The men head into the tail end of the 2025 season after an exciting US Open that saw Carlos Alcaraz win in four exciting sets over Jannik Sinner. Naturally, we are always looking forward as the hardcourt season for 2026 gets underway in a mere four months.
In 2025 it was Jannik Sinner who won the Australian Open. So, yes, the Grand Slams were split between Alcaraz and Sinner. Their battles have been impressive. Last year’s opening major was dominated by the Italian and the Spaniard did not like that one bit.
But can the Italian win a third straight Australian Open? We will examine the top two choices and maybe a few longer shots in the men’s field and provide you with our free tennis betting picks to see if we can help you get an early jump on the 2026 Men’s Tennis season.
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Below you’ll find some very early numbers for the opening grand slam of the tennis season.
| Men's Aussie Open Numbers |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner | +120 | +125 | +125 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | +140 | +135 | +130 |
| Novak Djokovic | +1100 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Alexander Zverev | +1400 | +1600 | +1500 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Jack Draper | +2000 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Ben Shelton | +2500 | +2200 | +2500 |
| Taylor Fritz | +2500 | +2800 | +2500 |
Despite showing great form. Jannik Sinner must now try and bounce back in Australia. He split the first two sets against Carlos Alcaraz. However, Alcaraz kicked his game into a higher gear where Sinner could not quite answer. At the end of four sets, Sinner managed to win just one set. Alcaraz was crowned champion as the last eight Grand Slams have won by either the Italian or the Spaniard.
Sinner and Alcaraz have been must-see TV and the two have enjoyed quite the rivalry over the past two seasons. It is hard to believe that there was no Finals appearance from “The Big Three.” Father Time remains undefeated and even Novak Djokovic appears to know the end is growing near. Djokovic might still be able to get close but right now, these two are on another level.
Naturally, the resiliency of both players must include how Sinner bounced back at Wimbledon after what occurred at the US Open. It boils down to how well Sinner can return. It is that return game which fuels the Italian. This helps give him the ability to win titles and yes, Grand Slams.
While upsets do occur, Sinner is just a machine especially in the early rounds. It will be interesting to see if anyone can challenge the Italian quite like Alcaraz. In the meantime, Sinner remains the slightest of slight favorites to win the Australian Open.
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So, Men’s 2026 Australian Open futures wonder if Carlos Alcaraz emerges a champion again. Like we mentioned above, the Spaniard found a way to up his serving and groundstroke game. That was enough to keep Sinner at bay. With that, Alcaraz was able to win in four sets.
The Spaniard can afford to rest now. Okay, the next truly competitive tournament will be the TOUR Masters. For the rest of the year, Alcaraz will likely tune up a few times and then come January head to Queensland. Necessary downtime is understandable. The Nitto ATP Finals in November is the next big event. Yes, the year-ender brings down the 2025 season.
It is expected that Alcaraz will be favored to win that event. Remember, Sinner won this in 2024. The going theory is that Alcaraz finds a way to win in November and then he may become the top choice for Australia. It will be intriguing to see what happens.
Yes, the numbers may shorten toward Alcaraz so here we go again perhaps? One of the big keys for Alcaraz is his ability to have a short memory. He does drift through games and sets of matches and then just turns up the intensity to a level that no one can match – not even Jannik Sinner. That is why Alcaraz is our best choice for Australia.
Below we take a look at a few possible disruptors for the opening Grand Slam of 2026. Men’s Australian Open 2026 futures dig deep to find someone that can challenge The Big Two.
One of the biggest problems is trying to figure out just who is out there. Sometimes there is a hope that someone, anyone, can disturb the inevitable. Any player that could upset Sinner or Alcaraz needs to have a big game from returns to serve and beyond. This is all while having just the right touch. Over a three-set match, the whole package does not have to be there. In a best-of-five, that is typically a different story.
Some believe Alexander Zverv and Daniil Medvedev could be those players. Yes, they both have shorter odds but one of the talents that could be on the horizon may be Ben Shelton. Shelton is developing more and more nuance to his big, powerful service game. The American has reached a Grand Slam semifinal twice now. Shelton is definitely not knocking on the door kind of like Sinner was two years ago.
Shelton possesses solid numbers and the best of any American at +2200. After that, Taylor Fritz is the next closest and after that, the long shots become even longer. Bovada and BetUS are in agreement at +2500 for Shelton to take homs the Australian Open.
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