2024 Australian Open Odds, Picks | Fernandez vs Parks, Juvan vs Zakharova
Phil Walter/Getty. Pictured: Alycia Parks.
Looking for Wednesday Australian Open picks and previews? Click here for our full guide.
The deluge of first round matches may be done, but the tennis will still come fast and furious for another few nights, as the second round will feature a total of 64 matches in two days between the men's and women's singles draws.
Let's take a look at a pair of those contests from the men's draw on Tuesday night.
Find picks for Fernandez vs Parks and Juvan vs Anastasia Zakharova in my latest Australian Open picks.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for advice on viewing Australian Open matches.
Australian Open Odds & Picks
Leylah Fernandez (-550) vs Alycia Parks (+420)
7 p.m. ET
It amazes me how far we've come in just over a year with Parks from a betting standpoint.
After racking up points at the 125K level indoors late in 2022 and then finding success at a 250 tournament indoors in early 2023, Parks' hard court prices were grossly exaggerated. She was far too big of a favorite for far too long. Now that we've seen her cool off, the market has gone about treating her as though she's a bad player on a hard court.
There's no doubt she has a lot of polishing to do with regards to her game, but she still has one of the biggest serves on tour, with powerful groundstrokes (as error prone as they may be) and she does like quicker conditions.
Her opponent is a tough one in this spot, but the Canadian is a little underpowered compared to Parks and prone to being outhit and taken out by bigger ball strikers.
I'm not making the case Parks should be a favorite here, but there's no doubting that the American has a path to victory. It's just a matter of whether she'll be able to play patiently enough to let her power help her advance.
Picks: Parks ML (+420 via FanDuel)
Kaja Juvan (-190) vs Anastasia Zakharova (+150)
8:30 p.m. ET
It's nice to see Juvan knocking on the door of the top 100 again, as a win in this second round match would actually see her move to about 96th in the world provisionally.
Unfortunately, this is likely to be a sterner test than I think the odds would indicate. I understand why the market likes Juvan, as she is more well known and coming off a win over Anastasia Potapova. That victory, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. Potapova was forced to retire a few weeks ago in Brisbane and then withdrew from her second warmup tournament as a result. I think it's safe to say she was far from her best in terms of health.
Then there's the fact that Juvan's serve is also pretty vulnerable. The second serve in particular is far too attackable, and that's not an issue you want to have against Zakharova, who has been excellent on return to start this season.
The 21-year old may not rip the cover off the ball, but she can play some attacking tennis and is certainly on her preferred playing surface. Her season to date has also featured some decent wins against the likes of Simona Waltert, Rebecca Peterson and fellow talented youngster Jana Kolodynska. Those players may not be world beaters, but neither is Juvan. Her first round win coming from behind against Yulia Puntintseva wasn't anything to scoff at, either.
I have this much more even than a 60-40 contest, so I'm in on the moneyline getting +150.
Picks: Zakharova ML (+150 via Caesars)
How would you rate this article?
Follow Us On Social
