First-round competition at the Australian Open continues on Monday, when Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic are among those taking the court. Both sides of the draw on the men\u2019s and women\u2019s side are in action, so it is a jam-packed schedule of play with tons of betting opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s\u00a0take a look\u00a0at the best bets to be made on the Day\u00a02\u00a0schedule\u00a0at Melbourne Park.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stan Wawrinka ML over Laslo\u00a0Djere\u00a0(-116)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Should you feel comfortable\u00a0rolling with a 40-year-old in a best-of-5\u00a0situation? In this case\u2026yes!\u00a0Wawrinka is a former Australian Open\u00a0champion\u00a0and he has reached the semifinals Down Under on 2 other occasions. This is his final trip to a tournament he absolutely loves. It would only be fitting if he\u00a0begins\u00a0his farewell with a victory. And he should. This is an extremely favorable first-round draw against\u00a0Djere, who is utterly hopeless on\u00a0any surface other than clay. The veteran Serb is an atrocious\u00a0102-127\u00a0all time\u00a0on hard courts (57-74 outdoors). He\u00a0got clobbered by\u00a0Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-0 in the Hong Kong first round\u00a0a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0Look for\u00a0Wawrinka\u00a0to win this one quickly before stamina becomes any kind of factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Mandlik +4.5 games\u00a0over\u00a0Anna Bondar\u00a0(-106)\u00a0<\/p>\n
The head-to-head series\u00a0between Mandlik and Bondar\u00a0is tied\u00a0up at\u00a01-1. Bondar\u2019s\u00a0victory\u00a0came on clay, and she needed\u00a03\u00a0sets to do it at the 2024 Rome\u00a0event. Mandlik won their only\u00a0previous\u00a0hard-court\u00a0contest\u00a0in straight sets at the 2023 U.S. Open. That\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0a surprise, either,\u00a0given the surface. After all,\u00a0Bondar is\u00a0basically a\u00a0clay-court specialist. The 28-year-old Hungarian has won 324 clay-court matches\u00a0throughout\u00a0her career compared to\u00a0only\u00a097 on outdoor hard courts.\u00a0I have\u00a0Mandlik\u00a0winning\u00a0this one outright, so 4.5 games\u00a0is just a bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Parlay: Jaume Munar\u00a0ML over\u00a0Dalibor\u00a0Svrcina\u00a0and\u00a0Hamad\u00a0Medjedovic\u00a0ML over\u00a0Mariano Navone\u00a0(-124)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Munar is coming off a quarterfinal\u00a0performance\u00a0in Adelaide,\u00a0where he\u00a0upset\u00a0Francisco\u00a0Cerundolo\u00a0before\u00a0losing to eventual champion Tomas Machac.\u00a0Svrcina\u00a0has played\u00a0only 1\u00a0match\u00a0this season\u00a0\u2014 a blowout loss to\u00a0Medjedovic\u00a0in Auckland qualifying. The 23-year-old Czech is\u00a0a mere\u00a06-8\u00a0lifetime at the ATP level. Meanwhile, Navone is\u00a0utterly useless\u00a0on hard courts. The Argentine is 13-30\u00a0all\u00a0time on this surface (11-25 outdoors). He is 0-2 so far\u00a0in 2026\u00a0with immediate losses in both Hong Kong and Auckland. Outside of\u00a0the French Open (clay), Navone is showing up at\u00a0Grand Slams\u00a0strictly for the paycheck.\u00a0Medjedovic\u00a0played well in Auckland, where he reached the second round as a qualifier before losing to eventual champion Jakub Mensik in\u00a03\u00a0sets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n