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Andy Murray will start his quest for Indian Wells glory on Sunday, but again, as in top tier tournaments like this, his path to the final is not going to be an easy one. Murray opens his account against Italy’s Andreas Seppi, which he will be expected to win of course, and then it is on to the third round where the road starts to get tougher. Murray is seeded 4th for the tournament, and ranked 4th in the world. Unlike the women’s Indian Tournament, where there are top seeds missing, all of the world’s best is in California for this one. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Nikolai Davydenko and Novak Djokovic are all there. The first seeded player Murray is likely to run into is Igor Andreev, who Murray thrashed in the Hopman Cup earlier in the year, dropping only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

Murray (7/2 at Stan James to win outright) will face potential fourth round opponents at Indian Wells, this first ATP 1000 tournament of the season, in Ivo Karlovic (23) or David Ferrer (13). Murray has beaten Karlovic in all three encounters, including a 2008 win at Indian Wells over the Russian. Spain’s David Ferrer is tied a 1-1 with Murray in their head-to-head record, but the last time they played was back in 2006. Ferrer isn’t in too bad form for 2010, winning one title, and 14 of his 20 matches played, and 11 of the last 12. That is all the stands in the way of Murray in his quarter of the top half of the draw. Which means that in the fifth round, he will potentially come up against Sweden’s Robin Soderling. Soderling is the top seed (6th) in the fourth quarter of the top half of the draw has should have fairly easy passage through to meet Murray in the quarter finals. The only other name there is that of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who may pose a threat, but the world number 11 isn’t quite in the same class as Murray or Soderling on top of their games.

The Indian Wells semi final for the top half of the draw, could see Murray pitted against his conqueror in the final of the Australian Open Gran Slam, world number one Roger Federer (15/8 outright at Stan James). There seems little to trouble the great Swiss star in his half of the draw. He has Radek Stepanek in the first quarter with him, and potential quarter final opponent will be American Andy Roddick, seeded 7th for the tournament. Roddick has hardly stopped to catch his breath this year, and should be a safe bet to reach the fourth round, where he will probably run into Gael Monfils (or Moonfish as my spell-check comically corrects his name to). So, a Federer v Murray clash seems more than likely a the semi final stage, but of course there is a lot of work to be done between the second round and the semi. All of the betting previews can be followed here, and the live streaming action can be enjoyed with online bookmaker Bet365, who provide free live tennis for customers with positive funded accounts.

In all honesty, the bottom half of the draw looks to be the one which will be hotly contested through the round, with Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (5/1 outright at Extrabet) being the pick of the bunch down there. Nadal, seeded 3rd for the tournament (as he is number 3 in the world at the moment behind Federer and Djokovic) looks to have the easiest passage. The Spaniard is the defending champion at Indian Wells, and is looking to win the title for the third time. The potential is there for a mouth watering quarter final match against Nikolay Davydenko though.

Andy Murray to win: 1/12 at Coral
Andreas Seppi to win: 8/1 at Bet365

Defeated Australian Open finalist Andy Murray is back in action for the first time since that Grand Slam defeat, and this time there is no Roger Federer to stop him. The Dubai Open is the next stop for the Scot, and he will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of losing to Swiss star Federer in the Australian Open. Murray had planned a longer recovery time, to try and avoid some early season burn out, and made a strong start by beating Russian Igor Kunitsyn easily in the first round of the tournament. This is a hard surface tournament, which has prize money of $1,619,500, held in the United Arab Emirates. This is a big year for Murray, and now he needs to steel himself for a long season. He has recently climbed back up the rankings to World Number 4, but is looking to add a Grand Slam to elevate him to the next level.

World Number One Roger Federer was due to participate in this tournament as well, but he had to withdraw after being diagnosed with a lung infection. The Swiss national, who has won the Dubai Open four times, wasn’t about to take any chances on his health with a long season ahead, noting that he wasn’t breathing as well, nor feeling at his sharp best. That leaves Murray as the top ranked player in the top half of the tournament, in which his best finish was reaching the Quarter Finals both in 2008 and 2009. There is still the small matter of Marin Cilic and Mikhail Youzhny in Murray’s half, but having beaten the higher ranked Cilic comfortably at the Australian Open, Murray shouldn’t have too much trouble getting through to the semi finals in all honesty.

