Premier League Darts Night 1 Picks 2026 (Thursday 5th February)

The first World Ranking tournament of the 2026 season was won by Luke Littler, but fans of the sport have to be really glad to have seen the likes of Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries push him all of the way.

Ultimately they came up short, which is a disappointment for a sport that has been dominated by Littler over the last twelve months, but the fact that neither rolled over for the top player in the World can only be a positive.

We will get to see how much of a positive the rest of the top names in the field will take from those Semi Final and Final matches at the World Masters when the Premier League begins on Thursday and is played through to the end of May.

Luke Littler has appeared in the Premier League twice before, but he will not be the defending Champion this year having won on his debut, but beaten by rival Luke Humphries last year.

These two players have faced one another in the Final in each of the last two years and are expected to be the dominant forces in the tournament again.

It is Luke Littler who has topped the final standings in each of the last two years having competed in 15/32 Finals in the weekly events and he has only lost his first match seven times- a player who clearly gets stronger and stronger as he builds the matches under his belt continues to be the one to beat, although he is expected to be followed into the Semi Final by Luke Humphries who has finished second in each of the last two years before splitting title wins.

Both should be capable of moving through to the next Semi Finals at the O2 Arena in May, but picking another two players to head through with the two Lukes is a tougher task.

With some of the external criticism clearly getting to Stephen Bunting, you have to believe the World Number 7 is going to be playing with additional pressure having continued to proclaim he deserves his place in the Premier League. He finished bottom of the standings last season and things could spiral for Bunting if he is not able to make a fast start in 2026, and it is hard to make a case for him to finish in the top four.

The other five players making up the eight all will have their backers- Josh Rock is making his debut in the Premier League, but is clearly talented enough to find some consistent rhythm to become very dangerous, while Gian van Veen is going to go very close if he can deal with the nerves of playing in this format every week for the first time.

Michael van Gerwen did not have a good World Masters, but he reached two Finals in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia last month and has so much experience in the Premier League, while Gerwyn Price looks to have continued his consistently good form and is the one player that seems to be avoid being intimidated by the current top two in the World Rankings.

And Jonny Clayton is a former winner- this is his fourth appearance in the Premier League and he has yet to miss out on the Playoffs, which makes his short odds for finishing bottom look disrespectful.

Unsurprisingly Luke Littler will go into the Premier League as favourite, and he will likely be a favourite to win every Night over the course of the tournament.

He has not won on Night 1 in either of the last two years and Littler would have put in a lot of mental effort in winning the Masters on Sunday, which could leave him vulnerable.

However, he is in the weaker half of the draw and you would make him the favourite if he can beat Gian van Veen in the Quarter Final.

Michael van Gerwen is perhaps the most intriguing price to earn a spot in the Playoff in May, but there will be no outright selections after thinking about backing Josh Rock to finish bottom in his debut season, but believing things could unravel for Stephen Bunting for a second year in a row.

Jonny Clayton v Josh Rock: Both players had a decent showing at the World Masters, but would have been disappointed with how the tournament ended.

Jonny Clayton may be particularly aggrieved having blown a big lead in the 4-3 defeat to Gerwyn Price, while Josh Rock did reach the Quarter Final before being crushed by Luke Littler.

Both will be looking to make a fast start to the Premier League and these are the kind of Quarter Final matches that can make a big impact in the final standings. The likes of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries will have the consistency for enough deep runs so the points that can be produced against the others are that much more important, which puts some pressure on both Clayton and Rock.

The Welshman is a former Premier League Winner and that experience may give him the edge- he looked to be scoring a little better than Josh Rock at the World Masters and Clayton may just have the stronger finishing that gives him the edge in this opening 2026 Premier League match.

Luke Littler to win & over 3.5 180s: After the crushing win in the World Championship Final, Luke Littler will be keen to keep the dominance going against Gian van Veen, one of his potential big rivals on the Tour over the coming twelve months.

He started slowly when these two met in Saudi Arabia last month, but Luke Littler rallied and he has the consistency of the power scoring that can take him away from the World Number 3.

Gian van Veen does push Littler with his own heavy scoring, but he has been feeling a pressure facing his old rival and matches have tended to fall away from him.

