Serena to battle Dementieva for berth in Sony Ericsson Semis

Doha, Qatar – The top eight women in tennis assembled in Doha this week for the year-end showdown – the Sony Ericsson Championships. The round robin phase saw sisters, Serena Williams and Venus Williams fall into the same group –the maroon group, Serbian duo of Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic fell into the white group, while the four Russian women –Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Elena Dementieva were split evenly between the two groups.

With the tournament approaching the semis, already confirmed to advance was Venus Williams who seized the top spot in the maroon group after she won all three of her matches. Still to be determined is the second spot in the maroon group – the spot will go to either Serena or Elena Dementieva.

Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva are tied on matches 1-1 and sets 3-2. Their upcoming round robin contest on Friday will decide which player advances into the semis.

Here is a look at what is surely going to be a sports betting delight, the blockbuster matchup of Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva:

Tennis Betting Line: Serena Williams -400 Elena Dementieva +250

Match Time: 09:00 AM Eastern Time, Friday November 7, 2008

Head-to-Head Analysis: Serena Williams leads the head-to-head series 4-2 lifetime. However, Elena Dementieva won their last two meetings. She beat Serena Williams in Moscow last year 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Most recently, she beat Serena at the Beijing Olympics, denying the American a chance to medal when she beat her in the quarterfinals 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Dementieva went on to win the gold medal.

Tennis Betting Analysis:

Williams (-400) No. 3 Serena Williams is favoured in this matchup but given that she has lost back-to-back matches to the Russian I cannot help but feel that her odds are overwhelmingly prejudiced. The two are well matched and have had some interesting matches over their careers. Aside from their first two career meetings in 2003 and 2004 that were overwhelmingly one-sided – Serena won both easily – the remaining four matches were close, hotly contested affairs.

Dementieva +250 Elena Dementieva has had a great season. She won the gold medal in Beijing and picked up two additional titles. She enters this matchup with the confidence of having bested Serena Williams twice in their last two meetings. Overall, for the season, she is 54-15 and she has risen to No.5 in the rankings.

Tennis Betting Verdict: The odds makers did Serena a disservice in this match because her whopping price tag is hardly worth mentioning. They have eliminated any value in betting on her – a real shame. They clearly favour her for the win but given that she lost her last 2 matches and trails 0-1 in 2008 against the Russian, realistically she should not have been such an overwhelming favourite. Now Dementieva, her underdog odds are definitely worth the risk and there is value to be had betting on her. She leads Serena Williams 1-0 this season and with the incentive of advancement on the line, she has the ability to beat her again.

Tennis Free Picks: Dementieva +250 in three sets

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