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.

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.