Big 180 hitting encourages Luke Littler to do the same and you have to expect the top player in the world to continue to hit those big trebles in this Quarter Final.

Luke Littler remains the big maximum hitter on the Tour and was in strong enough form to win the World Masters on Sunday.

Perhaps that means he has some fatigue to shake off, even four days later, which is maybe the best chance Gian van Veen will have in winning his debut match in the Premier League.

It all feels unlikely though and Littler should be able to find at least four maximums in any winning effort on Night 1.

Gerwyn Price over 2.5 180s & 1+ 180 checkout: There is no doubt that Gerwyn Price feels inspired when it comes to battling either of the two Lukes at the top of the World Rankings.

He got the better of Humphries in Saudi Arabia and beat Littler in Bahrain last month, while the Ice Man was a dart away from beating the latter in the World Masters Semi Final last week.

The layers are very much aware of the form that Gerwyn Price has been putting together over the last twelve months and the head to head with Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.

This is reflected in the price for this Night 1 Quarter Final and it should be noted that Gerwyn Price has won the last five matches against Luke Humphries in the best of eleven Leg format. During that time Luke Humphries has won a best of thirteen Leg match as well as beating Price in the Grand Slam Semi Final 16-13, but the shorter formats have tended to lean in favour of the Welshman.

He is odds against to reach six Legs first on Thursday, but that is also down to the respect that Luke Humphries deserves after putting in some top quality performances at the World Masters.

Luke Humphries is keen to build on that run to the Final and he was throwing with real confidence last week, which suggests this is a Quarter Final that could go nine or more Legs.

Instead of backing a winner, it may pay out to look for Gerwyn Price to hit a couple of statistical marks.

He continues to hit plenty of 180s and Price will be looking to put a combination finish or two on the board in his bid to earn another victory over Luke Humphries.

Gerwyn Price had six triple digit checkouts in his four matches at the Masters and he looks capable of finding at least one in this Quarter Final to go with some big maximum hitting.

Michael van Gerwen to Win & Stephen Bunting most 180s: In a race to six, you would naturally feel the player hitting the most maximums would win.

In a lot of cases that will be true, but two of the last four races to six legs between these two players has seen the player with more 180s actually go on to lose.

Last week at the Masters, Stephen Bunting's maximum hitting was not the issue, but his finishing has been and he has lost to Michael van Gerwen twice last month, which is going to be an obstacle to overcome.

It wasn't the Masters that van Gerwen would have expected, but there are definitely stronger signs coming into the latest edition of the Premier League after missing the Playoff last year.

There have been more maximums thrown by MvG last month than we have come to expect from him in recent times, but he is still a little short of his absolute best. He still scores well enough and will also finish with some authority that may give him the edge in this Quarter Final and it is a big quote for the Dutchman to win a match in which he throws fewer maximums.

Stephen Bunting will likely need to win three or four Legs to ensure this happens, but both matches in the Middle East last month ended with ten Legs played and that may be enough for the former 'People's Champion' to hit the most maximums, even in a losing effort.

MY PICKS: Jonny Clayton @ 2.25 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)

Luke Littler to Win & Over 3.5 180s @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Gerwyn Price Over 2.5 180s & 1+ 100+ Checkouts @ 2.90 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Michael van Gerwen to Win & Stephen Bunting Most 180s @ 3.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 5-6, + 0.79 Units (11 Units Staked, + 7.18% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Thursday 5th February)

It has been a tough week and another match that saw the fine margins seemingly working against the selections will sting.

The tournaments are into the Quarter Final stage for the most part ahead of a set of events that will have some of the biggest names on the Tour involved.

That means this is not the time to press and on Thursday there will only be the one selection from the Quarter Final matches to be played in Abu Dhabi- another setback may mean calling time on this week and going again in a few days time.

Clara Tauson v McCartney Kessler: The Quarter Final Round at the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi that begins the Middle East swing looks wide open after Belinda Bencic was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

An illness means the defending Champion remains unbeaten in Abu Dhabi, but she cannot retain her World Ranking points, while also opening the door for the remaining eight players in the tournament.

