Supreme Jo Konta just 4/1 to win in Oz, but what now for Andy Murray?
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While her fellow Brits have suffered early exits from Melbourne, Jo Konta is still going strong in the women’s draw, and her odds to win the Australian Open have come tumbling in too.
A 33/1 shot pre-tournament, the Sydney-born Brit is now joint-second favourite at just 4s, following her confident defeat of Ekatarina Makarova in Round Four.
The 25-year-old now faces Serena Williams in the last-eight, as she hopes to repeat her run to the last four Down Under from 12 months ago.
Konta has never faced the American in a competitive clash before, but should take plenty of confidence from her run so far.
Neither player has dropped a set yet, but Konta has conceded just 22 games to Serena’s 27.
And further hope for a Brit success comes from Serena’s far-from perfect display last time out against Barbora Strycova, where the 35-year-old successfully hit only 45 per cent of first serves.
What next for Murray?
But while Konta’s quest goes on, Andy Murray’s is surprisingly over.
Nobody foresaw the Scot losing in four sets to world number 50 Mischa Zverev, especially following Novak Djokovic’s loss in the third round.
But the defeat will be a major concern to Murray and his team, who must be wondering what the impact of last Autumn’s intense run has had on his 2017 opening.
The 29-year-old had only a fortnight off between last season’s close and the beginning of this, and it remains to be seen where he appears on court next.
A discussion is likely to take place in the coming days, with Great Britain in Davis Cup action against Canada next month.
But with the Indian Wells and Miami Masters looming in March, Murray’s advisors may well try and persuade him to swerve the Davis Cup tie in Ottawa in order to take a longer break.
The latest odds suggest a tough year awaits, with just 11/10 on offer for Muzza not to land a Slam this year.
Certainly though, after losing to Djokovic in Qatar, followed by a fourth-round exit in Melbourne, Murray’s start to life as world number one hasn’t gone according to plan.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
