from a value perspective, punters should look further down the betting and consider Jannik Sinner.

Sinner has been stationed in Djokovic's half of the Australian Open draw but that should not faze him too much given the Italian beat the Serbian in both the Davis Cup and ATP World Tour Finals at the end of 2023.

Indeed, Sinner finished last season strongly and the campaign also featured his best ever run in a Grand Slam as he made the Wimbledon semi-finals.

The draw has also been relatively kind to Sinner despite Djokovic being a potential semi-final opponent with the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Karen Khachanov the strongest players he could play before the quarter-finals.

In the last eight, he could end up facing Andrey Rublev but that should also not be too much of a problem given Sinner has won four of the six meetings between them.

Carlos Alcaraz will also be determined to cause a stir Down Under after missing the Australian Open last season and he is another to keep an eye on.

The Spaniard has two Grand Slam titles to his name, including a hard-court major in the form of the 2022 US Open.

He is expected to be Djokovic's main contender for the crown but when it comes to value bets, Sinner is the standout option.

Tips 2 - Aryna Sabalenka to win the Australian Open Women @ 5/1

The women's Australian Open is typically more open than the men's event with the last four runnings having produced four different winners.

Aryna Sabalenka came out on top last year and she could be a worthwhile bet to defend her title in Melbourne.

Sabalenka showed character to power past Elena Rybakina in the 2023 final and that was the start of a brilliant season.

Sabalenka also made the last four at both the French Open and Wimbledon before finishing as runner-up at the US Open.

It is on the hard courts that she is particularly dangerous, having won 35 of her 44 matches on that surface last term.

And she looks a better bet than market favourite Iga Swiatek, who exited the Australian Open in the fourth round last season and has struggled on the hard courts in recent seasons.

Tips 3 - Sebastian Ofner to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis @ 3/4 There are some close contests on the cards in the first week of the Australian Open and Sebastian Ofner is a good bet to defeat home talent Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Australian Kokkinakis will have the crowd on his side in Melbourne but that has not helped him recently with the 27-year-old having lost his opening matches at both the Brisbane International and Adelaide International.

Kokkinakis trumps Ofner when it comes to experience of this major but he has still never gone beyond the second round and his Austrian opponent is a rising star.

Ofner went from 193rd in the world at the end of the 2022 season to 43rd at the end of last year and he showed his class on the Australian hard courts with a 6-4 6-2 win over Denis Shapovalov in the round of 32 at the ASB Classic earlier this month.

He exited that tournament in the last 16 but he can bounce back with victory in his first ever first-round match at the Australian Open.

More seeded players could be in trouble on day two of Wimbledon with a couple of clay-court specialists on the men’s side vulnerable to early exits.

The British contingent could also see their number reduced with Harriet Dart facing a tough test from Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan while her compatriot Xinyu Wang will need to be at her best when up against in-form Viktoriya Tomova.

Tip 1 - Roman Safiullin to beat Francisco Cerundolo @ 4/5

Francisco Cerundolo looks like he could be an early casualty among the men’s seeds given he has shown no form whatsoever on grass before.

The Argentinean clay-court specialist has been ranked inside the top-20 in the world a couple of times in the last year and gave Novak Djokovic a good game in the fourth round of the French Open.

Roman Safiullin, meanwhile, has hovered between 44 and 39 in the world since his big jump into the world’s top-50 at last year’s Wimbledon, when he reached the quarter-finals.

He beat two seeded players during that epic run, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Denis Shapolovalov.

His victory over the Canadian in round four owed a little to the former Wimbledon semi-finalists’ knee injury flaring up, but a quarter-final run on his first visit to SW19 could be the platform for further progress this year.

Safiullin’s powerful groundstrokes and easy movement on grass should give him the edge over the Buenos Aires baseliner, who lost in the first round of the Queen’s Club and Eastbourne grass events.

Tip 2 - Constant Lestienne to beat Lorenzo Musetti @ 11/2

This would be a shock given Lorenzo Musetti is ranked significantly higher at No.25 than Constant Lestienne at No.92.

Musetti also has a better recent record on grass, with a 7-2 match record this season compared to Lestienne's 3-2.

But a closer inspection of those results suggests there is nothing too special about the Italian’s achievements on turf this year.

He beat qualifier Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two tight tie-break sets at Stuttgart and then a local journeyman in round two before coming up against third-seed Alexander Bublik.

Bublik started strongly and went a set up before his serve completely collapsed and he withdrew after attempting to serve underarm.

Musetti then went out in straight sets, taking only four games, against the first decent grass-courter he faced — Matteo Berrettini.

He upset Alex De Minaur early on at Queen’s just a few days after the Australian had won in the Netherlands, but lost in straight sets to the next seed he faced.

Musetti’s serve is inconsistent and his single-handed backhand will be targeted by Lestienne, who is experienced enough to hang in there and let Musetti beat himself by going for too many outrageous winners.