Both Clara Tauson and McCartney Kessler have to sense an opportunity to pick up a title and some vital Ranking points- both are currently inside the top 32 of the World Rankings, which means direct entry into some of the biggest tournaments as well as being Seeded when it comes to Grand Slam tournaments. It cannot be underestimated the importance of those Seeding places early in those Slam events and both would appreciate maintaining those spots after failing to reach the second week at the Australian Open.

Neither player has dropped a set in Abu Dhabi, although it is McCartney Kessler who has had to come through two matches to reach the Quarter Final. Both wins are going to give the American confidence and she will be looking to continue to serve well, especially on the second serve, to try and keep the pressure on all those who stand across the net.

This is also going to be a key part of Clara Tauson's game after a dominant opening win.

Her first serve has done more damage compared with McCartney Kessler's, but Tauson can sometimes be put under a bit more pressure when throwing in too many second serves.

However, that first serve has been a big enough weapon to put Clara Tauson to win a lot more matches than she loses and it is going to be the key to the outcome of this Quarter Final.

Neither player can really state they have been as effective on the return of serve as they would have wanted to be when it comes to play hard court tennis. That does put more pressure on the delivery to make sure the scoreboard does not get away from them, and it is Clara Tauson who has tended to have a slightly superior return game of the two players.

There is not going to be much in this match with both capable of taking the racquet out of the hands of the other behind a strong serve.

You just have to believe a bit more in the experience of Clara Tauson as long as she can get around 62% of her first serves in play- she was very good in the Second Round win, but an average of around 60% over the course of the last twelve months may still be good enough to edge past McCartney Kessler as the narrow favourite in this Quarter Final.

MY PICKS: Clara Tauson @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 0-4, - 4 Units (4 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 4th February)

In a long season, you cannot expect to have a winning day every day.

That is simply not a sustainable expectation, and there are going to be moments and periods of frustration.

Two of the three selections made on Tuesday were simply poor Picks and never looked like winning.

A third looked to be on course for a win, but Emma Navarro played some brutally poor tennis at the end of the deciding set that ultimately ripped that winner away from us- she had won the second set with a bagel and that meant just needing to get to four or more games in the final set to earn a victory for the selection, even if she would go on to lose the match.

At 3-3, Navarro moved into a 0-30 lead on the Hailey Baptiste serve and looked like she was ready to hit the four game mark, but it was right at that moment that she lost eight points in a row and was suddenly 5-3 behind.

Things like that will happen in a sport that is decided by the finest of fine margins, but that doesn't mean we have to like it and especially not on a day when it rounds out a poor performance.

Belinda Bencic - 3.5 games v Sonay Kartal: Playing in Abu Dhabi is clearly much to the liking of Belinda Bencic and she has won two of the last three tournaments played here. The defending Champion earned a Bye through the First Round as the top Seed in the tournament and Bencic is going to want a strong response to what was a disappointing Second Round exit at the Australian Open.

Opening up against a Qualifier can be challenging, even for the top players on the Tour and Sonay Kartal has won three matches at the tournament without dropping a set.

The British player reached the Semi Final in Auckland and pushed Elina Svitolina all the way to a final set Tie-Breaker, which is a big achievement considering how well Svitolina played in Melbourne. An early loss in the Australian Open would have been a blow, but Sonay Kartal has had a decent twelve months on the hard courts and that will give her some real confidence and belief.

A lot of credit has to be given to the World Number 61 for having a 3-3 record when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months. Sonay Kartal also has a pretty solid 9-8 record in that time when facing players that come into the match Ranked higher than herself and this is a player that has shown that she can keep the pressure ramped up through strong serving.

With that said, Sonay Kartal will not be intimidated about facing this opponent.

However, it is going to be a significant challenge to beat Belinda Bencic who has won nine matches in a row in Abu Dhabi and who has dropped just four sets in the tournament. The loss in Melbourne would have stung as Belinda Bencic will feel she was the better player in the Second Round, while the World Number 9 has a 21-4 record when facing opponents Ranked outside of the top 20 on the hard courts over the last twelve months.

Belinda Bencic did arrive at the tournament in much stronger form in 2025 having reached the Australian Open Fourth Round, but she did produce plenty of wins last month.

