Tennis Betting: US Open Tennis Review

When I tipped Juan Martin Del Potro to have a good run in the event I did not expect him to go and win it! In fact, I watched the Tennis until Roger Federer was 2-1 up in sets and thought “Now it’s over” and went to bed. I was never a big fan of Del Potro before as I found him a little surly but he has proved me right in that talent wins through in the end. Andy Murray now occupies a frustrating space as the only member of the top 5 players not to have won a Grand Slam tournament. I’m sure he will be more than aware of this and eager to put that right.

Meanwhile, what now for Federer? His big runs of grand slams at the US Open winning 5 in a row and Wimbledon are now in the past. I still believe he will carry on and is certainly still the man to beat. He will either be buoyed by the contenders to his supremacy or frustrated. Bjorn Borg walked away when his throne was challenged and we hope Federer stays and fights. At 28 he still has much to offer the game I feel. As I have previously stated I think we are entering a new era of men’s Tennis. I still believe that Federer and Nadal are legitimately number one and two in the world respectively, but now we have Djokovic, who is looking very good at the moment, Del Potro, who threatened to break through at the French and has now became the only player apart from Rafael Nadal to beat Federer in a major final, and Murray, who performs fantastically in circuit events, as the top five in the world. There appears to be a gap between these players and the rest of the top ten in Roddick, Tsonga, and Daveydenko etc.

Looking forward to the future events the betting markets are now wide open so Tennis fans can look forward to some good and varied odds. No longer is Federer expected to win by such a clear margin. It remains to be seen whether the new family life he enjoys will take the edge from his tennis. His serve let him down badly in the final and is such a staple of his game. We write him off at our peril, however.

The woman’s game has been rejuvenated by the winning return of Kim Clijsters. She becomes the first Mum since 1980 to win a grand slam, only her second grand slam victory ever. The future is certainly bright for Kim; there are no longer the likes of Mauresmo, Henin or Hingis stopping her from winning titles and Sharapova still looks some way from returning to her best after serious shoulder surgery. The Williams sisters are still a threat, but I feel Clijsters is for sure in the top five of the woman’s game, perhaps even in the top three. I would have tipped her as a value bet for upcoming circuit tournament tennis betting but fortunately for bwin.com her winning has justified the inevitable low odds she will have from now on. Her win was a great story for woman’s tennis just when it needed a boost in popularity.

Not such a great story was the Serena Williams outburst. Although I can privately admit to being entertained by the whole affair, her outburst was certainly out of order and not a good example to young players or fans of Tennis. To be fair to Serena, she has since apologised but the damage was done and I applaud the officials for making the right call no matter what the score was in the match. Football referees take note! It will be interesting to see how Serena comes back from this fiasco, she could take a step back from Tennis and get disillusioned or she could get the passion to rip opponents up. Let’s just hope she does not tell them. It is reported she will be fined $300,000 (her prize money from the event), so it was a costly outburst.

I cannot wait for the next televised tournament in a couple of weeks. I will be keeping my eyes open for the betting markets and reporting my tips (which I should be charging for after the brilliant Del Potro tip don’t you think?). Do not worry; my readers will get them for free.

By Malcolm Clarke