Posted on 3/27/2008 7:07:48 PM

Tennis Betting Sportsbook Picks Djokovics Quarter of the Draw

By Nila Amerova

Miami, Florida – During the course of the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open a new star was born when the tournament received the youngest champion in its 23-year history in Serbian Novak Djokovic. Seeded tenth at the time, Djokovic, by winning his first ATP Masters Series Shield established himself as a real contender for the future. Over the remaining months in 2007, Djokovic catapulted in the rankings and firmly locked the World No.3 position by winning a further three titles –including a second ATP Masters Series title in Canada and reaching the semifinal of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and the final of the US Open. Arriving in Miami as the defending champion and on the heels of a big win in Indian Wells last week (and the 2008 Australian Open) Djokovic would appear to be unstoppable. To be sure, Djokovic is the bookies short-odds-on favorite and the bettor’s favorite to win back-to-back ATP Masters Series titles. As he prepares to contest his opening match in Miami on Friday, here is a look at his matchup along with the other players in his quarter of the draw. Follow Djokovic as he begins his title defence in Miami with BetUS; no occasion has been as exciting in tennis betting as the present.

Tournament play starts at 10AM Eastern Time, Friday March 28, 2008.

Tennis Betting Line: Guillermo Canas vs. Sam Warburg

Tennis Prediction: Last year’s finalist Guillermo Canas of Argentina opens his Miami campaign against American Sam Warburg. Warburg, who ranks beyond the Top 100, will have crowd support, but that is about the only advantage he brings into his match. Debuting on the ATP circuit in February last year at the SAP Open in San Jose, Warburg went 1-2 in ATP level play and 24-21 on the Challenger circuit. One of America’s hopefuls of the future, Warburg has a long way to go in gaining the skill and experience necessary to win matches at this level. In his last two events, Warburg was a first round casualty. The most likely outcome is a victory by Canas in this matchup.

Tennis Free Picks: Canas in straight sets.

Tennis Betting Line: Igor Andreev vs. Michael Berrer

Tennis Prediction: Russian Igor Andreev enters the Sony Ericsson Open tournament as the thirty-first seed. Andreev brings a 6-3 record for the season into his opening match, which includes his best run on hard – a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai (l. to Novak Djokovic). No.64 Michael Berrer owns a losing record for the season at 4-8 following his first round victory over Robin Haase. This match is a bit of a derby, as Andreev has a tendency to be inconsistent. In spite of his mixed results, Andreev should win this match.

Tennis Free Picks: Andreev in three sets

Tennis Betting Line: Fernando Gonzalez vs. Pablo Cuevas

Tennis Prediction: No.18 Fernando Gonzalez is not a player brimming with confidence, and after his one sensational run last year at the Australian Open that saw him reach the final, he has posted mixed results in tournament play. In 2008, aside from his dubious title-win in his home event at Vina del Mar (he won the title on a walkover when Juan Monaco withdrew from the final with an injury) Gonzalez has been less than impressive. In three of his four ATP level tournaments, he suffered premature exits against players that ranked well beyond the Top 50. Owing to his rank and seeding, Gonzalez by default should be the better play, but with a wavering confidence, it is my contention betting against him would in fact be the better play. At this point, everyone seems to be beating him. Cuevas met Gonzalez at Vina del Mar in the semifinals and stretched him to three sets. He did not beat him then, but perhaps he can here.

Tennis Free Picks: Cuevas in three sets.

Tennis Betting Line: Novak Djokovic vs. Kevin Anderson

Tennis Prediction: This will be one of the most anticipated matches of the day. The defending champion Djokovic kicks off his Miami title defense against qualifier Kevin Anderson, but before you go ahead and dismiss the young South African because of the [Q] that precedes his name, you should know that he could be pose a real threat to Djokovic. Sure, Djokovic is riding high on pink clouds right now as winning the first two big events of the year – the Australian Open and the ATP Masters Series in Indian Wells –definitely merit such a joyride. But Kevin Andreson in his first ATP level event of the year reached the final; in Las Vegas, Anderson (also a qualifier) nicked victories over Nicolas Mahut, John Isner, Evgeny Korolev and Robby Ginepri before losing to Sam Querrey in the final.

Djokovic has never played the 6’7” Kevin Anderson and would be wise not to underestimate him. To be sure, Djokovic will be outrageously favored on the money line; his season to date is enough to recommend betting on him to advance into the third round. However, at the same time, with tempting long odds on the underdog, and judging from his performance thus far, throwing a bit of money his way may be worth the consideration. Let me just say this: If he should upset Djokovic, you will not have regretted it. Heck! Why not! It is the best of two sets after all, and anything can happen. Last year, after winning the ATP Masters Series in Canada, Djokovic fell in his opening match of the ATP Masters Series in Cincinnati against Carlos Moya – another occasion when two AMS Shield events occur back-to-back. Could this be a déjà vu for the high-flying Serbian?

Tennis Free Picks: Anderson in straight sets

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