There will be some moments where Belinda Bencic will be challenged by Sonay Kartal and she will need a bit of time to become accustomed with the ball coming back over the net in this first meeting between the players.

At the end of the day, the conditions here have been ideal for Belinda Bencic and the defending Champion can protect her unbeaten record from the last two appearances in Abu Dhabi by winning and doing so in a manner capable of covering this spread.

Alexandra Eala - 1.5 games v Aliaksandra Sasnovich: It is always going to be difficult for a former top 30 player to have to go through Qualifying to enter main draws at events they would usually have taken in without the need for the extra, pressurised matches.

That has been the case for 31 year old Aliaksandra Sasnovich who has slipped out of the top 100 of the World Rankings and been struggling to turn things around.

She has Qualified in Brisbane and Melbourne, but that has been about as far as the run has gone, while Aliaksandra Sasnovich will enter the main draw in Abu Dhabi as a Lucky Loser.

Playing with house money can make any player dangerous, but it has been a tough year on the hard courts for Sasnovich when playing some of the better players on the Tour.

In this one the World Number 109 is also going to have to deal with a fiery crowd as the fans have lined up to support Alexandra Eala, although the experience edge is firmly with the underdog.

Over the last several months, Alexandra Eala has really made a strong move in the World Rankings, but the 20 year old is still vulnerable to an upset and has a 23-14 record against players Ranked outside of the top 50. The numbers are solid when only focusing on matches that are played against opponents lower in the World Rankings, but even then Eala is just 21-13.

As the experience grows, you would expect Alexandra Eala to be able to produce a much stronger record which would be more reflective of the numbers being put together.

For now it makes it a little tougher to believe in her, but Aliaksandra Sasnovich has been struggling at this kind of level and she could come up short again.

MY PICKS: Belinda Bencic - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Alexandra Eala - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Weekly Update: 0-3, - 3 Units (3 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Tennis Picks 2026 (Tuesday 3rd February)

The start of the men's Final at the Australian Open would have certainly gotten fans to sit up and take notice and just for a brief moment it felt like Novak Djokovic was going to be on his way to creating history by winning a twenty-fifth Grand Slam title.

Credit has to be given to Carlos Alcaraz for not panicking after seeing almost everything go wrong in the first set and he very quickly took control of the Final.

This time even the multiple Break Points saved by Novak Djokovic were not enough to fend off the pressure created by the World Number 1.

On the day I did write on 'X' that the 4-4 game where Novak Djokovic had a Break Point in the fourth set could have perhaps been the key point and the former World Number 1 mentioned the same moment in the post-match presser. After saving a bunch of Break Points, Djokovic finally found a chance on the Alcaraz serve and breaking there may just have changed the momentum that had built up within the match.

Unlike Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz fought off that pressurised moment and eventually found another chance within the set to avoid having to dig in further.

With seven Grand Slam titles secured, Carlos Alcaraz is going to threaten the numbers that the Big Three created, although there are always going to be new faces ready to enter the Tour and create their own pathway on the Tour.

Right now it feels like the era of the 'Big Two', and Carlos Alcaraz looks to have moved a step ahead of Jannik Sinner- his record in his Grand Slam Finals is incredibly impressive already and the Spaniard is likely going to be set as the favourite at the next two Slams and possibly in New York City too.

We should see some of those big names back in action sooner than later with the Tour moving onto the big Middle East events this month and also having the first of the ATP 500 events being played.

The WTA Tour goes a step further with those same events in the Middle East down as 1000 events and with some of the top names on the entry lists at the time of writing.

Australian Open Champion Elena Rybakina had been on the list to play in Abu Dhabi this week, but it will surprise absolutely nobody that she has decided to skip the week after the brilliant tournament put together in Melbourne.

Four tournaments are being played this week, including the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi, but most of the biggest names are resting and recovering.

As the month progresses, more of those top players will be back in action ahead of the two Masters events coming up in March.

The Australian Open was a successful start to the year for the Tennis Picks, but it is a very long year and can only be considered a solid opening foundation laid.

Emma Navarro - 2.5 games v Hailey Baptiste: Two 24 year old American players meet in Abu Dhabi and neither made much of an impact at the Australian Open, which means there is some pressure to perform during this Middle East swing.

