Chalk has really held up through the mass majority of the Australian Open on the men's side of the draw, so it shouldn't be all that shocking that the men left standing, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world and have been for quite some time.
Tennis Odds at BookMaker.eu
Novak Djokovic -453
Andy Murray +400
ODDS ANALYSIS
Both Djokovic and Murray have been massive favorites every step of the way here Down Under. Djokovic is actually favored by a greater margin at -453 here against Murray than he was against Roger Federer at -400 in the semifinals. Federer, of course, has had a much better career against Djokovic than Murray has, and the perception is still out there that the Swiss man is a better player than Murray, who seems to have hit a plateau.
Murray has been at least a -270 favorite in all of his matches at the Australian Open, and the only men he's been an underdog to over the course of the last year are Djokovic and Federer across any tournament.
HEAD TO HEAD
Djokovic holds a 21-9 career edge over Murray, and things have really gotten out of hand for the Brit over the course of the last two years. Dating back to the beginning of 2014, Djokovic is 10-1 against Murray, including winning last year in the Aussie Open final 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0.
The history in majors is mostly slanted towards Djokovic. Recently, the Serb won the Aussie Open final over Murray as well as a quarterfinal matchup in the 2014 U.S. Open in four sets. Djokovic did lose the Wimbledon final in 2013 in straight sets, though that match was much closer and tightly contested than 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 suggests.
Murray's last win in one of the hard court majors against Djokovic came in the 2012 U.S. Open final, a match which he won 7-6 (10-8), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.
Djokovic is 4-0 against Murray here at the Australian Open, and he's only dropped four sets in the four matches.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Murray is coming off of a five-set marathon against Milos Raonic which could've easily gotten away from him after he fell behind two sets to one. The Brit has only had three of his six matches decided in straight sets, which is a bit of a shock considering how dominant he's historically been, even on this, his weakest surface.
Djokovic's only struggle was in his five-setter against Gilles Simon, a match in which he committed 100 unforced errors. He committed just one unforced error against Federer in what truly was the perfect match. If he plays that way in this one, the final won't even last two hours and will be over in straight sets.
The history here between these two really suggests that this match isn't going to be all that close, and we think that's exactly what's going to happen. Murray is going to have one fewer day to rest up than Djokovic is, and he's coming off of a five-setter, while Djokovic breezed through four relatively easy sets against Federer.
Just as it's obvious to us that Serena Williams is the best female tennis player in the world, the only male that we think can beat Djokovic right now is himself. He almost did it against Simon. It's highly unlikely that he does it again versus Murray.
Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
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Click here and start wagering today! The fixture between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will take place on Sunday, January 31, 2016, at 3:30 a.m. at Rod Laver Stadium at Melbourne Park. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