But five of the world’s top ten are in action in Dubai, so there is plenty of stiff competition. Defending Dubai champion Novak Djokovic will have most of the weight on his shoulders, as he looks to win back to back titles. The Serbian, who is ranked number two in the world, surprisingly fell in the Quarter Finals of the Grand Slam to Jo Wilfried Tsonga, and was suffering will poor health. He couldn’t get Mikhail Youzhny in his follow up tournament, losing in the semi finals at Rotterdam. He probably should be due a tournament win, and recently reached the lofty position of World Number Two, the highest ranking of his career. Nikolay Davydenko, who is always a threat in tournaments, is also in action, along with Tsonga. Andy Murray will play either Igor Kunitsyn or Andreas Seppi in the second round. The first seed he can meet is Youzhny, ranked 15th in the world in the Quarter Finals.

ATP Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship Outrights
Andy Murray – 6/4 at Bet365
Nikolay Davydenko – 7/2 at Boylesports
Novak Djokovic – 4/1 BetFred
Marin Cilic – 6/1 at Ladbrokes
Jo Wilfried Tsonga – 14/1 at SkyBet
Mikhail Youzhny – 33/1 at Paddy Power

Abierto Mexicano Telcel
This tennis tournament on the ATP tour, is the perfect opportunity to try the betting exchange, BetFair. This tournament has attracted players from outside of the top ten ranked players in the World, and was part of a four tournament swing of South America. World Number 11 Fernando Verdasco is the highest ranked player there, after accepting a late wild card entry into the tournament. He actually made the final in 2004, but lost. Still, he’s worth a good bet. One of two other notable names in the sports betting action on this tournament, will be Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is good on clay and in a sparkling bit of form. He’s on a streak of unbeaten matches at the moment after a slow start to the season, and is a former World Number One. Has won two of the three South American tournaments already on clay and makes a good bet. The second name to watch for is Nicolas Almagro, who is sixth seed for the tournament. Why would the World 26th make a good bet. Because he has won the tournament for the last two years, and this is the kind of thing that can influence betting strategies. Sometimes a player enjoys playing at a particular tournament more than others, and they will perform above an beyond. Any betting on the tournament, therefore should take him into consideration, even though there are better players than him in there.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel Outright: Hard to find outright prices on the smaller tournament of the week. Still, it’s a money earning, point getting tournament, and one with potential for online betting. By using a betting exchange, like BetFair, then you can probably pick up better prices than if they were listed on a regular online bookmaker. This is because the betting exchange pits punter against punter. The live betting exchange is all about matching bets. Prices will be listed on BetFair, and you can take a selection at whatever odds you fancy odds. You simply need someone to match that bet (with the amount of users on there, that’s a pretty sure bet in itself) at the price or odds you have selected. Basically, if someone is laying a bet (wagering that something is not going to happen) then you can decide to lay with it, or adversely, back the bet. That creates a matched bet, and away you go. The BetFair betting exchange is a great system to learn, as the live, changing odds can bring some great rewards. Plus you can earn a £25 no loss bet when opening a new account.

At the Open 13 Tennis Tournament in Marseille, France, Rotterdam winner Robin Soderling was looking to continue his journey to becoming one of the main threats on the ATP tour. He is one of those players who is always on the fringe of the main action when it comes to the major tournaments, but his abilities serve him well in the ATP tour tournaments. He started favourite, but suffered a surprise quarter final defeat against Frenchman Michael Llodra. With Marcos Baghdatis and Tommy Robredo already falling from his quarter of the draw, Soderling looked a cert to make the most of the opportunity that lay in front of him. He didn’t, raising questions against about his ability to rank highly on the ATP Tour. Llodra will play Mischa Zverev in the semi final, and we could be heading to a replay of last year’s final between Tsonga and Llodra.

The second half of the draw though has been much more fascinating, with three of the four remaining players being seeded, and all of those being Frenchmen in front of their home crowd. Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was a surprise visitor to the Australian Open semi finals, goes up against Julien Benneteau, who is seeded 8th for the tournament, and ranked 39th in the World. Defending champion Tsonga, will be bringing the biggest hope of a French winner in the Open 13, not only as he was the likeliest to be able to give Soderling a run for his money, but because of his current form. With Soderling out of the way, Tsonga will be running as firm favourite for the tournament.

