Australian Open 2022 men's singles winner odds: Daniil Medvedev emerges as the favorite after Novak Djokovic's deportation

On Sunday, it was confirmed that Novak Djokovic would not be defending his title at the 2022 Australian Open. Daniil Medvedev has now emerged as the new favorite to be crowned the champion at Melbourne Park on 30 January.

The World No. 2 is the bookies' favorite to win the tournament, followed by World No. 3 Alexander Zverev. After those two, the next in line is 20-time Grand Slam champion and 2009 winner Rafael Nadal.

According to online gambling company bet365, a $5 wager on Daniil Medvedev (7/5 odds) becoming the 2022 Australian Open champion will fetch a profit of $7. On the other hand, a similar amount bet on Alexander Zverev (12/5 odds) winning the event will fetch a profit of $12.

A $1 bet on Rafael Nadal (6/1 odds) to win, meanwhile, will give a profit of $6.

Five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray has very long odds of 80/1. In other words, a $1 bet on Murray winning the Norman Brookes Challenger Cup will fetch an $80 profit if it comes to fruition.

Betting site William Hill lists Daniil Medvedev's odds at 6/4 and Alexander Zverev's at 9/4. Rafael Nadal has 11/2 odds to win his 21st Grand Slam according to William Hill, while Murray has the same 80/1 odds as with bet365.

Daniil Medvedev to begin his Australian Open campaign against Henri Laaksonen

Daniil Medvedev kicks off his 2022 Australian Open campaign against Henri Laaksonen

Daniil Medvedev will square off against World No. 92 Henri Laaksonen in his first-round fixture at the 2022 Australian Open. Since Medvedev is in the bottom half of the draw, his match will be played on Day 2 (January 18) of the tournament.

The Russian won his only previous encounter with Laaksonen, and will go in as the clear favorite to progress to the second round. Medvedev is likely to face the mercurial Nick Kyrgios in the second round, and a win in that match will probably pit him against World No. 31 Ugo Humbert.

Both are very tricky fixtures for the World No. 2, who is looking to win his second consecutive Grand Slam title. Medvedev has a negative head-to-head record of 0-2 against both players, and will be eager to correct that.

Medvedev suffered a surprising loss to Humbert at the ATP Cup last month. But he roared into form after that, with victories over World No. 34 Alex de Minaur, World No. 7 Matteo Berrettini and World No. 11 Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Russian will need to keep up his form if he wants to improve on his run at the Australian Open last year, where he reached the finals and lost to Djokovic. Medvedev also has a shot at becoming the first Russian since Marat Safin in 2001 to become the No. 1 ranked ATP player, a feat he can achieve by winning the tournament.