- The Adelaide International 2 still boasts strong fields despite some notable absentees 
- Recommended bets: 
- Rublev to win ATP event
- Bencic to win WTA event

The Adelaide International 2 provides one of the final opportunities for players to fine-tune their preparations for the Australian Open and both the men’s and women’s competitions have attracted strong line-ups.

Novak Djokovic won the first of the two warm-up events in Adelaide but he will skip the second, so Russian star Andrey Rublev is the tournament’s top seed, with Pablo Carreno Busta, Karen Khachanov and Roberto Bautista Agut among his title rivals.

In the women’s draw, consistent Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia is the top seed following the notable withdrawals of world number one Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula.

Aryna Sabalenka claimed the silverware in the opening Adelaide competition but, like Djokovic, is sitting out the second.

Ruthless Russian the man to beat

Being tournament top seed ought to come with some luxuries and it has gifted Rublev with a generous draw, something he should be able to capitalise on.

The Russian has not always delivered his best performances in Grand Slam tournaments, although he is a six-time Major quarter-finalist which highlights his consistency.

However, he is a prolific winner on the ATP Tour, having claimed 12 career titles, and this offers another good opportunity to bolster that impressive tally.

Rublev receives a first-round bye before a second-round clash with Thanasi Kokkinakis or Alexei Popyrin, with neither of the home hopes surely good enough to contain him.

A quarter-final showdown with Miomir Kecmanovic is on the cards but that is another test the Russian should pass with flying colours, while fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut would be his biggest semi-final concern.

So Rublev should have a decent chance of installing some confidence before the Australian Open and his biggest challenge may stem from his compatriot Khachanov.

Khachanov is less reliable than Rublev as his form can dip but he was a semi-finalist at the US Open in September and has also landed in a decent quarter of the draw.

It will be interesting to see if Sebastian Korda chooses to compete, and if he does then he is a big player.

The American finished runner-up to Djokovic in the opening Adelaide warm-up event on Sunday, taking the fired-up Serb to a deciding set.

Korda had previously recorded straight-set wins over Andy Murray, Bautista Agut and Jannik Sinner so is evidently operating at the peak of his powers.

Bencic primed for a big run

The women’s field for the second event in Adelaide has cut up some big-name withdrawals, which is something Belinda Bencic could take advantage of.

The Swiss star claimed her sixth career title in Charleston last year and there should be plenty more to come from the former US Open semi-finalist, who is still only 25 years of age.

The early draw looks a good one for Bencic, who faces an out-of-sorts Garbine Muguruza in her opener, before a likely second-round showdown with a hit-and-miss Jelena Ostapenko.

Tournament favourite Garcia is likely to be waiting in the last eight but Bencic should be optimistic about her chances.

The eighth seed showed she was in decent nick when beating Yulia Putintseva at the United Cup earlier this month before losing 6-3 7-6 to world number one Swiatek.

However, Bencic was competitive and there is no Swiatek in this field, suggesting the Swiss girl, who is 8/1 with LiveScore Bet for some early-season silverware, could enjoy a deep run.

With Jabeur having withdrawn from the tournament, the bottom half of the draw is less competitive than may have been the case, and Liudmila Samsonova could be overpriced at 10/1 with LiveScore Bet.

The Russian is a four-time winner on the WTA Tour and she was unfortunate to bump into eventual champion Sabalenka in the last 16 of last week’s event. 

Even so, it was a match settled by fine margins as she suffered an agonising 7-6 7-6 defeat.