Day 4 Aussie Open Odds

It's slim pickings in these early rounds for odds that are actually playable. It's mostly mismatches on the courts right now, which gives you odds like Djokovic (-10000) vs. Simone Bolelli (+1400). But there are a few affordable options out there and a parlay might not be a bad idea. The highlight of the day is definitely the night match between Safin and Baghdatis.

Here's what I like:

Vincent Spadea (-300) to beat Denis Gremelmayr ... I don't know if Vinnie forgot to eat his Wheaties yesterday morning, but he looked like he was on his way to getting smoked by Stepanek before he stormed back and took the final three sets. Impressive display. The only worry is that he'll be tired after the five-setter but Gremelmayr isn't anywhere near Stepanek's quality and Spadea should cruise.

Sebastien Grosjean (-175) to beat Robin Haase ... There's been a lot of hype about the young Dutchman who beat Ljubicic in the first round. He's 20 years old, but he got a late start on the circuit so he's more junior than you'd think. The meida loves this kid and I feel like the books are begging us to take the youngster here, but at this price I have to go with the veteran who's played some of his best tennis in Melbourne in the past.

Ekaterina Makarova (-138) to beat Yvonne Meusburger ... I don't know much about Makarova but she beat a serious young talent in Szavay in the first round. As far as I can tell, she made it to the third round of the U.S. Open last fall before losing to Henin. Not bad for a 19-year-old in her first slam. For that reason, I'll take her at a bargain price against an unremarkable second-round opponent.

Marcos Baghdatis (-175) to beat Marat Safin ... This one's a little tougher to call but if you saw Baghdatis playing last year (minus a tough first-round exit in the U.S. Open) you'll know he's healthy again and on top of his game. It was only two years ago when he made the final in this tournament and won over the Aussie crowd. That will help him against the much less likable Safin in this match. Safin won his last Grand Slam title here in 2005, and he'd made two finals at Melbourne before that, but in the last couple of years, the big Russian hasn't shown much heart in tough matches.

***Note: all odds are American. If they don't make sense to you, you can check out Bet365.com and use the odds converter in the top left of the page. That's where I got the odds for all these matches. They might be different at other sports books. Or there's a good free odds converter on SBRForum. Those sites aren't paying me or anything; they're just what I use.