Second-round action at the Australian Open gets underway on Wednesday, when Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu take the court. I’m also going right back to the well with Frances Tiafoe, who helped cash a parlay for me on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the best bets to be made on the Day 4 schedule at Melbourne Park.
Parlay: Frances Tiafoe ML over Francisco Comesana and Cameron Norrie ML over Emilio Nava (-106)
Tiafoe is simply a different player at Grand Slams than he is at smaller tournaments. The American is a 2-time U.S. Open semifinals and he reached the quarterfinals of the Aussie Open in 2019. He looked very good in a straight-set rout of Jason Kubler on Sunday. Comesana would have a chance against Tiafoe on clay, but the Argentine is unlikely to offer much resistance on a hard court. Meanwhile, Nava is a mere 3-6 all time in the main draws of Grand Slams and has never been past the second round at any major. This will be a big stage with a lot of pressure for the young American – one that is commonplace for Norrie. After all, the Brit is a former Wimbledon semifinalist and Indian Wells champion. Norrie is the superior all-around player, plus he has a lot more experience.
Olga Danilovic +6.5 games over Coco Gauff (-126)
Gauff’s well-documented problems with her serve continued with 7 double-faults in round 1. It did not really cost her against little-known opponent Kamilla Rakhimova, but the world #3 cannot afford such hiccups with Danilovic on the other side of the net. The 24-year-old Serb has been as high as #32 in the rankings and her talent is such that she can be even higher. Danilovic’s play and also her mentality were extremely impressive on Sunday, when the left-hander came back from 4-0 down in the final set to beat Venus Williams. Obviously she should have taken care of a 45-year-old with less of a scare, but the way she ended the match gives Danilovic a ton of momentum heading into this one. The bottom line is that it’s almost impossible this big of a spread against a good player when your serve is in shambles.
Storm Hunter +2.5 games over Hailey Baptiste (-110)
Hunter is taking 2026 by Storm. Okay…I had to do it. The 31-year-old Aussie is 5-0 so far this season, including 3 wins to qualify for the main draw in Melbourne. She followed that up with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round. Baptiste, on the other hand, had been winless for the year (0-2) before beating lucky loser Taylor Townsend in a tight 3-setter on Monday. As if Hunter needs any extra help, she will have the Australian fans firmly behind her. That could be enough for the veteran to not only cover the spread but also to win the match outright.
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