Tip 3 - Bai Zhuoxuan to beat Harriet Dart @ 31/20

Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan has a consistent game that could prove problematic for British number two Harriet Dart on Tuesday.

Last year, the 21-year-old turned up at Wimbledon ready to play after coming through qualifying and beat Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure 7-6, 6-1 in round one.

She then lost to eventual runner-up Ons Jabeur in straight sets, but should have benefitted from the experience and appears ready to win main draw matches again.

Dart, who is ranked five places below her opponent, beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin at Eastbourne last week, but she was subsequently blown away by Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals and has found wins hard to come by at Wimbledon in the past.

In 2023, she suffered a disappointing early defeat to France's Diane Parry in three sets in what was her third opening-round exit at the All-England Club.

Bai beat Zarina Diyas, who reached the fourth round at SW19 twice before injury interrupted her career, in the final round of qualifying and may prove too solid for Dart to dismiss.

Tip 4 - Viktoriya Tomova to beat Xinyu Wang @ 13/10

Viktoriya Tomova’s world ranking has risen from 86 when the direct entries to Wimbledon were announced at the end of May to 48 on the eve of the tournament.

The Bulgarian reached the final of a WTA 125 event in Valencia on clay before coming through qualifying to make it to the semi-finals at the Bad Homburg Open on grass last week.

Tomova is bang in form and no stranger to causing an upset at Wimbledon either after defeating 27th seed Bernarda Pera in the first round last year.

She will seek revenge against the Chinese number three, who beat her in the French Open second round last month.

Last week, Xinyu Wang lost in the first round at Eastbourne to sixth seed Daria Kasatkina amid some serious struggles on her serve.

She was broken seven times in the match and got less than half of her first serves in.

Any repeat of that dreadful display would make her vulnerable to the in-form Tomova this week.

The second Grand Slam of the season takes the players to Paris for the French Open, where Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek will be hoping to successfully defend their crowns.

Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, claimed his third French Open title last season but his recent form has been patchy and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have emerged as serious threats to his dominance on the ATP Tour.

Throw in 14-time Roland Garros hero Rafael Nadal and in-form pair Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas and it looks like an open year with a compelling case able to be made for many.

There are fewer contenders queuing up to challenge Swiatek’s superiority in the women’s draw, with the Polish phenomenon already chasing a fourth clay-court major despite still being only 22 years of age.

Swiatek, having won warm-up tournaments in Madrid and Rome, looks a cut above the rest of the field and is likely to take a good deal of stopping.

French Open outright betting tips

Tip 1 – Alexander Zverev to win @ 13/2

Tip 2 – Stefanos Tsitsipas to win @ 7/1

Tip 3 – Iga Swiatek to win @ 4/6

Tip 4 – Qinwen Zheng each-way @ 30/1

Tip 1 – Alexander Zverev to win @ 13/2

With Djokovic yet to win a title this season and Alcaraz and Sinner having both had their preparations disrupted by recent injuries, there are reasons to swim against the tide.

Djokovic is the defending champion and a 24-time Grand Slam winner, although only three of those successes have come in Paris and he has suffered defeats to Luca Nardi, Casper Ruud and Alejandro Tabilo in his three events prior to his latest start at the Geneva Open.

Zverev is in the Serb’s half of the draw and, despite being handed a horror first-round showdown with 14-time French Open champion Nadal, the German looks the player to focus on.

Zverev has made the semi-finals at Roland Garros in each of the last three seasons and goes into this year’s competition in arguably even better touch, having claimed a Masters 1000 title in Rome last time out.

That means Zverev has lost only three of his 13 matches in this clay-court season and it should be sooner rather than later when the 2020 US Open runner-up makes his Grand Slam breakthrough.

An opening-round showdown with Nadal, in what is expected to be the Spaniard’s farewell French Open, looks daunting. But given the standard Nadal has been producing on court, it is tough to see how he can live with a legitimate title contender such as Zverev.

From there, the German would be full of confidence and the draw could even open up further in Zverev’s favour.

Tip 2 – Stefanos Tsitsipas to win @ 7/1

The other outright interest worth having is Tsitsipas, who may have the beating of Alcaraz and Sinner in the bottom half of the draw with that pair having had to withdraw from recent warm-up events due to injury.

Tsitsipas tends to come into his own during the clay-court campaign and that has been the case again this season, with the Greek star winning the Monte Carlo Masters in April before finishing a valiant runner-up to Ruud in his follow-up event in Barcelona.

Tsitsipas was runner-up to Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2021, having led by two sets, and he has also made the last four and last eight there in the last four years, highlighting his love for the Parisian slow courts.

The Athens ace has lost only three of his 16 clay-court matches this season and is a big-game player who could, with some luck along the way, experienced a first taste of Grand Slam glory.