Jo Wilfried Tsonga to win: 3/10 at Stan James
Julien Benneteau to win: 5/2 at Bet365

Tennis star Andy Roddick will be pleased with the way things are going for him in Memphis at the Regions Morgan Championships. Although he had a good first round battle against fellow American James Blake, Roddick, who has won this tournament four times, is through to the third round after beating Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. Roddick, ranked 7th in the world started the tournament as top seed above Fernando Verdasco, ranked 11th, and Radek Stepanek, who is ranked 14th. But Roddick is sitting pretty now, as he has seen his main challengers in Verdasco, Stepanek and fourth seed Tommy Haas, all waive goodbye to the tournament. The biggest shock was Radek Stepanek’s exit to qualifier Kevin Anderson from South Africa. The world number 14th found himself in a tough battle right from the off, and could not get things together.

If Roddick was favourite before the tournament, then he is looking much stronger now. He does have two other seeds to get past though in his quarter, starting with 8th seed Sam Querrey, who is ranked 31st in the World. Out of five meetings, Roddick is 4-1 up over his fellow American, the most recent victory coming at San Jose, where Roddick won in three sets. Fifth seed Tomas Berdych is still in the hunt and could meet Roddick in the Quarter finals. It is from the second half of the draw where all the major casualties have occurred, leaving American John Isner all alone as the only seeded player in that half. This is the big tall Isner, who Andy Murray had to overcome in the Australian Open. Isner goes up against Ivo Karlovic in the third round. But the way should be straight forward for Roddick, who is enjoying a busy, yet productive start to the year. His quest is to make an impact again in the Grand Slams, and while he is doing great in the ATP tour tournament, his performance at the Australian Open, highlighted just how much gulf in class there is amongst the elite of the tennis world, and the chasing pack.

Third Round Match:
Andy Roddick to win: 4/9 at BetFred
Sam Querrey to win: 25/12 at Bwin

There is plenty of men’s tennis and bettting to enjoy from around the world at the moment from the ATP. As well as a tournament going in Buenos Aires at the moment with some of the more fringe players from the world rankings, a lot of the World’s top ten are in action. The superstars aren’t quite out in full force just yet, as there is a long season ahead and players pick and chose their tournaments to pace themselves for the season.

REGIONS KEEGAN MORGAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

We’re off to Memphis Tennessee for one of the unique tournaments on the ATP calendar. The tournament is held at the Racquet Club of Memphis, and this private club can boast about it being the only one to host both a professional men’s and women’s combined tournament. It is an indoor hart court tournament, with quite an illustrious list of winners. There is $1,100,000 worth of prize money up for grabs, and while some of the majors are pacing themselves early in the season, there appears to be no let up in the amount of work which Andy Roddick desires to get through.

It is understandable though, as he enjoys playing at this tournament. Roddick has won the title four times in his career and goes in again this year as top seed. He should be at least a shoe in to reach the semi’s as he’s had the final for the last four years in a row now, almost making the tournament his own. Won a tournament in Brisbane at the start of the year, and made his way to the Quarter Finals of the Australian Open before losing to Marin Cilic. There’s just 32 players in the tournament, but there are some familiar faces from around the top men’s game to cause some serious interest in the competition.

Radek Stapanek was beaten in last year’s final, and has climbed well in the world rankings over the last twelve months. He is back at 14th in the world though, and favours himself heavily on his serve. He will be out for some payback against Roddick, and the duo will meet in the Quarter Finals if things go to form and ranking. Stapanek is ranked third for the tournament, but took three sets to overcome his first round opponent. Spain’s Fernando Verdasco is making his debut at the tournament, and comes straight in as second seed. He has had a good upward curve to his rise in the ATP rankings, and won in San Jose on a hard indoor card earlier this year. Didn’t perform great in the first Grand Slam of the year, but plenty of potential if he gets his game into top gear.

The highest ranked player he will meet in his half of the draw will be German Tommy  Haas, who recently gained his US Citizenship incidentally. Ranked 18th in the world at the moment, but enjoyed a stint at being world number two back in 2002. Titles have been few and far between since the mid 2000’s but has won in Memphis three times before, giving him status this year. Unlikely to go on and win it, but should be a good quarter final bet. Big casualty of the tournament so far has been number 7 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber who lost in the first round to unseeded Evgeny Korolev. All being said and done, it will be a three horse race between Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco and Radek Stepanek.

