posted May 9, 2008 at 18:35 in Tennis Free Picks

Berlin, Germany – The weekend sports betting market at BetUS Sportsbook, offers the online betting community a whole host of stellar betting options with tennis odds on two prestigious tournaments – the ATP Masters Series Rome and the WTA Qatar Telecom German Open. So to get you started wagering on tennis this weekend, here is a look at one of these options – the semi-final matchup between Dinara Safina and Viktoria Azarenka at the Qatar Telecom German Open.

Tennis Betting Line: Dinara Safina vs. Viktoria Azaranka

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Saturday May 9, 2008

Head-to-Head Analysis: This is the first-ever career meeting between Dinara Safina and Viktoria Azarenka in a WTA main draw event.

Dinara Safina – No. 17 Dinara Safina of Russia, the tournaments 13th seed, is enjoying a magical run in Berlin. On the heels of some mercurial performances, Safina felled two tournament favourites en route to the final four.

After starting in the R64 (only the top eight seeds received a bye into the second round), Safina opened her campaign against wild card Julia Goerges, defeating her 6-3, 6-4. Next, Safina recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi to set up a sixth career meeting against World No.1 Justine Henin. The R16 matchup, wherein Safina weighed in as an underdog against heavy favourite Henin – a player she has never defeated, delivered the tournament’s first big shock upset, when her comeback victory from behind robbed the tournament’s of one of its short-odds-on favourites, Henin, for the title. The 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 stunner in the bag, Safina was not done sending seismic shockwaves through the tournament as in the quarterfinal round, she replicated the performance that saw her down the top seed, once again coming back from behind to oust Serena Williams 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(5).

Viktoria Azarenka – No. 26 Viktoria Azarenka is one of the WTA circuits rising stars. Though her course to the semi-final was perhaps navigated through the easier section of the draw, by no means is she any less impressive for it. Azarenka opened her tournament against Casey Delacqua; a victory over the Australian saw her set up a clash with Anna Chakevetadze, the tournament’s sixth seed. But a hard-up Chakvetadze proved ineffectual as she unravelled during the course of the match, allowing her one set lead to slip through her fingers 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-4. In the R16, Azarenka trounced Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-1 and in the quarterfinal, she drove out Bondarenka with a 7-6(2), 6-2 win.

Betting Verdict: By virtue of her performance over two of the most dominating women in tennis, I like Safina to reach thefinal in Berlin. In five tries, her best performances were two quarterfinal runs in 2006-07. This is her sixth appearance and first Safina semi-final in Berlin. Safina does have a tendency to be temperamental during a match, occasionally mired in heated arguments— in Spanish or Russian – with her racquet, wherein the said bi-lingual instrument committed an unforgiveable offense and needs a stern dressing down immediately. Her on court theatrics have led to a meltdown or two in her career against unlikely opponents. However, in spite of her idiosyncrasy, I like the way she has been playing this week and should she continue on this vein, she should advance into the final – if not, even win the title.

Tennis Free Picks: Safina in straight sets

So there you have it, a nice short break down for you of some of the exciting tennis betting options available at BetUS Sportsbook. Now that you are all read up, you are ready to start betting on tennis!

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