Tennis Betting – Andy Murray back in action at Dubai Open

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.