Australian Open day one predictions, odds and tennis betting tips: Darderi's woes look set to continue

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Where to watch the Australian Open

The Australian Open begins at Melbourne Park, at midnight on Saturday, January 11.

Best bets

Pedro Martinez to beat Luciano Darderi
2pts 4-5 general

Linda Noskova to beat Clara Tauson
1pt 10-11 general

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Australian Open day one preview

The Australian Open kicks off in the early hours of Sunday morning with the hat-trick seeking Aryna Sabalenka getting her title defence underway against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

Second seed Alexander Zverev, runner-up at last season’s French Open, is the star attraction on the opening day of the men’s Grand Slam and he tackles former world number ten Lucas Pouille.

Pedro Martinez v Luciano Darderi

Just one place separates this pair in the world rankings but Pedro Martinez can adjust to conditions much better than Luciano Darderi in their Australian Open curtain-raiser.

Darderi may be flattered by his world ranking of 44, as he appears to need clay to be seen at his best, and he has won only two of his last 17 matches.

The same could be said for Martinez but he did make the third round of the Australian Open in 2021 and there were plenty of positives to take from his three-set defeat to eventual finalist Gael Monfils in Auckland last time out. 

Clara Tauson vs Linda Noskova 

The most competitive first-round contest in the women’s event sees recent ASB Classic champion Clara Tauson meet last season’s quarter-finalist Linda Noskova.

These two promising youngsters could become top-20 performers and, while Tauson is the form player, Noskova’s raw talent may see her prevail.

The Czech 20-year-old defeated Iga Swiatek in the third round in Melbourne last year and recent defeats in warm-up events to world number 15 Mirra Andreeva and two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Maria Sakkari should have blown away the cobwebs.

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