The last several months have been disappointing for Emma Navarro who had entered the top ten in the World Rankings, but is no edging out of the top 20.

She was beaten very early in Melbourne, but Navarro has won all three previous Tour matches against Hailey Baptiste and the latter has not really competed with the top 50 on the hard courts over the last twelve months.

In that time Hailey Baptiste has a 3-7 record in those matches and two of those wins were in Miami.

At her best Baptiste can be dangerous with a powerful game, but Emma Navarro has found a way to just neutralise her threat at key moments and that may be the same again in Abu Dhabi.

Anastasia Potapova - 5.5 games v Lucia Bronzetti: Reaching the Third Round at the Australian Open and given Aryna Sabalenka all she can handle will have given Anastasia Potapova a confidence boost.

However, she is the defending Champion in Cluj and that means there is some pressure to try and defend the World Ranking points with her live Ranking slipping back outside the top 80.

She can put everything into this week with the next tournament set to be Dubai when Anatasia Potapova is going to have to win some Qualifying matches to join the main draw. That is an additional pressure to deal with, but you have to expect Potapova to continue to get the better of this opponent.

All five previous meetings on the Tour have been won by Anastasia Potapova and that includes coming from a set down to beat Lucia Bronzetti in the Final here twelve months ago.

It has been a difficult few months for the Italian player who has dropped out of the top 100 of the World Rankings as the losses have piled up. Lucia Bronzetti was beaten in the final Round of Qualifying at the Australian Open and her serve is the more vulnerable of the two players in this First Round match in Cluj.

Asking Anastasia Potapova to cover this spread is never going to be straightforward, but she should have the Break Point opportunities to edge past the number.

Elena Gabriela Ruse - 4.5 games v Rebeka Masarova: The home favourite is playing an opponent who has failed to come through Qualifying at a couple of events Down Under and who is playing in the main draw for the first time this season.

Rebeka Masarova has dropped out of the top 100 of the World Rankings and she had a mixed year on the hard courts.

The first serve is more of a weapon than some may think, but there is a big drop off when the second serve is needed and Rebeka Masarova has struggled to get her teeth into return games. Last year she did upset Donna Vekic on the surface, but Elena Gabriela Ruse can use the home crowd to get on top of this match.

A strong run would see Elena Gabriela Ruse getting back up towards the top 50 in the World Rankings and this is another player who can get on top of points when the first serve is going in.

The higher Ranked player has had the stronger returning numbers over the last twelve months, while Elena Gabriela Ruse did beat Rebeka Masarova in the Semi Final here in Cluj three years ago.

On that day Elena Gabriela Ruse had the edge on the return of serve and although her overall record here is not the strongest, she was a Finalist in 2023 and the Romanian may have enough to get past this number set for the spread.

MY PICKS: Emma Navarro - 2.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Anastasia Potapova - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Elena Gabriela Ruse - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Season 2026: 37-23, + 16.30 Units (126 Units Staked, + 12.94% Yield)

Winmau World Masters Darts Day 4 Picks 2026 (Sunday 1st February)

Five of the eight players left standing at the World Masters will be playing in the Premier League next week, but there is no doubt that James Wade and Danny Noppert are playing with something to prove.

The latter has beaten a Premier League participant and both Noppert and Wade can feel pretty hard done by after being overlooked by the PDC.

Danny Noppert is outwardly showing less irritation about missing out on one of the tournaments that will get plenty of eyes on the product, but James Ward has been very critical with the decision making process that saw him left out.

Winning the Masters would be the absolute best way to show they belong and both players have tough Quarter Final matches to negotiate.

You still have to see Luke Littler has the favourite, but it is Luke Humphries who hit the Nine Darter and the defending Champion looks very confident.

The two Lukes continue to make most of the headlines, but the other six players beginning Sunday's play will all be very confident in their own chances of securing the opening World Ranking title.

Double- Gerwyn Price & Luke Humpries to win: Quarter Final matches will be played in the Day Session at the World Masters and all four look more competitive than the oddsmakers think.

It definitely feels like Luke Littler and Gian van Veen are very short against dangerous opponents in Josh Rock and James Wade.

Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries are slightly bigger priced favourites, but they may do enough to get past Chris Dobey and Danny Noppert respectively.

Over the last couple of Rounds, Humphries has played with a point to prove with back to back averages of above 100, while also hitting the Nine Darter.

There is no doubting that Noppert can give Luke Humphries something to think about and has the scoring to keep up with the former World Champion, but it is Humphries who has tended to find a way through.

You do also have to respect how well Chris Dobey has played in the tournament so far, but Gerwyn Price has been operating at a high level for months and showed plenty of will and desire to beat his mate Jonny Clayton in the Second Round.

This one could go all the way, but Price may just have the consistency to come through the pressurised moments.

MY PICKS: Gerwyn Price & Luke Humpries to Win @ 2.20 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

World Masters Update: 4-6, - 0.41 Units (10 Units Staked, - 4.10% Yield)

Australian Open Tennis Day 15 Pick 2026- Men's Final (Sunday 1st February)

After two quite unbelievable Semi Final matches, the men's Final on the last Sunday in Melbourne could really signify the passing of the torch between generations.

Novak Djokovic will want to just underline his status as the best player of all time, but Carlos Alcaraz has plenty on the line himself and the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam would certainly place his name in the history books already.

Some may feel it could end up being an important Grand Slam title at the end of the respective careers with Alcaraz looking more than capable of getting close to the current mark set by Novak Djokovic.

It should be a fitting occasion to conclude the first Grand Slam of the 2026 season and one that every Tennis fan should be looking forward to.

The women's Final on Saturday did provide the drama that had largely been missing from that tournament as Elena Rybakina came through in three sets.

It looked like the match was going to get away from the Kazakhstan player in the final set, but a five game winning run turned things in Rybakina's favour and she has moved back into the top three of the World Rankings.

A healthy Elena Rybakina could be a threat at two of the next three Grand Slams, although still has something to prove on the clay courts.

Wimbledon has to be a big target and she can certainly close towards the top of the World Rankings if she can maintain the form of the last six months.

Some words about Aryna Sabalenka- the World Number 1 is a huge personality and remains one of the most consistent players who is always there or thereabouts at the biggest tournaments.

Reaching four of the last five Grand Slam Finals is nothing to be sneered at, even if Sabalenka has come up short in three of those.

You have to expect Aryna Sabalenka to be challenging for the biggest titles throughout 2026 and she has shown plenty of mental resilience to bounce back from plenty of other setbacks to be concerned about how she will respond to this Australian Open Final defeat.

Carlos Alcaraz - 1.5 sets v Novak Djokovic: Depending on your personal belief system, you may describe events on Friday as being 'destiny', 'fate' or perhaps even think some sort of 'divine intervention'.

That is certainly the case for the second Semi Final which was won by Novak Djokovic and the desire to win a twenty-fifth Grand Slam title is now just one match away.

It has been a miraculous few days for the 38 year old and that cannot be denied, no matter what else you believe.

A walkover in the Fourth Round is not so unique- in a long Grand Slam tournament, things like that happen, but the last couple of matches have been very unique.

Trailing 2-0 in the Quarter Final, Novak Djokovic admitted that his time in Melbourne looked to be coming to an end for another year.

Instead, Djokovic was given a reprieve as his fortune was Lorenzo Musetti's misfortune with an injury forcing the Italian to withdraw early in the third set when looking more than on course to beat the ten time Australian Open Champion.

Novak Djokovic admitted the better player had lost on the day, and there may be a similar feeling after he somehow managed to rally and beat the World Number 2 in a five set epic on Friday. The numbers back up that this may have been the most unexpected Semi Final win in a Grand Slam event going back to 1991 when some of the leading number-crunchers have been keeping vigorous records.

The former World Number 1 had 8 Break Points compared with the 18 that Jannik Sinner created, but Djokovic won the majority of the biggest points and recovered from 15/40 positions twice and 0/40 in the final set. He took his one and only Break Point created and the legendary Serb won a match in which his opponent won 12 more points over the course of the epic last four contest.

Suffice to say it is very difficult to overcome those kinds of numbers over and over again, while Novak Djokovic just spent over four hours on the court at 38 years old. Recovery is going to be the big challenge, but it certainly helps that his opponent in this Final has just played the longest Semi Final in Australian Open history.

