Two plays in the outright market for the Women's Australian Open.
It seems a while now since we were witnessing the drama of the US Open final between Serena Willams and Naomi Osaka. The former lost her head, racking up code violations for fun and took away a lot of Osaka’s glory, which was a real shame.
Osaka played brilliantly that day and outplayed Serena all ends up - she also won me a fair few quid. I had backed her for the remaining three 2018 grand slams at big prices back in March, directly after she beat Serena so convincingly in Miami. After she crashed out in the 3rd round in both the French and Wimbledon I didn’t hold a great deal of hope going to Flushing Meadows, but I was pleasantly surprised and the way she played and carried herself throughout the tournament was a breath of fresh air. She will be a star for years to come.
At 14/1, Osaka is a great price. This is someone who has beaten Serena, the greatest women tennis player of all time, in straight sets the two times they have met. Not many can match her from the baseline.
My second bet on the outright market is Angelique Kerber. Back in 2016 she won the Australian Open, the US Open and finished the year as world number one. She was threatening to be the next dominant force in women’s tennis. However, she really struggled in 2017 for one reason or another and whimpered out of the top 20.
So, it was great to see her resurgence last season as she looked to have really found her rhythm again. Winning Wimbledon was confirmation that the German really is back and she is currently playing as good as she ever has done. She is rightfully second favourite and 8/1 is a juicy price. Looking at the draw, I believe she also has the easiest route to the semi-finals and I’ll be taking the 11/4 on her winning her quarter.
