WTA Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting Odds, Tips and Preview

Serena Williams and Clijsters back to challenge Azarenka

Serena Williams (USA)
Serena Williams (USA) © GEPA pictures

WTA Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting Info
Another Premier level WTA event on the cards for this week and next, as the best in the world head to Miami, Florida for the next chapter of the season. Victoria Azarenka kept her unbeaten start to 2012 going with yet another win, taking the Indian Wells title over Maria Sharapova on the weekend. She will be favourite to win in Miami, but the field takes on a bit of a different complex here than last week. That is because there are some comeback stories to pay attention to, as Kim Clijsters and both Serena and Venus Williams step back into action, baking WTA Sony Ericsson Open Tennis betting a real treat for punters and fans alike.

WTA Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting Defending Champion
Victoria Azarenka, if she needed any more backing up as favourite, is also the defending champion in Miami, winner her second career title there last year. Azarenka has rattled off the best start to a WTA season for fifteen years now, as she stands at 23-0 after lifting the title in Indian Wells. Has a comfortably looking quarter of the draw ahead of her, with Mario Bartoli being a probable quarter final opponent. You can look at the draw for potential semi final opponents, such as Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams, Flavia Pennetta and Agnieszka Radwanska and would just back Vika against all of them at the moment. That is how powerful and commanding she is at the moment. She almost stumbled early on at Indian Wells, but after rescuing a dire situation, simply got better and better. She has more chance of going out complacently in the early rounds than another top ten seed taking her out.

WTA Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting Favourite
Belarusian Azarenka also takes the title of ATP Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting favourite as well, trading at 13/8 favourite with Bet365. She is the star of the game at the moment, fully deserving of her world number one status and the one to beat at the moment. This draw is going to be harder, with some of the top class names coming back in, but they all have to try and catch up to Azarenka. Yes, her winning streak will end at some point. If she pulls another Miami win off here, the third of her career, then we could be in for a Djokovic like season from Vika.

Other Contenders
A top quality field, with Serena Williams trading as second favourite at 5/1 with Bet Victor. We haven’t seen Williams since the Australian Open, but she has a fantastic record in Miami, having won the title five times. She is coming in cold, last playing competitively at the Fed Cup back at the start of February, ironically against Belarus (Azarenka didn’t play). So, a last sixteen exit at the Australian Open didn’t point to great thing, so you just don’t know. She has the power, has the class. Does she have the fitness and match sharpness?

Petra Kvitova comes back into action again as she looks to find her way back from illness. Didn’t get too far as expected at Indian Wells last week, and she could play Venus Williams in the second round here. Because of lack of competitive matches, compared to the likes of Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, hard to back her with confidence. We know she has game, whether she is on top of it at the moment is a different thing.

Maria Sharapova, losing finalist to Victoria Azarenka at Indian Wells, just as she was at the Australian Open, will be a stronger option really than either Williams or Kvitova. She is in decent form, performing well, and would have big titles under her belt this season were it not for Azarenka. Comfortable draw, nothing really to worry about ahead until the semi finals where the likes of Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams could be lurking. If she got back to the final to face Azarenka, she has taken a set off the Belarusian in five straight defeats now. Still, if Azarenka goes, Sharapova is the strongest bet behind her. Sharapova has been losing finalist three times in Miami, including last year against Azarenka, who she must be sick of. Like Serena Williams and Kvitova, Kim Clijsters is back after injury problems as well. She is class personified, but lack of match sharpness is hard to over look, especially in humid Florida.

Caroline Wozniacki sounds confident and is happily working on her game, but she doesn’t have the big presence, the big threat any more at the moment. We need to see 20% more from her than we have for a while now for her to take a title. Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska is up there alongside Sharapova and Azarenka as this season’s best performers. Like Sharapova, she has been thwarted by Vika this season too often (three semi finals and one quarter final). Enjoy her game a lot, vastly improved and a very dangerous, in form floater on top of her game.

Best Outside Bet
We keep pumping for France’s Marion Bartoli, because she is an awesome performer and we just want to see her grab one of these big titles. Came up a little short at Indian Wells in the quarter finals, but enough to build on to have a good run. There were a lot of good performers last week, like Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber but this is a tougher tournament, so would avoid dipping too far down the seedings.

Latest WTA Miami Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Betting Prices
Victoria Azarenka: 13/8 at Bet365
Serena Williams: 5/1 at Bet Victor
Petra Kvitova: 11/2 at Bet365
Maria Sharapova: 8/1 at Bet Victor
Kim Clijsters: 14/1 at Paddy Power
Caroline Wozniacki: 22/1 at Bet365
Na Li: 25/1 at Paddy Power
Sam Stosur: 28/1 at Stan James
Marion Bartoli: 33/1 at Bet Victor

Online Bookmaker Promotion
Online bookmaker Bet Victor run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.