Outright Winner
Perfect chance to head on over to Betfair and see what prices you can pick up for  yourself. The major online bookmakers may not carry the outright odds just yet, but you may be able to get individual match prices and Live In Play betting. But if you are looking to pick a winner, then see what the Betting Exchange Betfair has to offer. Not only will you get good prices, as you are essentially betting against other punters, but you can get a free no loss £25 bet on a new account as a welcome offer. If, when you place that first bet, up to a value of £25, it loses, then Betfair will do you the favour of giving you your stake back. Betting exchanges like Betfair are generally able to offer better odds than conventional bookies, so it is well worth checking out.

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OPEN 13

Three Frenchman started in the hunt this year, to try and bring a bit of home flair for the Marseille crowds amassing to watch some ATP Tennis. Neither of them were favourite to win the tournament, so we’ll get back to them. This tournament in another indoor hard court one, with just over half a million up for grabs in prize money. Sweden’s Robin Soderling is the top seed for the tournament, as he goes in search of his second title of 2010 after winning in Rotterdam. The World number eight has been in the final before, but has yet to win the trophy. After Frenchman Gilles Simon crashed out in the first round, left carrying the flag for the home nation is Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Tsonga was a surprise semi finalist at the Australian Open, where he ran into Roger Federer, and we know what happens when that happens. Still, he has a good 5-1 match record this season and is the defending champion at the Open 13. Ranked at number nine in the world he has kind of found his plateau, and doesn’t appear to have that next step in him. He did pick up three ATP titles last year, and this is the kind of tournament, where there is lesser opposition, in which he should flourish. So that makes him a decent player to back in the tournament.

At least he has been able to put fellow countryman Gael Monfils to shame, who is having a mediocre start to the new season, as well as having nightmare after nightmare at the Open 13. Monfils hasn’t looked like coming close to winning a title this year, and history isn’t much on his side for this one. Four times he has had a crack at the Open 13 and each time he has bombed out in the first round in front of his home crowd. Still, is seeded 3rd for the tournament, which means that there is a lot of other fringe players in the tournaments. Spain’s Tommy Robredo is fourth seed, and other names which could make an impact in a tournament of this quality, is Mikail Youzhny and Marcos Baghdatis. Soderling though is a solid player without being spectacular, and that could be enough to seal him the title this time around.

Open 13 Outright Winner
Robin Soderling – 2/1 at Bet365
Jo Wilfried Tsonga – 5/2 at Bet365
Gael Monfils – 6/1 at Ladbrokes
Marcos Baghdadis – 7/1 at Stan James
Tommy Robredo – 12/1 at Bet365

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.

With Andy Murray’s heroics at the Australian Open, there is still much to be optimistic about, despite his loss in the final to World Number One Roger Federer. There probably wasn’t a player on the tour who could have lived with Federer the way he played in the latter stages of the first set, as his trusty forehand put him firmly in the driving seat. Britain can be proud of Murray for reaching his second final, but naturally the press will be putting extra pressures on him to win that First Grand. There is plenty of time, and he has looked like an improved player over the course of the Australian Open, adding some aggression to his game. He is naturally going to add more valuable experience to his game from his second loss to Federer in a Grand Slam final, but he should be given a great deal of credit for the fact that he got there, even if he couldn’t live with arguably the greatest ever tennis player on the big occasion.

So let’s look forward at the best prices the Bookmakers are offering on Andy Murray for the rest of the season:

Andy Murray to win a Grand Slam in 2010?
No – 1/2 at SkyBet
Yes – 7/4 at Totesport

2010 Grand Slam Wins:
None – 1/2 at Bet365
Exactly 1 – 7/4 at BetFred
Exactly 2 – 16/1 at BetFred
Exactly 3 – 200/1 at SkyBet

Andy Murray to win US Open 2010 – 3/1 at Coral
Andy Murray to win Wimbledon 2010 – 3/1 at Coral
Andy Murray to win an ATP Clay court event – 9/4 at SkyBet

