Sharapova's draw looks very favorable.

Maria Sharapova has to be happy and optimistic about how her draw looks at this year's Australian Open. 

She is seeded 14th because she was injured at this time last year and she's missing a lot of tour ranking points as a result.  However Sharapova won the Australian Open the last time she played in it, in 2008, and she also made the finals in Melbourne in 2007.

All sportsbooks that our staff looked at have Sharapova as the 4th favorite in the tournament, behind Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, and Justine Henin.

bet365, for example, have Sharapova at +900 (9/1) and you really have to like those odds because Sharapova is in the easy part of the draw, as far as the first FIVE rounds go.

The two toughest players in Sharapova's quarter are Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, two players that are not really on form to win the Australian Open and probably the two high seeds that you would want to share your section of the draw with if you had your pick.

It's not hard to picture Sharapova in the semifinals this year at all and she may get there having played a relatively low number of points and therefore with a lot of energy.

Go to bet365 to bet on Australian Open tennis.