Andy Murray Currently 5/6 To Win Australian Open

Published on January 18th, 2017 1:59 pm EST
Earlier today, the world's former #1 ranked men's tennis player, Novak Djokovic, was dispatched by Denis Istomin in the second round of the Australian Open.

The formerly dominant Djokovic now looks lost and rudderless as he continues his slide down the rankings. There are many rumoured reasons behind Djokovic's recent struggles, though many seem to pin it on distraction and a loss of his former obsession with winning.

Regardless of why Djokovic is suddenly in the tank, Andy Murray is benefitting the most, as he now stands as the clear favourite to win the Australian Open.

Late last year, Murray claimed the world's #1 ranking from Djokovic, thanks to a combination of a late year stumble from Djokovic and a resurgent Murray. The general consensus was that things would right themselves in 2017 and the two would embark in an epic battle for the #1 ranking, though the year certainly hasn't started this way.

Every player must deal with the time when the game catches up with them. Has Djokovic reached that point in his career already? Is he about to suffer through another lost year, or will he regain his former standing as the best player in the world?

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With Djokovic now out of the tournament, the Australian Open is Murray's to lose. Here are the current betting odds:

Andy Murray, 5/6
Milos Raonic, 6/1
Stan Wawrinka, 13/2
Rafael Nadal, 10/1
Grigor Dimitrov, 16/1
Roger Federer, 18/1
Kei Nishikori, 25/1
Alexander Zverev, 40/1
Dominic Thiem, 40/1
Gael Monfils, 50/1
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, 50/1

These are the players who are currently 50/1 or better to win. Other players, such as Jack Sock and Denis Istomin, are at least 100/1 to win.

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The storyline for the 2017 season now seems to have switched from an expected battle between Murray and Djokovic to a question of whether or not Djokovic will be able to regain his stroke, confidence and concentration.

In the meantime, it seems hard to figure who will step up as Murray's competition this season. Milos Raonic? Stan Wawrinka?

It seems as though it is Murray's time right now - let's see what he can do with it.