Up to Tennis Betting Trends

posted January 16, 2008 at 16:26 in Tennis Betting Trends

Melbourne, Australian – Today, on the men’s side, the second and third round matches are running concurrently. In the top half of the draw, Roger Federer prepares to face Fabrice Santoro in the second round, and Rafael Nadal is set to take on his third round match against Gilles Simon. What promises to be an exciting day in Melbourne, will be an equally intense day for tennis betting fans.

To get you started betting on tennis at this first Grand Slam event of the year, here are some tennis picks for you to consider.

Tennis Betting Line: Jarkko Nieminen -130 Mardy Fish -110

Match Time: 5PM EST Wednesday January 16, 2008.

Tennis Prediction: After a disappointing 2007 season, No.43 Mardy Fish is enjoying a good run so far at the Australian Open, reaching the third round with victories over Serbian Boris Pashanski in the first round and [11] Tommy Robredo in the second round. Following his upset of the eleventh seed, Spaniard Robredo, Fish’s odds were markedly slashed by bookmakers. Against No.26 Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, Fish is only slightly disadvantaged on the money line. On a bit of a roll, Fish is a good play to continue his winning streak. However, he will face a tough contest against Nieminen. Fish entered the Australian Open with a 0/1 record, having lost in his opening match at Australian Open tune-up event in Sydney.

Their third round matchup marks their first ever meeting, and I would wager, in this their first contest, the balance tips in favour of the left-handed Nieminen. In Adelaide, Nieminen advanced all the way to the final, finishing runner-up to Michael Llodra. In Auckland, however, Nieminen crashed out of the first round. Nieminen enters this matchup with a 4/2 record for the season.

Tennis Free Picks: Jarkko Nieminen in five sets.

Tennis Betting Line: Gilles Simon +900 Rafael Nadal -2500

Match Time: 5PM EST Wednesday January 16, 2008.

Tennis Prediction: This is Nadal’s year to prove he is more than just a clay-court King. After facing a close contest in the first round against Troicki, Nadal breezed through his second round match against Frenchman Florent Serra 6-0, 6-2, 6-0. His comfortable win could not have come at a better time, as following his flop in the Chennai Open final against Youzhny, doubts of his ever exerting any domination on a surface other than clay flared. Nadal is the better play.

Nadal holds a 1-0 head-to-head record against No.33 Gilles Simon.

 

Tennis Free Picks: Nadal in straight sets.

Tennis Betting Line: Stefan Koubek +145 Paul Henri Mathieu -190

Match Time: 5PM EST Wednesday January 16, 2008.

Tennis Prediction: No.68 Stefan Koubek has enjoyed a good run thus far at the Australian Open, arriving into the third round on the heels of victories over [16] Carlos Moya in the first round and Agustin Calleri in the second round. He owns a 2-1 record over No.25 Paul-Henri Mathieu, but the last time the two met was in 2004 in Sopot (clay). Koubek arrived at the Australian Open with a 0/2 record having crashed out of both Doha and Sydney in the first round. However, twice Koubek cashed in on his underdog status to reach the third round. Can he do it a third time?

No.25 Paul Henri Mathieu is the better play at -190. One of the more exciting power-hitters on the tour, Mathieu is a player loaded with talent; but over the course of his career, struggled to harness his power effectively and convert it to the only thing that matters—winning. In Adelaide, Mathieu reached the quarterfinal round, but in Sydney, he crashed out of the first round. Mathieu entered the Australian Open with a 2/2 record for the season.

Tennis Free Picks: Mathieu in four sets

Federer might be winning everything except clay these days, but with online sports betting in the BetUS.com Sportsbook, betting on tennis has never been so exciting! Join the BetUS.com online sportsbook today and start using the latest tennis lines, odds and props to earn cold, hard cash!

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.