Men’s ATP Tennis Tour from around the world – Latest Betting Prices

After all the excitement of a spectacular Australian Open, the ATP tour comes back down to earth with some of the top players in action around the world in ranking events. There is a lot of tennis to come between now and then end of May, when the second of the four Grand Slam events, the French Open at Roland Garros takes place. The long tennis season is all about rankings and earning money, which will all stack up at the end of the year, to try and finish in the top 16, and qualify for the end of season ATP World Tour Finals.

There are three ranking tournaments going on at the moment, all of which end on Sunday. The top seeds of the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray aren’t anywhere to be seen yet, this is because with so many ranking events going on throughout the season, players are able to pick and choose the timing of events which suit them the best. In their absence, it is a chance for the chasing pack, who are looking to hunt down places in the World Top 5, to build some form, ranking points, and of course prize money.

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Prize Money: $1,500,000
Surface: Indoor Hard

Three big names in particular are in attendance in Holland, with World Number Two Novak Djokovic out to bounce back from a disappointing exit at the Australian Open, where he was expected to reach the semi finals. As in a repeat of the previous year, Djokovic’s health failed him, and he crashed out in the Quarter Finals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This indoor hard court event, will give him a chance to get another event under his belt, and he starts as strong favourite in the field. The main threat to him will come from one of the most in form players in the world at the moment, Nikolay Davydenko. Davydenko has beaten Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer this season, but it was against Federer that Davydenko’s Australian Open was ended. Still, he is one to watch out for, and this could be a big year in terms of stature for the Russian, and the defeat against Federer was the only loss he has suffered this year.

Robin Soderling will be pushing hard in these types of events. The Swede reached the final of the Rotterdam tournament two years ago, but lost, but 2009 was another year of development for him. He seems to always be around the outskirts of posing a threat, but his game hasn’t quite reached the potential of challenging for major honours. A career high ranking of 8th, confirms that he is still on the rise. Andy Murray won this tournament in 2009, but he’s not back to defend his title. Novak Djokovic is the one to watch out for though. He has the skill set and game to cake walk through the tournament. Rightly top seeded, followed by Davydenko. Former winner Mikhail Youzhny is also in the mix as an outside shot.

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Outright Winner
Novak Djokovic – 13/8 at Stan James
Nikolay Davydenko – 9/4 at SkyBet
Robin Soderling – 4/1 at Paddy power
Gael Monfils – 7/1 at SkyBet
Mikhail Youth – 18/1 at SkyBet

SAP OPEN
San Jose, United States
Prize Money: $531,000
Surface: Indoor Hard

Meanwhile, over in San Jose, US, the SAP Open, the second oldest professional men’s tournament in the United States, hosts some big names on the list as well. The tournament has been in operation for over 120 years and has quite an illustrious list of winners names on the trophy. Names like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Andy Murray are all there, and former winner Andy Roddick is also back for more. In fact, American Roddick has won the SAP Open three times already, his most triumph coming in 2008 in the final over Radek Stepanek.

Czech star Radek Stepanek was back again, and has a great record in the tournament, as is the current title holder. His triumph in reaching the final last year, was the third time in a row he had reached the final of the SAP Open, proving a point that some players love certain tournament, and always perform well in them. Typically, he just crashed out in the first round, as one of the big surprises of the week. This is another tournament which Andy Murray has won, twice in a row to be exact, but the Scot has taken a pass on it this year. With Stepanek’s departure, it should leave the gates open for debutant Fernando Verdasco. This is the first time the Spaniard has entered this tournament, but comes in as second seed thanks to his standing in the world game. Having had a career high of 7th, but currently standing at 11th in the world, Verdasco is another player who has made a steady, but progressive impact on the ATP Tour. Lost to Davydenko at the Australian Open, and should be the main challenger for the title along with Andy Roddick.

Roddick is one of those players who never quite lived up to all of the hype and promise that he showed early on in his career. Over the last 5 years his standings have actually dropped dramatically in the world standings, and he is only just getting back to rising again. Started the season well by winning the Brisbane Open, and had a decent run in the Australian Open before losing to an inspired Marin Cilic. Still, he holds the position of third in the list of most titles won by an active player, behind Federer and Nadal. If he can win this one, it will be another step forward in climbing the rankings. With the level of opposition in the SAP Open, he will remain one of the favourites to win it for the fourth time.

SAP Open Outright Winner
Andy Roddick – 5/4 at BetFred
Fernando Verdasco – 3/1 at BetFred
Radek Stepanek – 7/1 at BetFred
Tommy Haas – 7/1 at BetFred
Tomas Berdych – 8/1 at BetFred

BRASIL OPEN
Prize Money: $442,500
Surface: Clay

Set in a beautiful surrounding, the Brazil Open is quite innovative, as it can be labelled as a Green tournament, as the tournament planted 500 trees to offset carbon emissions, and works with the community in matters of recycling. In comparison to the other ATP Tournaments happening at the moment, the quality of players on show isn’t quite up there. The top seed is Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world number one, who now stands at 22nd in the World. Much like Andy Roddick really, Ferrero dipped right down and is just starting to get his game back to the top level. This is a great tournament for Ferrero to get more games under his, albeit against opposition which is more around his current level. Has a long way to get back to his very best, but seems to be on the right track, although he hasn’t won a single match in 2010 yet.

Fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes should be in the hunt, as he is having a decent start to the year. Ranked 28th in the World, he could pose a threat to other contenders, while Russian Igor Andreev, who battled well against Roger Federer at the Australian Open, will be targeting better things, after crashing out in the first round of the Brazil Open for the past two season. The home fans though will be cheering for Thomaz Bellucci, as the Brazilian finished as runner up in last year’s event. Recently won the Santiago tournament, so is in good form, and lost to Andy Roddick in the second round at the Australian Open.

Brazil Open Outright Winner
While Thomaz Bellucci is favourite, as this is a smaller tournament in terms of quality, it will be a good chance to check out the prices at betting exchange BetFair to see what prices you can pick up. BetFair is a little different from the standard online bookmaker, as you are essentially betting against other punters. This can reward with better prices, especially at events like this, plus you can earn yourself a Free £25 bet when you sign up.