Posted on 4/18/2008 6:13:03 PM

Tennis Betting - US Men’s Clay Court Championships

By Nila Amerova

Houston, Texas – Currently running at BetUS Sportsbook in online tennis betting are the US Men’s Clay Court Championships quarterfinal tennis odds. Top seed James Blake, fifth seed Mardy Fish and Wayne Odesnik lead the American surge at this clay court event; meanwhile, Spaniards Oscar Hernandez and Marcel Granollers-Pujol, Argentineans Sergio Roitman and Agustin Calleri and Marcos Daniel of Brazil complete the final eight. As the quarterfinal betting action heats up today as the players vie for a berth in the semifinal, what is in store for tennis bettors is more tennis gambling over the weekend! Yeah!

So to get you started betting on the US Men's Clay Championship in Houston – the only American court event on the ATP calendar -- here is a look at the tournament’s favorite James Blake and his upcoming matchup.

In the top half of the draw, top seed James Blake defeated young qualifier Ryan Harrison (15-years-old) 6-3, 6-2 yesterday to book his place in the final eight. His reward is a quarterfinal matchup against Agustin Calleri of Argentina – a player who is very much in his comfort zone playing on clay.

Tennis Betting Line:

James Blake (1st Set) -155 Over 9½ -135

Agustin Calleri (1st Set) +115 Under 9½ -105

James Blake -2½ -115 -165 Over 22½ -105

Agustin Calleri +2½ -125 +125 Under 22½ -135

Analysis: No. 8 James Blake and No. 53 Agustin Calleri have met three times during the course of their careers, twice on hard and once on clay. Blake won one match on each surface. With a slight 2-1 edge over Calleri, Blake should feel confident entering this matchup. Further adding to his favoured odds at -165 on the money line is home court advantage.

Blake arrived in Houston with a 19-6 mark for the season, comprised of only hard court tournament play. This is the first tournament he contests on clay this year.

This is Blake’s eighth consecutive appearance in Houston. In his tournament debut in 2001, Blake fell in the second round. His worst result came in 2006, a first round exit. However, in the remaining five appearances in Houston, Blake reached the quarterfinal four times and did one better last year, a semifinal appearance (l. to Nicolas Lapentti). Blake’s quarterfinal record in Houston is 1-4.

Calleri reaches his fourth quarterfinal at an ATP draw event. In his previous three quarterfinal encounters, Calleri failed to advance. He enters this meeting with a 0-3 record in ATP quarterfinals.

While Calleri enjoys playing on all surfaces, his best results have come on clay. The only two ATP titles Calleri lifted in his career came on clay – Acapulco (2003) and Kitzbuhel (2006). Calleri is making his US Men’s Clay Court Championships debut this year and reaches the final eight with victories over Vincent Spadea and Paul Capdeville.

Calleri has had a great run in Houston thus far; both his victories were straightforward 6-4, 6-3 over Spadea and 6-2, 6-1 over Capdeville.

Calleri could be the dark horse of this tournament. I expect he will give Blake a tough match. I cannot help but believe that this time around, Calleri will emerge the winner. In 2008, Calleri has already contested five Clay court tournaments; he must be better adjusted to the conditions on this surface. Meanwhile, Blake appears in his first clay court event. His game faced relative tough competition in Nishikori in his opening match, but the Japanese teenager is not a natural clay courter. His second round contest was against an unseasoned 15-year-old tennis player! Hardly a contest. Calleri is his first real test. I cannot say that Blake’s clay court game is ready for the challenge.

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