Finals in men’s tennis do not get much better than this as world number plays world number two to take the first Grand Slam of 2019. For Rafa Nadal, victory would take him to 18 slams, just two behind Federer’s record whilst Djokovic is looking to win his 15th.

Due to injury and dips in form for both players, surprisingly this will be the first time the pair clash in a hard court major in six years – the last time being at the US Open in 2013. However, the two did face each other just six months ago at Wimbledon where they played out an epic 5-set match that Djokovic edged 6-4 3-6 7-6 3-6 10-8.

As mentioned in my pre-tournament preview, Rafael Nadal was certainly a juicy price at 9/1 but I simply couldn’t place my faith in his body lasting the course. After all, he has only completed one hard court tournament of his last 17. But his body has held up to the task, and a fit Nadal is formidable; the last player I want to see going up against the man I backed before a ball was hit.   

That’s why I am happy to sit on my 3pt bet on Djokovic at 5/4 and not reinvest as this one really could go either way. The bookies give the Serbian the slight edge and I’d say they’ve priced it up correctly.

Rafa Nadal has played four finals in Melbourne, three of these were against Federer or Djokovic. All three went to 5 sets. The one time Novak Djokovic faced one of the other ‘big 3’ in an Australian Open final? 5 sets. Oh and when these two met at Wimbledon? 5 sets. That’s why the 12/5 on this final going all the way is where my money is going. It promises to be a belter.

5 sets - 3pts @ 12/5