Tennis odds: Australian Open

With Roger Federer and Justine Henin short-priced favourites for the Australian Open it's difficult to look beyond either exceptional candidate to triumph in Melbourne. There are, however, matchbetting opportunities throughout the tournament that are worth looking out for. Click here for a free Paddy Power Poker $600 welcome bonus when you join Paddy Power Poker It seems the only thing likely to stop Federer (4/7) from winning his fourth Australian Open and third on the spin is his health. The world No1 withdrew from the Kooyong Open last week due to a stomach bug and there is a remote possibility that the searing temperatures could play their part on a body debilitated by a virus. However, given his pedigree and the fact that he is well used to the heat of Melbourne it'll take more than a funny tummy to derail the Fed Express. The rest will probably have done him the world of good and a double win with the equally-unstoppable Justine Henin (7/5) looks the all-too predictable but only way to go in terms of outright betting. Henin raised her game to come from a set down and dispense with Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Sydney International last week. The Belgian missed the final last year as she was getting divorced but has since discovered the form of her life, becoming the first woman to win ten titles in a season since Martina Hingis in 1997, and stretching her unbeaten run to 28 matches in Sydney - surely a message to all sports stars contemplating getting hitched... With the exception of the Williams sisters and possibly a rejuvenated Lindsay Davenport, who faces Maria Sharapova in the second round, there is no-one on the same level as the diminutive 25-year-old, but it will be worth keeping an eye on how she handles the heat in a competition she has one just once - in 2004. In the meantime the multiple selection for the first round, which gets under way in the early hours of Monday, are Marcos Baghdatis, who came to prominence in this tournament two years ago and reached the final of the Kooyong Open last week, to beat 2002 champion Thomas Johansson (1/4), Andy Murray to overcome Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (1/5), Stanislas Warinka - who lost to Murray in the Qatar Open recently - to best Julien Benneteau and 2005 champion Marat Safin to outshine Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. Verdict: 2pt first round fourfold on Baghdatis, Murray, Tsonga and Safin @ 2.8/1 (Paddy Power) and 3pt double on Roger Federer and Justine Henin @ 2.7/1 to win the Australian Open (Paddy Power). P.S. Look out for a possible upset of Sharapova by Davenport in round 2. Click here for a free Paddy Power Poker $600 welcome bonus when you join Paddy Power Poker