Australian Open Women's Betting: Back Garcia to cause opening day shock

Will Kuznetsova fall at the first hurdle for a second consecutive year?

The Australian Open 2015 gets underway on Monday and Abelson Info take a closer look through the Day 1 schedule in search of value bets...

Many of the top seeds are in action on the opening day of the tournament, and the vast majority of them will likely make it through to the second round unscathed.

However, as with any Grand Slam, there is always the threat of an early upset and the first round in Melbourne has thrown out some interesting clashes to keep an eye on.

Simona Halep could be forced into an early test against the improving Karin Knapp, but the likes of Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard should have few problems dealing with Petra Martic and Anna-Lena Friedsam respectively.

As a result, the value lies elsewhere on day 1 and the first match that sticks out from the pack is Caroline Garcia's encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Both ladies have made a losing start to 2015 with Kuznetsova dropping two matches while her French opponent has lost one.

However, Garcia is a dangerous proposition on her day and the 21-year-old has enjoyed her fair share of upsets already.

While she has yet to make the next step in terms of pushing on deeper into tournaments, she remains a threat in the early rounds and if Kuznetsova starts slow, her French opponent is capable of giving her a tough day at the office.

Kuznetsova fell at the first hurdle here last year, and there is a decent argument to back history repeating itself.

Elsewhere, the same could also be said of Garcia's compatriot, Kristina Mladenovic, as she prepares to take on Sabine Lisicki.

There's no denying that the German ace loves the grass courts, and that shows in her Grand Slam record as she hasn't passed the fourth round in any of the other three major tournaments away from Wimbledon.

She's fallen early in Australia the last two years, and although she has a 2-0 record in her head-to-head with Mladenovic, the French youngster should be confident of making this one competitive and providing her rival with a scare.

Another name to keep an eye on is Belinda Bencic, one of the rising stars of the WTA tour and at just 17 years of age she has already climbed her way to world number 34.

The teenager has yet to pick up any career titles but she made an impact in the Slams last year particularly with a run to the quarter-finals at the US Open.

She reached the second round in Australia, but after a year of experience under her belt she will be confident heading into 2015 and Julia Goerges stands in her way of making the second round.

The young Swiss star starts as the favourite but her match odds are still favourable enough to back her to win.

Recommended Bets:
Back Garcia to beat Kuznetsova @ 2.3411/8
Back Mladenovic to beat Lisicki @ 3.39/4
Back Bencic to beat Goerges @ 1.834/5

Australian Wallet

Remember, to bet on any Aussie Open market you'll first need to transfer funds to your Australian Wallet. Find out more in this video.