There has been one early season surprise in the Qatar Open, and that is the fact that Roger Federer has not made it to the final. He was taken out of the competition by Russian Nikolay Davydenko, which the Russian hopes will become something of a new trend. When the two met in ATP World Tour Finals at the end of last year, Davydenko beat Federer, and that was something against the grain, as the Swiss Superstar Federer had won the previous 12 meetings between the two players. Now the Russian has gained the upper hand in consecutive matches, and should fill him full of confidence for the season ahead. In a closely contested semi final match, Davydenko squeezed through 6-4, 6-4 in what could be the start of a wonderful year for him. That is certainly a great way to start the first tournament of the year, and now he has to play underdog again in the final.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal is the other finalist awaiting him in Doha, and the start of the new season is just as important to him. Despite being hailed as one of the best players in the world, he hasn’t managed to win a single title for over eight months, and that will be bothering him. To his defence, he was struggling with injury through the second half of the season, but still missed his chance to claim some silverware in competitions. With Federer out of the way in this tournament, Nadal is looking good, and this will stamp an air of authority on his season. He was looking at something near his best form in the semi final, as he beat fifth seed Viktor Toicki 2-0. 

Just as Davydenko has turned the tables on Federer a little bit, he has also won the previous two match ups between himself and the former World Number One Nadal. They have won eight a piece, so there is everything to play for in the final. Nadal is looking for a season of dominance, while Davydenko looks to close the gap by beating the top two tennis players to win the title.

Qatar Open Final Outright Winner
Rafael Nadal to win: 8/11 at Stan James
Nikokay Davydenko to win: 6/5 at BetFred

ATP Brisbane Open Men’s Semi Finals

Radek Stepanek v Gael Monfils will contest the semi final of the Brisbane Open. Stepanek is the defending champion at the Brisbane Open, and will be hoping to claim his first title of 2010. First he will have to overcome his toughest challenge yet, in third seed Monfils. Stepanek had to call on his experience to negotiate his way through his quarter final match, and Monfils got a monkey off his back when he beat American James Blake. That was the first time in nearly four years that Monfils has managed to beat Blake, ranked lower than him. This will now be an interesting clash between the second and third seeds.

First seed Andy Roddick is also through to the semi’s after beating out France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3 7-6 in Friday night’s Quarter Final showdown. Roddick is working hard on his game and his fitness in Melbourne, taking part in the doubles competition too. The American is looking to make a bigger impact on the ATP this year, after falling foul to injury last October which kept him out of action. He will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the second semi final, and will be starting that as favourite. Berdych’s perforamnce in the quarter final, was more of a work-horse, grinding out points performance compared to Roddick’s power and touches of flair.

Andy Roddick to win: 5/12 at Expekt
Tomas Berdych to win: 9/4 at Bet365

Radek Stepanek to win: 5/4 at SportingBet
Gael Monfils to win: 3/4 at Expekt

Brisbane Open Outright Winner:
Andy Roddick – 13/10 at Boylesports
Gael Monfils – 3/1 at Stan James
Radek Stepanek – 4/1 at Victor Chandler
Tomas Berdych – 11/2 at SkyBet

The new season of the ATP and WTA Tennis tours are underway, with players warming up ahead of the season’s first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian open, which starts on January 18th. Three hard court tournaments have started, the Brisbane International, the  Qatar Open and the Aircel Chennai Open, alongside some other tournaments, as players shake themselves back into gear after their break.

CHENNAI OPEN
The Chennai Open is India’s only ATP World Tour tournament, and is a tournament of 32 players.  The tournament itself has been running for 15 years now. Sweden’s Robin Soderling is the top seed for the tournament, and although he making his debut there he looks the strongest in the field. Marin Cilic, the current Chennai Open title holder, is back to try and retain his title though, and will be pushing hard all of the way. The Croatian opens his defence against Igor Kunitsyn. In one of the most interesting first round matches, two times winner Carlos Moya faces fourth seed Janko Tipsarevic.

