Betting tips / Ralph Ellis / 13 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Ralph Ellis has no idea why Li Na is at such a big price in the women's draw of the Australian Open, especially when considering the question marks that hang over some of the other top seeds, and has done a little investigating as to why...

Novak Djokovic is the world's number one tennis player, so it's hardly surprising that he'll begin the first Grand Slam of the year as the [2.46] favourite to win it.

If only things were as simple at the Australian Open for the women's tournament.

The defeat of Petra Kvitova by Na Liin the semi-finals of the Sydney International this morning means that Caroline Wozniacki will still be top of the rankings in Melbourne on Monday. Yet you can back her at the astonishing price of [17.0].

That's partly, of course, because the market has reacted to Wozniacki's problems during her quarter-final loss in Sydney where she was reduced to tears by the pain from a wrist injury. The chances of winning her first Grand Slam will be dramatically reduced by the problems that could give her, even if the early prognosis from the medical team is that she will be fit to take part.

It's more a reflection on the overall state of the women's game, where none of the leading girls can really claim to be able to dominate the sport in the way that the top three or four men do. Last year's season saw four different winners at the major tournaments. And for three of them it was the first time they had ever tasted Grand Slam success.

It is also a without doubt a reflection of the vacuum being left in the game at the end of the era of the Williams sisters. Venus has already announced she won't be at Melbourne. Serena is suffering from an ankle injury that forced her to withdraw from the Brisbane tournament. Between them they won nearly half of the singles titles during the Noughties, and a quarter of the doubles prizes as well.

This all makes picking a winner at this year's Australian Open a bit of a challenge, but then it's also an opportunity because there's long odds on offer. If you can rule out Serena and Wozniacki because of their injuries, then current favourite and Wimbledon champion Kvitova is one to swerve too. She didn't have the nerve to win the Sydney title after learning that victory would put her top of the rankings, so would you want to trust her at odds as short as [4.0] next week? She was a set and a break up in the semi-final as well.

So, if the value is anywhere, it must be in backing her conqueror Na Li at the astonishingly generous price of [16]. The Chinese girl tailed off towards the end of 2011 after winning her first Grand Slam in Paris, but she appears to be back to form after a break. And she has a track record on Melbourne's artificial court, reaching the final a year ago.

It might be much harder to find the women's winner than simply supporting Djokovic in the men's - but it could be well worth the effort.

Five things you might not know about Caroline Wozniacki

1.Born July 1990 in Odense, Denmark, her dad Piotr was a professional footballer who had moved there from Poland after doing a thesis on Denmark's 1984 European Championships side as part of his masters degree. The Polish federation banned him from playing for two years as punishment for leaving the country, but he then signed for Boldklubben 1909.

2.Caroline didn't start playing tennis until she was seven - but two years later won the Danish Under12 championship winning all her matches 6-0 6-0. She played for the Polish junior team until the rules were changed to prevent girls who lived abroad from taking part.

3.Her brother Patrik, who is four years older, is a professional footballer with Peter Schmeichel's old club Hvidovre IF.

4.She was also a talented pianist as a child, but gave up aged 13 to concentrate on her tennis. She says she'd like to return to music at some stage.

5. She met boyfriend Rory McIlroy when both were ringside to see David Haye's fight against Vladimir Klitschko.