Australian Open Tennis Betting - Who's Money (Part II)

With the intro to this article out of the way, complete with some basic strategy covered, let us get to the brass tacks. To get us going, the dark horses are up for examination.

Dark horses

Andy Murray +450

At the top of this list is Andy Murray. When BetUS.com went to press, he was priced at +450. His price has not moved to date. Murray recently dropped in rankings to No.5 because he chose not to defend his Doha title and lost ranking points as a result. I can’t help but think that was a strategy in his camp to gain a more favourable section of the draw.

Nikolay Davydenko +900

When BetUS first released Aussie Open futures in the fall, Davydenko was priced at +1200 to win outright. Of course, that was before he beat Federer at the Barclay’s World Tour Finals en route to winning the title and beating Federer a second consecutive time in Doha and Nadal, in the same tournament no less, to win the title. Obviously, for good reason, Davydenko has seen his price tag shaved. Doesn’t mean his going to be the Aussie Open champion though (stay tuned for a separate article on why that is the case).

Andy Roddick +2000

Andy Roddick is after winning the title in Brisbane but it has had no affect on his price tag that was released at +2000 in the fall. I kinda feel sorry for A-Rod. Really, I do. It must have been maddening for him over the years to be repeatedly denied a second Grand Slam title. To have the market so disadvantage him, even after the epic against Federer at the All England Club, is just an added frustration. After Wimbledon last year, I was a convert. I know he was bundled out of the US Open early by John Isner. But it happens.

I think we can all agree he wants it, badly so, which is a real testament to a player that has had to swallow humiliation after humiliation, mostly at the hands of Federer, a player he respects wholeheartedly but is, let us face it, the bane of his life. That said, I couldn’t say there is no second Grand Slam title in his future. At the same time, I can’t say there is certainly another one either.

Rounding off the dark horses is:

Marin Cilic +2000 (same)
Robin Soderling +2000 (currently trading at +2500)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga +2500 (currently trading at +3000)
Fernando Verdasco +3000 (currently trading at +4000)
Fernando Gonzalez +6500 (currently trading at +8000)

In almost all instances, save for Marin Cilic the market has moved in a negative direction. Cilic remains at the same price tag because during his Aussie Open tune-up he successfully defended his Chennai Open title. Truth be told, the Chennai Open boasted a watered down field and tennis bettors need to be careful not to read too much into that result. On the flip side, Cilic, is a player, who like Del Potro last year and the season before, has captivated the imagination of many pundits to the point that they have tipped him as a future grand slam champion. There is also the fact that he beat Andy Murray at the US Open last year to reach his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinals.