Day 2 was filled with some incredible yet heartbreaking comebacks, and Day 3 looks to have even more amazing talent which will come at a high price. The Australian Open is back, and Day 3 bring us another big slate! This large 24-game slate is filled with some of games best players, but who will come out on top and move one step closer to the prestigious title?
The players listed below can be used in any contest, whether it’s for cash or GPP. I personally like to use the same lineup in both, since the goal is to pick players who are going to win their match. If you choose to go down the route of playing the “stars and scrubs” strategy, you might be forced to choose players who are bound to get crushed. This strategy is very risky as upsets happen quite often in tennis, and if one of your most expensive players gets beat you have a very low chance to cash. Lets get into my top 5 plays for the slate!
Note: Tennis is available on DraftKings ONLY. The Australian Open is best of 5 set scoring for men’s players, keep that in mind when picking players!
Roger Federer $11,300
Roger Federer is on his way to a 3rd straight Australian Open title, he is playing excellent tennis and looks to continue that tonight. Roger won his first round match in straight sets, and I can’t see him losing a single set for at least the first 3 rounds. Tonight he faces off against world number 189, Daniel Evans. Evans had an impressive first round win in straight sets as well, but tonight’s opponent is a completely different task. Evans hits only 58% of his 1st serves in, so Federer will look to attack that 2nd serve all night. Roger should win this match easily in straight sets, but at a high price.
Aryna Sabalenka $10,500
Aryna Sabalenka has been on an absolute tear over the last 8-10 months. While she isn’t ranked inside of the top 10 yet, she is arguably the best player on the WTA tour. Sabalenka won 3 titles last season which is no easy task on the women’s tour, and she is looking to add a grand slam title to her resume. Tonight she faces off against Katie Boulter, world number 97 from Great Britain. Boulter barely escaped her first round matchup, winning in a tiebreaker in the final set against Ekaterina Makarova. What makes the difference tonight is her service game, which has been less than average. Boulter has faced an average of 11 break points in her last 10 games, and Sabalenka will take advantage of that. Aryna Sabalenka should have no issue winning in straight sets, which makes her my lock play for the night.
Tomas Berdych $10,000
Tomas Berdych is looking like his old self and it is very impressive. Berdych has beaten multiple top 50 players easily over the last 2 weeks, and he looks to continue that push to a grand slam title. His first round matchup against Kyle Edmund wasn’t even a contest, he looked poised and made Edmund look like a player ranked outside of the top 300. Edmund wasn’t able to convert the 1 break point chance that he had, and if Berdych continues that kind of a serving game, it will be very hard for any player to beat him. Tonight he faces off against Robin Haase, who will be no match for Berdych. Haase had lost 9 straight matches before the Australian Open, and barely managed to win his first round match against a weak opponent. With the form that Berdych is in, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him make a run to the finals.
Karen Khachanov $9,300
Karen Khachanov is becoming one of the top players on the tour, and at age 22 he has a long time to develop his game even more. Khachanov hasn’t lost to a player ranked outside of the top 15 in over 8 months, with the exception of Stan Wawrinka twice, and he’s looking to continue that streak tonight. His second round match is against Yoshihito Nishioka, world number 69 from Japan. Nishioka had an impressive first round win against an in-form Tennys Sandgren. While he didn’t have many break point chances in that match, he took advantage of the chances he did have. Nishioka is not a great server, having faced 22 break points against Sandgren, and Khachanov will end this match quickly if that same serving game continues. Khachanov is an excellent server and doesn’t get broken often, and with Nishioka only winning 15% of 1st serve points against big servers, this match could be over quickly.
Roberto Bautista-Agut $8,800
Roberto Bautista-Agut is arguably playing the best tennis on the tour right now, and it’s only a question on who can stop him at this rate. His last 4 matches were 4 stellar wins against Wawrinka, Djokovic, Berdych, and Andy Murray. Bautista-Agut has won 78% of his first serve points over the last 5 games, and with that kind of a serve and momentum it will be hard to beat him. His opponent for tonight, John Millman, is a much weaker opponent than the one’s listed previously. John Millman, world number 37 from Australia, struggled a bit in his first round matchup against Federico Delbonis eventually winning in 4 sets. Millman has struggled badly against the games top players, and that should continue tonight against Bautista-Agut.
Possible upset/punt plays:
Yulia Putintseva $7,000
Jordan Thompson $6,800
Amanda Anisimova $6,400
Taylor Fritz $6,200
Radu Albot $5,000
Yafan Wang $4,700
Good luck!!
Written by: Caleb Alderman
Twitter: @CMGCaleb_