Chennai Open Outright Winner
Robin Soderling – 13/8 at Ladbrokes
Marin Cilic – 7/4 at Victor Chandler
Stanislas Wawrinka – 6/1 at William Hill
Janko Tipsarevic – 12/1 at SkyBet
Dudi Sela – 33/1 at Victor Chandler

BRISBANE OPEN
It wouldn’t be a bad idea playing in a Brisbane tournament ahead of the Australian Open one would assume. At least it would give some time for acclimatisation. Anyway, some of the big names to look out for are Andy Roddick, Radek Stepanek and Gael Monfils in the Brisbane Open for 2010. The tournament is being held at a stunningly impressive tennis centre, and the centre court bears the name of Australian tennis legend Pat Rafter. When it comes to sporting excellence, it is hard to top the Australians. For the tournament, Andy Roddick will start as strong favourite, and the competition which runs from January 3 to the 10th.
The Women’s WTA Tour is starting as well at the Brisbane Open, with the heroic Kim Clijsters seeded number one for the tournament. Clijsters won the US Open after coming out retirement last year, and it will be interesting to chart her progress through the tour during 2010. Already Clijsters is showing good form for the new year, as she cruised through her first round match, 6-2, 61. Other familiar names such as Daniela Hantuchova, Aleksandra Wozniak, Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova will be where the main threats to Clijsters will be coming from.  One other name on the scorecard is the one of famous Belgian Justine Henin. Like Clijsters, Henin is making her comeback after retiring, and as a Wild Card entrant, she face Nadia Petrova (seeded number 2) in the first round.

Brisbane International Open ATP Tour Men’s Outright Winner
Andy Roddick – 5/2 at BetFred
Radek Stepanek – 5/1 at SkyBet
Gael Monfils – 5/1 at Stan James
Tomas Berdych – 9/1 at Coral
Marco Baghdadis – 16/1 at Bet365

Brisbane International Open WTA Women’s Outright Winner
Kim Clijsters – 6/4 at Paddy Power
Justine Henin – 10/3 at Coral
Ana Ivanovo – 12/1 at Coral
Nadia Petrova – 14/1 at William Hill
Daniela Hantuchova – 16/1 at William Hill

Qatar Open
Held in Doha, the Qatar open is one of two ATP tournaments held in the middle east. This is where the two biggest names in the world of tennis are opening their 2010 campaigns. Swiss legend Roger Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal are the big headline stars of tournament. Nikolay Davydenko is also in the mix, and he has been in the semi finals of the Qatar open three times. But it is of course World Number One Roger Federer, who everyone else will aiming for in 2010. He is the current ATP World Tour Champion and he has won twice in Qatar in 2005 and 2006. Nadal and Federer opened the tournament with a display on a magic flying carpet, which didn’t really look as cool as it sounds. Federer opens his account against Christope Rochus, while Nadal plays Simone Bolelli.

ATP Qatar Open Outright
Roger Federer – 6/5 at SkyBet
Rafael Nadal – 9/4 at Stan James
Nikolay Davydenko – 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Mikhail Youzhny – 25/1 at SkyBet
Ivo Karlovic – 40/1 at Bet365

Incidentally, who is the current holder of the Qatar Open title? Any guesses? It is Britain’s very own Andy Murray, who has won the tournament twice in a row. He is not back to defend the title though, as he is opting for the Hopman Cup as his preparations for the Australian Open. Murray, who has courted some opposition for his decision to pull out of Britain’s Davies Cup team for their next match in March, decided to go and play in the team event in Perth. The tournament also involves a mixed doubles match, in which Britain starts against Kazakhstan. Murray will be teaming up with Laura Robson (who was the World Number One Junior in March last year), and Murray defended his decision to enter this tournament, as it will give him at least three definite matches in a round robin tournament.

Betting Advice:
With the start of the new season upon us, it is actually a good time to get some, what may be deemed as bankers, in. These types of tournaments are overly blessed with talent, and the cream of the crop are spread out over different tournaments at the moment. The toughest call will be between Nadal and Federer at the Qatar open, but it seemed to be a good idea to back Federer on the hard court. Add to that Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick from the WTA in Brisbane, and Robin Soderling from Chennai, then you have yourself a fairly strong Yankee or Accumulator.

Looking for Some Andy Murray Specials? Here you go, over at Coral (who offer 10% cashback on accumulated losses for the month!) has an excellent selection.
To win the Australian Open 2010 – 9/2
To win the French Open 2010 – 12/1
To win Wimbledon 2010 – 4/1
To win the US Open 2010 – 7/2