Andy Murray Odds on Favourite to Win Men's 2009 Australian Open

After ousting some of the world's best players, including Roger Federer, at the Qatar Open Scotland's Andy Murray is now listed by 888sport as the penultimate favourite to secure his first Grand Slam tournament. Roger Federer was initially listed as the most likely player to win, but recent days have seen his odds drop from 2/1 to 11/4 as Murray now sits atop the likely finishers. Rafa Nadal has also seen his odds drift from 3/1 to 9/2, which has really given him some more value going forward. I can't see Federer pulling this one off and in fact I see him going out earlier than expected. Murray, however, is in the form of his life at the moment and I consider the tournament his to lose. Another player in excellent form is Novak Djokovic who is listed at 13/2- an excellent price for a player on a hot streak. Barring a surprise loss a week ago, Djokovic has an excellent record as of late and is a strong contender if you're looking for an outside bet that promises a bigger pay-off. Andy Roddick at 40/1 is also tremendous value, especially if he wins his first match convincingly. If you're looking to spread your bets out a bit more, why not try taking advantage of 888sport's excellent Each-Way betting system. You can back an Each-Way bet on 2 places at ½ the odds. This is a great way to extract even more value from the longer shot players who you think may make the final, but won't have enough gas to actually win the lot. I'm backing Murray, mostly out of patriotism but also based purely on form alone. He is the form player in men's tennis and I'm confident that 2009 will be the year he becomes an international powerhouse. If you're looking for a long-shot winner and a hot payday, back American James Blake at 100/1. On his day, Blake can upset anybody, so he may be worth a cheeky punt.