Tip 3 – Iga Swiatek to win @ 4/6

It is virtually impossible to oppose Swiatek in her pursuit of a third straight French Open crown and a fourth in five years, especially as she avoids her fiercest rivals Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina until the final.

The Polish star is utterly dominant when operating on her beloved slow terrain and that has been evident this season too, with Swiatek having claimed back-to-back titles in Madrid and Rome.

In the Italian capital last time out, Swiatek didn’t drop a single set in her six singles matches and that included accounting for world number three Cori Gauff and second seed Sabalenka.

Having lost only two of her last 26 matches, it is tough to see how anyone can lay a glove on Swiatek at Roland Garros and she is rightly a warm odds-on favourite.

Tip 4 – Qinwen Zheng each-way @ 30/1

While Swiatek should sail through the top half of the draw, there is potential for a surprise finalist and, just as she did at the Australian Open in January, Qinwen Zheng could provide that.

Zheng would have learned plenty from her runner-up effort to Sabalenka in Melbourne and her recent run to the quarter-finals in Rome shows she is a decent clay-court operator, too.

The 21-year-old made the fourth round of the French Open on her tournament debut two years ago and, being a far more complete player these days, she could outrun her odds with what looks a pretty favourable early draw.

The second week of the Australian Open in Melbourne features the start of the quarter-finals and we have picked out three matches across the men's and women's competitions.

The fourth round takes place on Monday in Australia with the likes of Cameron Norrie and Carlos Alcaraz involved but some players are already preparing for the last eight.

In action on Tuesday are the likes of Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who are looking to book their spot in the semi-finals, and here is a pick of the bets for the week ahead in the Australian Open.

Tip 1 - Jannik Sinner to win 3-0 v Andrey Rublev @ 31/20

Jannik Sinner has been earmarked as a dark horse at this year's Australian Open and he did not disappoint in the first week of the Grand Slam.

Sinner has won each of his opening four matches in Melbourne without dropping a set, taking down 26th seed Sebastian Baez and 15th seed Karen Khachanov in the last two rounds.

Things will go up a gear for the Italian on Tuesday when he clashes with fifth seed Andrey Rublev but he should still run out a comfortable winner.

Sinner has won four of his six previous meetings with Rublev, prevailing in two of their three matches on the hard courts.

And Rublev could be struggling with fatigue heading into this contest, having been pushed to five sets, including two tiebreaks, by Alex De Minaur last time out.

Tip 2 - Over 3.5 sets in Novak Djokovic v Taylor Fritz @ 10/11

Novak Djokovic remains the one to beat in the men's Australian Open this year and he can ease into the Australian Open semi-finals at the expense of Taylor Fritz.

Djokovic lost only three games in his 3-0 hammering of Adrian Mannarino last time out in the fourth round and he shows no signs of waning Down Under.

Fritz is seeded 12th and saw off Stefanos Tsitsipas last time out, though, and Djokovic may not have things all his own way.

The super Serbian dropped sets against Dino Prizmic and Alexei Popyrin earlier in the Grand Slam and with that in mind, punters should consider a bet on over 3.5 sets in this quarter-final tussle.

That allows for a 3-1 win to Djokovic but also a potential five-set thriller if Fritz can take things up a gear.

Tip 3 - Under 18.5 games in Barbora Krejcikova v Aryna Sabalenka @ 7/5

Iga Swiatek, the women's top seed at the Australian Open, has crashed out and that could open the door for Aryna Sabalenka to make her mark in Melbourne once again.

Sabalenka is the women's defending champion at the Australian Open and she looks like a woman on a mission this month.

Sabalenka has won all four of her matches in the Grand Slam in straight sets, having recorded her first double-bagel of the year against Lesia Tsurenko in the third round.

Overall, Sabalenka has dropped a mere 11 games in Melbourne and her match with Krejcikova is worth backing to feature under 18.5 games on Tuesday.

Tip 4 - Coco Gauff -5.5 games v Marta Kostyuk @ 7/10

Coco Gauff made her Grand Slam breakthrough at the US Open last year, handling the weight of expectation brilliantly to take the title at Flushing Meadows.

But that has cranked up the pressure on the 19-year-old American heading into the Australian Open, as she looks to do the hard-court double.

It has been a case of so far, so good for Gauff in Melbourne, though, with the teenager having won all four of her matches 2-0.

The tournament's fourth seed has beaten Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Caroline Dolehide, Alycia Parks and Magdalena Frech Down Under and, although none of those players were seeded, neither is her next opponent Marta Kostyuk.

Gauff warmed up for the Australian Open this month by winning the ASB Classic, recovering from a set down to beat Elina Svitolina in the final, and she should be comfortable against her Ukrainian counterpart.

Kostyuk was a 6-2 6-1 winner over Maria Timofeeva last time out but dropped sets in each of her three matches beforehand at the Australian Open and Gauff is worth selecting at -5.5 games on the match handicap.