posted June 27, 2008 at 12:29 in Tennis Betting Trends

London, England – Banking on the sports betting underdog this year seems to be the winning wager in the early days of Wimbledon betting as the Championships has already lost several of its big names on both the men’s and women’s front.

In the opening round, No.4 Nikolay Davydenko began the humbled line-up of seeds exiting in the early rounds, followed by No.7 David Nalbandian, No.18 Ivo Karlovic and No.32 Michael Llodra. The women suffered the loss of No. 17 Alize Cornet, No. 19 Maria Kirilenko, No.23 Katerina Srebotnik, No.27 Virginie Razzano and No.30 Dominika Cibulkova.

Second round tennis betting action delivered even more stunners, namely the upsets of No.3 Novak Djokovic, No.6 Andy Roddick, No.9 James Blake and No. 19 Nicolas Almagro. Meanwhile, the women’s front saw short odds-on-favourite No.3 Maria Sharapova ousted in stunning fashion in the second round; also joining her in the ranks of the defeated were No.10 Daniela Hantuchova, No.13 Vera Zvonarev and No.26 Sybille Bammer at the close of Thursday’s Wimbledon betting.

So what sports bettors can gain from the above wrap-up is that after two rounds of tennis betting the results went against most pundits expectations? No, let me rephrase that or better yet, to put it a little less mildly: the results were complete shockers; the pundits were downright gobsmacked!

In Grand Slam betting, favourites are held to persevere in the beginning rounds, particularly as they face lesser competition in the early days of the tournament. They enter matchups as steep favourites and with overwhelmingly one-sided price tags, betting on the long shot is seen as a huge risk. Long shot pushers love these underdog odds, but for the most, the favourite odds usually hold up with the favourites firmly advancing. After all, favourites are favoured for a reason. Not until the third and fourth rounds and on, when the draw naturally trims some more, the elite players face stiffer opposition from higher calibre players, do most tennis bettors speculate against the favourites. Odds are typically closer and tighter at this point, the profits smaller. But this is measured and smart betting –playing the percentages.

Well so far, as sound as the tennis betting strategy is, you can scrap it for now. Well, to some extent. No draw in the championships is unaffected, making Wimbledon betting a wide-open affair and as we advance through to the next week, the playing field will only get wider. The upset bug seems to be in the air and no one would appear to be immune.

In men’s tennis betting, most (me included) anticipate a Federer/Nadal final. Both are still alive and through to the third round, but will their collision course be derailed by an unexpected surprise on either or both ends? With the latest turn of events, this is a viable question.

On the women’s front, speculation surrounds the Serbian duo of Ivanovic and Jankovic and the sister act of Venus and Serena Williams, two duets still very much in contention, inextricably drawn towards each other. (Jankovic may set a date with Venus in the quarterfinals, while Serena Williams is slotted for a semi-final against Ivanovic.) But if truth be told, the real question, uppermost in everyone’s thoughts is which of the two pairings, divided on opposing ends of the draw, will serve up a Wimbledon final this year. Will the online sports betting community be treated to a sequel to the Williams’ finals of days gone by or will it be an all-Serbian Grand Slam final? Then again, with the infectious malady of upsets wrecking havoc in the championships, Ivanovic herself almost succumbing to its ill effects in the second round, who knows what can happen. But what you can do is bet on it!

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