Category: Tennis

Indian Wells: Huge crowds don’t disguise the fact tennis in America has a problem

There may be a predicted 300,000 tennis fans coming through the turnstiles at Indian Wells next week but the general popularity of tennis is waning in the States. In the absence of American stars who are world beaters or hugely charismatic, tennis in America is on the downslide, says Simon Mundie. Andy Roddick came up with a nice line on it a couple of seasons ago. Asked about tennis not being as popular as American football or Nascar racing- Formula One’s infinitely inferior cousin- he replied “It’s a little disappointing that we’re behind a sport that you turn left for four hours.” The first Masters series tournament of the year is upon us. The best players in the world are in the small city of Indian Wells in California, to play in the BNP Paribas Open . It boasts the second largest tennis stadium in the world, and enjoys an illustrious roll call of past winners. Since 2004, the champions have been the only currently active players to have won a Grand Slam title, namely Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Mar 11, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Davis Cup Betting: We lose because we’re not good enough

Ralph Ellis offers a frank estimation of the Davis Cup defeat to Lithuania and considers the wider malaise of British tennis. “If managing the England football team still carries the moniker created by Graham Taylor of “the impossible job”, then it’s nothing compared to running Britain’s Davis Cup side.” For a good number of years, being Britain’s Davis Cup captain was just about the easiest job in sport. You got out your team sheet and pencil, wrote down the numbers one and two, put the name Tim Henman against the first and Greg Rusedski against the second. Next you put both names down again after first writing the word “doubles”.

Mar 11, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Tennis Betting: Women’s game has a bright future

Poor Grand Slam finals, a lack of depth and excitement on tour – the WTA Tour has copped plenty of criticism in recent years. Guy McCrea argues that the women’s game might be starting to bounce back. “The WTA must effectively market the colourful crop of young players on the WTA Tour led by Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Yanina Wickmayer.” Talk about a welcome change in narrative

Mar 09, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

This week on Betfair Live Video: Masters Series tennis from Indian Wells

The action gets under way on Saturday March 13. Here’s why you should be tuning in…. It seems like a long time ago that Roger Federer reminded the tennis world in no uncertain terms that he still rules the roost by beating Andy Murray in the final of the Australian Open in straight sets. The world number one hasn’t hit a ball in anger since that win in late January but returns to action in the first Masters Series event of the year on the hard courts of Indian Wells. And he’s in illustrious company, with only Juan Martin Del Potro missing from all the players currently ranked in the world top twenty.

Mar 08, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Masters Series Betting: Jeremy Bates’ best bets from Indian Wells

It’s the first Masters event of the year so we asked British tennis legend Jeremy Bates for his views on the top players at Indian Wells “Andy Murray has a maturity and competitive instinct that are second to none. He’s desperate to win the big ones and the other top players both fear and respect him now.” The men’s tournament My Bet: Andy Murray Britain’s Australian Open finalist just loves playing in the US, it was the scene of his first tour victory and is where he resides for part of the year. Moreover, he clearly enjoys this tournament, he was a finalist at Indian Wells last year in a season when he also landed the Miami Masters. The Scot plays his best stuff on hard courts, and the thin desert air quickens his shots

Mar 05, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Davis Cup Tennis Betting: Can US rookies contain Djokovic and co?

It’s Davis Cup time again, which for Britain means the perennial embarrassing struggle against such fine tennis nations as Uzbekistan, Burkina Faso and this week Lithuania. Sean Calvert selects the best bets. “Isner won’t trouble the scorers in Belgrade, but Querrey might nick one and the Bryan’s are unbeaten on clay, so a 3-2 Serbia win looks a decent shout.” While a Murray-less GB scrap it out in Vilnius for the right to play Ireland or Turkey, there is some proper tennis being played elsewhere and this is the pick of the weekend’s action.

Mar 04, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Tennis Betting: ATP ranking explained

How can players drop down the rankings after winning tournaments? How can a player become world number one without ever winning a Grand Slam? Simon Mundie unravels the notoriously complex mystery of the ATP rankings. “In previous years, the disparity between different tiers was far closer, which led to players like Marcelo Rios achieving the world number one ranking despite never winning a Grand Slam.” Understanding the ATP rankings system isn’t easy, especially with the changes it’s undergone over the years. The powers that be have repeatedly tinkered with the system; although they are adamant that in its current format it is easy enough to get your head around so that it shouldn’t need much further tweaking. Until 2009 , there were essentially two systems in place: the rankings and the race. Ranking were calculated over the previous 52 week period, while the race plotted players’ performances from the 1st of January only.

Feb 24, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Constructing the Perfect Female Player Part Two: A surprise appearance by Anna Kournikova

In part two of his study into the perfect female tennis player, Guy McCrea looks at who was the very best when it came to such qualities as power and mind and why the original Russian blonde bombshell tennis player Anna Kournikova features in the list. “I put my money though on the original Russian blonde bombshell: Anna Kournikova.

Feb 23, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Dubai Tennis Championships Betting: Have Murray backers got a bargain?

The withdrawal of Roger Federer sees Andy Murray installed as favourite in Dubai. But the Brit has never been past the quarter-finals here so should bettors look elsewhere? Sean Calvert reports.

Feb 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Tennis Betting: The game’s great entertainers

We all know about the brash approach of Jimmy Connors, the borderline mad antics of Ilie Nastase and the showmanship of Yannick Noah but who are the modern-day entertainers of the men’s tour and does it help them win matches, asks Simon Mundie. Tennis has enjoyed a rich history of entertaining and charismatic players over the years.

Feb 21, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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