Carlos Alcaraz is looking to become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam, but he had to dig seriously deep to beat Alexander Zverev having cramped up towards the end of the third set. At that stage the World Number 1 looked to be cruising through, but the body began to let him down and that allowed Alexander Zverev to win the next two sets in Tie-Breakers and then take a break lead in the decider.

All credit has to be given to the Spaniard for turning that set around and fighting his way through to the Final, although he has since indicated that he was not receiving a Medical Time Out for cramping issues, but because he felt something else in his muscle. That MTO infuriated Alexander Zverev, because you are not allowed to have a trainer come and work on cramps unless between changeovers and even then it can only be used three times.

Ultimately Zverev has tried to move past any controversy and it is Carlos Alcaraz who will be playing in the Australian Open Final for the first time.

Like his older opponent, Carlos Alcaraz will have to show tremendous recovery after spending almost five and a half hours on the court on Friday. Credit has to be given to the top Seed for the way he managed his serve in that win over Alexander Zverev and it is going to need to be a key shot for him to earn the victory over Novak Djokovic.

Carlos Alcaraz is plenty experienced, even at this young age, but this is easily his best run at the Australian Open and that means he is breaking new ground.

Of course that is far from the case for Novak Djokovic who has won this title ten times in his career and he has NEVER been beaten in the Australian Open Final. This has to give the Serb so much confidence, while he will note that he upset Carlos Alcaraz on this court twelve months ago in a four set win.

Prior to the US Open Semi Final in September, Novak Djokovic had not been beaten on a hard court by Carlos Alcaraz and that is another factor that has to give the veteran belief that this is his moment to win a twenty-fifth Grand Slam title and move clear of all.

The four hard court matches played between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have narrowly favoured the latter, but the win in New York City has to give the Spaniard so much confidence.

He only faced a single Break Point that day and Alcaraz had his chances in the Quarter Final defeat to Novak Djokovic twelve months ago.

Carlos Alcaraz will believe that his serve has improved markedly since that loss to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne when he was only winning 58% of points played behind the serve. That number improved to 70% in New York City and the returning numbers were similar in both matches, which suggests Carlos Alcaraz deserves the edge that has been given to him.

Over the last twelve months, Carlos Alcaraz has been the superior hard court player, while he has definitely been the more impressive within this tournament.

Novak Djokovic has shown he can play clutch tennis at the biggest moments, while the aggressive style surprised Jannik Sinner and may also give Alcaraz something to think about.

Factoring in the ability to recover from epic five setters on Friday is much more difficult- you would think Carlos Alcaraz being younger and playing earlier on the day will give him the edge, but dismissing the motivation that is fuelling Novak Djokovic and having that see him leave everything on the court would be dangerous.

The hard court performances against Carlos Alcaraz and the confidence of playing in these conditions and on this court makes Novak Djokovic a threat too.

Perhaps he is playing with some destiny and that Sunday is all about Novak Djokovic moving past Margaret Court's twenty-four Grand Slams just across from a tennis court names after the Australian.

Winning the title and leaving the sport would just be a fitting end to what has been a wonderful career, but the numbers suggest Carlos Alcaraz will have a little too much for Novak Djokovic. His variety is going to be important, as it was in the US Open Semi Final win, and a cold heart can only pick the World Number 1 to complete his career Grand Slam by breaking the heart of one of the absolute greatest to ever pick up a racquet.

It would really not offend if this Pick is wrong and Novak Djokovic can turn back the clock one more time, but he is going to have to come through some really sticky moments again and this time he may just come up short.

That win in New York City should make Carlos Alcaraz know what he needs to do in this Australian Open Final and he may just have too much over three or four sets.

MY PICK: Carlos Alcaraz - 1.5 Sets @ 1.61 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Australian Open Update: 37-23, + 15.08 Units (124 Units Staked, + 12.16% Yield)

Winmau World Masters Darts Day 3 Picks 2026 (Saturday 31st January)

If Mike de Dekker had aimed his dart a quarter of an inch to the right, Luke Littler would have been dumped out of the World Masters and the rest of the draw would have really felt a big opportunity had opened up to win the opening Ranking tournament of the 2026 season.

