Posted on 4/9/2008 5:24:13 PM

Tennis Betting - Can Sharapova Take Clay court Title?

By Nila Amerova

Amelie Island, Florida – The first of two American clay court events kicked of this week in the form of the Bausch & Lomb Championships – a Tier II event with a prize purse of $600,000 – at the Amelie Island Plantation in Amelie Island. Heading up the seeded players is BetUS SportsBook’s favorite Russian Maria Sharapova – one of the most in-form players on the WTA tour this season. Sharapova enters the Bausch & Lomb Championships as one of the sports betting’s short-odds-on favorites at BetUS Sportsbook to win the title – she is favored in spite of having never reached the final of a clay court event on the Tour (her best runs have been three semi-finals).

If that is the case, then why are odds makers tipping her as a serious threat on clay this year you may wonder? Because Sharapova started the year winning 18 matches in a row and picking up two of the most coveted titles in the first three months of the season – the Australian Open and Doha – before her winning streak was snapped by compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinal of the Pacific Life Open. Sharapova has never looked better (nor shrieked louder) than she has this year. And with a draw that all but guarantees a premier position in the final movement of the Bausch & Lomb Championships, Sharapova may very well string together a winning streak, interwoven with cacophonic shrieks, to take her to a crescendo first-ever clay court final – and strike the final high note with a title victory.

Now slotting Sharapova for the final bow may be a little premature as Sharapova faces some Top 10 competition in the draw – No.6 Anna Chakvetadze and No.10 Daniela Hantuchova. But the former falls in the bottom half of the draw and would only become a threat if she emerged from her section of the draw in the final. Anna Chakvetadze has never played in Amelie Island, whereas Hantuchova has had more experience at this event, reaching the quarterfinals twice. For Hantuchova to pose a threat to Sharapova she would have to do one better and reach the semifinal this year. Neither Chakvetadze nor Hantuchova has reached a clay court final on the Tour.

The only other players in this year’s draw that could be potential stumbling blocks for Sharapova are two former champions Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo, the former of which falls into the same half of the draw and is slotted by experts to possibly challenge Sharapova in the semifinal. Davenport has lifted the Bausch & Lomb Championships title three times (1997 and 2004-05) and finished runner-up once (2003). Mauresmo has reached the final twice here (2001 and 2004), winning the title once (2001).Mauresmo falls in the bottom half of the draw, but she strikes a barely audible note as since 2007, Mauresmo has struggled to factor in tournaments.

The rest of the playing field from No.4 to No.8 seeds – Marion Bartoli, Patty Schnyder, Dinara Safina and Agnieska Radwanska – are indeed threatening, but if Sharapova brings the form she displayed at the Australian Open, there is no doubt they will be playing second fiddle to the Russian’s vocal performance. When all have played and the last sounds have faded, the echo of Maria Sharapova’s shrieks will have determined who will take the last bow.

So there you have it. A preview of the Bausch & Lomb Championships field of contenders! So as the tournament is currently underway, check out the tennis odds that are currently live at BetUS Sportsbook and start betting. Remember, the French Open is only two short months away, so the results of all the minor tennis tournaments leading up to the second Grand Slam of the year will have far-reaching consequences and will go a long way in helping you speculate on who will win the coveted Roland Garros title in 2008.

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