Zvonareva leads the value bets to win women’s Australian Open

Given the open nature of women’s tennis at present and the raft of injuries that have occurred in the build up to the Australian Open, the stage is set for an upset winner.

Venus Williams and Andrea Petkovic have already withdrawn, while there are doubts that the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are short of 100 per cent fitness.

The last two Grand Slams have witnessed relative unknown players in the latter stages, with Sabine Lisicki making the final at Wimbledon and Angelique Kerber reaching the last-four at the US Open.

Therefore, it would be no surprise to see a player at a big price in the Australian Open betting involved in the latter stages again.

Agnieszka Radwanska @ 20/1

Radwanska has continued to improve in recent years and currently sits at her highest ever world ranking.

All of her three WTA Tour victories to date have arrived on hard courts and her strong seeding at the Australian Open should allow her to progress to the later rounds.

Vera Zvonareva @ 33/1

It was a little over 12 months ago that Zvonareva was number two in the world, which shows her capabilities on a good day.

Her hard court form is also solid as she has reached at least the fourth round at both the Australian Open and the US Open in each of the last three years and was a semi finalist in Melbourne last January.

Dominika Cibulkova @ 100/1

Cibulkova won a hard court tournament against decent opposition late in 2011 and also recently pushed Wozniacki close over three sets in Sydney before the world number one suffered her wrist injury.

Her ability to keep balls in play could be a big asset and she is capable of proving a match for anyone on her day.