The Art of Tennis Betting – Lesson 1 – The Draw

There are numerous factors that require consideration before placing a bet on the absolute market for a tennis tournament. And, in future articles, we will cover many of them, such as nationality, age, past form, price, ranking, and the schedule of the event itself. However, we start with the most fundamental consideration, the draw. This is where the selection of the absolute bet should begin.

The draw is the model on which your betting strategy should be based for each event and you should never place a bet on a tournament before the draw has taken place. And if a field of 28, 32, 48, 56, 64 or 128 lines up for a tournament, the same logic applies once the names are drawn.

print the drawing sheet and study the field as a whole
divide the field into the top half and the bottom half, then into the four quarters
work on the pitch to determine a player’s best/worst route to the final
study the head-to-head records of these potential matches
rank the players most likely to win each half and reach the final

This process will give you a full appreciation of the overall strength of the pitch, not just as a whole, but with respect to the two halves as well as each individual quarter. It will immediately signal players to avoid, or sections of the draw to focus on, since no tournament will be made up of four identical quarters of strength and depth. Clearly you can apply more filters, and we suggest you do, which we’ll cover in later articles, but this draw analysis will give you a solid foundation on which to start selecting your outright bet.

What it will also do is make you look beyond the obvious market leaders, in-form or seeded players that you are familiar with or would consider your ‘favourites’. By approaching the draw in a dispassionate and studious manner, you will create a more consistent betting style that will produce an even level of profit.

Example: Elena Dementieva (Sydney 2010) WON 7/1

The Russian’s head-to-head record against her potential opponents were Schiavone R1 (5:4 but won the last 2), Hantuchova R2 (10:3), Safina QF (5:5 but won the last 3) and Azarenka SF (twenty-one). This made her a solid all-round gamble to make it to the finals… when she would guarantee herself a win. And, as it happened, she also beat Serena Williams in the final to clinch the title! So, regarding tennis straight betting: Lesson 1 never bet before the draw takes place and, even then, take your time to study the course individually and as a whole.

Coming soon: Lesson 2 – The odds

For more tennis analysis, match previews and tournament tips visit http://www.tennis-tipster.co.uk