Tough to look past Djokovic for Australian Open win

Victory over Rafael Nadal in the ATP World Tour Finals may have brought the curtain down on the season, but it could also signal another era of domination for Novak Djokovic, starting with a successful defence of his Australian Open crown.

The Serbian is the 6/4 favourite with Ladbrokes to retain the first men’s major of 2014, having claimed the title in each of the previous three years.

All in all the 26-year-old has claimed four Australian Open championships and will be more than motivated to claim a fifth – with victory allowing him to better the record haul he currently shares with Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.

He certainly ended the season with a bang, beating his Spanish rival – the man who denied him a US Open title two months ago and a place in the final at Roland Garros – in convincing fashion.

It marked the continuation of an incredible recent run for the Serbian, who has now won 22 matches in a row, with his last loss coming in the aforementioned defeat in the French Open semi-finals.

And you can bet Djokovic will be raring to go from January, having come so close to achieving the clean sweep of majors in 2013, with only Andy Murray denying him another Wimbledon crown, while Nadal proved to be his bogeyman in finals at Paris and at Flushing Meadows.

The Spaniard remains the second favourite for success Down Under at 5/2 and though his last title there came back in 2009, given his recent head-to-head success with the current favourite in Slams, he still requires plenty of respect.

Andy Murray, meanwhile, sat out of the end of year tournament in Greenwich and, given the additional rest, cannot be discounted from winning the championship at 5/1, with the Scot no doubt keen to add to his US Open and SW19 successes.

But for those following the form and the record books, it remains difficult to ignore the allure of Serb.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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