There is an intimidation factor around the World Number 1 for many, while you always feel the longer formats are so much tougher to get the better of Luke Littler.

Most of the big names have made it through to the Second Round and that means there will be plenty of players who will have the belief that they can win the title over the next couple of days. Of course Luke Littler will remain a big favourite until he is out of the event, but we are now moving into the best of seven Set format, although the best of three Legs to win a set means there are chances for upsets with a five or ten minute barrage.

The Second Round is going to be split over two Sessions before the Quarter Final matches are played on Sunday afternoon.

From there, the Semi Final and Final will be scheduled for the Sunday evening as the first Ranking title is handed out and the top eight names will then begin Premier League action next Thursday.

Double- Chris Dobey & Gary Anderson to win: The opening two Second Round matches should see both favourites through after strong performances in the First Round.

Chris Dobey played really well to beat Jermaine Wattimena and averaged just shy of 100.

He is not playing in the Premier League this season, which may not be a bad thing for Dobey, and he should have too much for Damon Heta.

The Australian ended the last calendar year in poor form and did not look himself at the World Championships last month. Getting the better of Michael van Gerwen will give Heta a lot of confidence, but the former did not have his best match and Damo is going to have be a lot better to move into the Quarter Final.

Doubling Chris Dobey with Gary Anderson is the call, even if the latter may still be seething about influencers as he was after his First Round win.

The performance on the oche was nothing to be angry about and Anderson had the better of James Wade when they met on the Tour last season.

You never want to dismiss someone who can dig in like Wade and the First Round performance from a player looking to prove the PDC wrong for leaving him out of the Premier League was very good. Again, James Wade will be under more pressure from the scoring power that Gary Anderson can put together and the former two-time World Champion can edge through.

Gerwyn Price to Win & Over 3.5 180s: Jonny Clayton is the Welsh Number 1 and the Runner Up from twelve months ago at the World Masters, but Gerwyn Price has gotten the better of his mate on the Tour over the last twelve months.

Both produced some very strong darts in the opening Round and there will be no doubt that another strong performance will be needed to move into the Sunday Quarter Final.

Eight straight wins have been produced by Gerwyn Price in this rivalry and he threw four maximums in his First Round win.

Both can be true again in this good looking Second Round match.

Danny Noppert to Win & Over 3.5 180s: He 'only' needed three maximums during the win over Daryl Gurney in the First Round, but Danny Noppert is going to have to win at least a couple more Legs in this and can move that total up to at least four.

He will need them to fend off Stephen Bunting for a second year in a row at the World Masters having beaten him 4-3 in the Quarter Finals twelve months ago.

That was a high quality match and both will be happy enough with the First Round wins on Friday.

Out of the two players, Danny Noppert will perhaps be feeling slightly better with his level and he has been the more consistent player, which can make the difference.

The heavy scoring that can be produced by Stephen Bunting makes him dangerous, but it is the Dutchman who has gotten the better of the recent TV meetings and he can do that again.

Luke Littler to Win & Over 5.5 180s: The power scoring of Ross Smith has to be respected and that has allowed him to push Luke Littler in previous meetings, while the First Round win and the manner he produced it will have given Smith a boost.

He was unexpectedly beaten very early at the World Championships, but Ross Smith is still inside the top 20 of the World Rankings and will be looking for a fast start to 2026.

Of course this is a huge challenge for anyone and Luke Littler was still hitting plenty of maximums even as he looked to be heading out of the tournament on Friday.

There is never really much doubt in his ability to pound the treble 20 and Littler should be able to get up to at least six in this match, which should have at least 10-12 Legs played.

He will need to find those big scores to keep the pressure on a heavy scorer in Ross Smith and Luke Littler should be able to come through in six sets.

MY PICKS: Chris Dobey & Gary Anderson to Win @ 2.25 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Gerwyn Price to Win & Over 3.5 180s @ 2.25 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Danny Noppert to Win & Over 3.5 180s @ 2.50 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Luke Littler to Win & Over 5.5 180s @ 1.95 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

World Masters Update: 2-4, - 0.61 Units (6 Units Staked, - 10.17% Yield)