The first tennis major is upon us and there are plenty of reasons to bet on tennis with totesport. as a British player battles for favourtism at the head of the market.

The fourth seed young Scot has been priced up at what looks like a very short 5/2 with totesport, mainly due to Murray’s progression since mid summer which saw him win two masters tournaments and lose out in the final of the US Open against favourite here, Roger Federer (2/1). Add to that wins against Nadal twice (albeit latterly in a recent exhibition tournament) and Federer three times since that defeat at Flushing Meadows, momentum is most definitely with the youngster.

Rafa Nadal has gone off the boil somewhat since defeat to Murray in the US Open semi-finals, with a long grueling season appearing to take its toll in the final months of 2008. Add to that an average by his standards record in the Australian Open, yet to make the final in four attempts. The Spaniard is a 4/1 shot with totesport and could meet Murray in the semi-finals.

Third seed and last year’s winner Novak Djokovic is a 5/1 chance with totesport for a repeat performance and after a quiet few months in the summer regained some of his early season form in the Tennis masters Cup in Shanghai at the beginning of November. It’s never easy to retain a title and after slipping up to Jarko Niemenen in the semi-finals of this weeks warm up tournament down under he looks vulnerable.

Elsewhere, at bigger prices young Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro had an excellent 2008, including four straight tournament wins during July and August, which has catapulted him into the world top ten. Del Potro is seeded eighth here and is in the same quarter of the draw as favourite Roger Federer, he can be backed at 25/1 with totesport.

France has a plethora of young talent on tour at the moment with last year’s beaten finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga seeded fifth appearing to have the best chance here. He lit up the tournament last year with wins over Murray and Nadal and is a 33/1 shot here, alongside fellow young Frenchman Gael Monfils. Further down the betting however Richard Gasquet (66/1) and Gilles Simon (50/1) may offer even more value, both being in good form and look overpriced to me.

Maria Sharapova will not be defending her crown in the women’s side of the draw, a big disappointment to all concerned! As usual, the Williams sisters dominate the market with 3/1 joint favourtism. Serena, a winner here three times is number two seed this year and could face a possible semi-final clash with her sixth seeded sister, who has never won this tournament.

Both sisters went out in the quarter-finals last year which is an encouragement to the rest of the field. Number one seed Jelena Jankovic is a 6/1 shot and is worth opposing. Despite her number one world ranking she has yet to win a grand slam and considered by many as not having the mentality to convert her regular tour form to the biggest stage of all.

The same could be said of fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic, although she did break her duck winning the French Open in 2008 and reaching the final here twelve months ago. Her somewhat alarming drop in form since reaching the world number one spot shortly after her French Open win is a worry though and might be best left at 8/1 here.

There are a couple of Russians that look a good bet in the ladies draw. Dinara Safina had a great 2008 and currently sits third in the world. The strong little sister of mens ace Marat Safin reached the French Open final in 2008 and looks a good prospect reach another final in 2009.

Elena Dementieva looks the bet at 8/1 with totesport. The world number four hasn’t reached a grand slam final since 2004 when she made the French and US open finals in the same year. Her record in Australia is modest to say the least but after reaching two major semi-finals in 2008, along with three WTA titles and one already this year she’s on the up and could take advantage of the Williams sister’s lack of match tennis here.

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The ATP Masters Series rolls into Madrid this week and there are plenty of betting prospects available at totesport.

As you’d expect, the main protagonists in the betting are the top four in the world. World number one Rafa Nadal is shading favouritism at 15/8 from US Open winner Roger Federer who is available at 2/1. The other two quarters of the draw are made up from world number three Novak Djokovic and our very own Andy Murray, available at 5/1 and 13/2 respectively.

It’s the latter of this quartet that we’re focusing in Madrid this week. The Scotsman’s late summer form was exceptional and we expect him to carry this forward onto the indoor hard-court surface he loves.

Of all the seeded players in Murray’s quarter of the draw he has an equal or better head to head record. In fact, only one seeded player in his half of the draw has a better head to head record and that’s last years Madrid Masters winner David Nalbandian.

There’s every chance Murray could meet Roger Federer in the semi-finals in a rematch of their US Open Final in September. We think Murray could get the better of Federer this time around.

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Dinara Safina, recent Beijing Silver Medalist and sister of our men´s tip Marat, has all the traits to make a bold challenge at the forthcoming US Open.

The big serving Russian has been in brilliant recent form with tour wins in Los Angeles and Montreal and rates an outstanding bet at tennis odds of 9/2.

Since arriving on the professional scene her career graph shows a steady upward curve with her best professional achievement to date a French Open final earlier this season.

But her recent successes, coupled with positive memories of a QF finish at Flushing Meadows in 2006 (she also won the doubles event last term), means she rates as a serious customer over the forthcoming fortnight.

Have a nibble with those totesport tennis betting odds on Safina.

With Maria Sharapova absent through injury there is no doubt that front runners Venus and Serena Williams will fancy their chances, as will Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic (all of whom are available at single figure odds).

But at much bigger sports odds have a look at young Dane Caroline Wozniacki.

Only 18 she claimed the Nordea Nordic Light Open at the start of August and arrives in New York in confident mood.

The daughter of Polish parents is a certain future star and it would be no surprise to see her make a real mark in New York.

At online sports betting odds of 33/1 she has the class to make a bold run to the latter stages.

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It´s the last tennis Major of 2008 where Spain´s Rafael Nadal will start as totesport´s online betting favourite.

What a season it has been for the Mallorcan. With fine wins at the French Open, Wimbledon and now Gold in Beijing.

He´s the deserved jolly and with doubts over Roger Federer´s form and Novak Djokovic so unpredictable Nadal will really fancy his chances in the Big Apple. But at odds of 5/4 we think we can locate a bit more bang for our buck at Flushing Meadows.

Marat Safin is available at tennis odds of 80/1 with totesport and given his pedigree at this event we think he´s well worth an each-way stab.

The big Russian won here eight years ago and although he claimed the Australian Open title in 2005 he has generally flattered to deceive.

However, at Wimbledon just two months ago he gave us signs that there may be a little bit left in his Major locker.

He bowed out in the semis to Federer in straight sets but he could easily have taken that match deeper with more luck in a tie break.

He famously delivered a celebratory crate of vodka to the press room when won in 2000 and if he gets on a roll he might just give us another reason to toast the likeable Muscovite.

At huge tennis odds of 100/1 David Nalbandian is worth interest.

The man from Argentina tasted success here as a youth when he claimed the junior US Open title.

Adept on clay, grass and hard courts he has defeated Federer and Nadal inside the past year and holds a 2-0 match win record over the Spaniard and a respectable 9-10 match deficit against the Swiss.

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With nine of the top 10 ranked men taking part in Beijing the field for this year’s Olympics tennis is as formidable as it has ever been.

Rafael Nadal’s extraordinary efforts this season see him overtake Roger Federer as world number one – and that is sure to add extra spice to the proceedings as the freshly disposed Swiss stroke-maker seeks to avenge defeats at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

Nadal, who has claimed seven titles this season and has only been beaten twice in his last nine events, is rightly installed as totesport’s jolly.

But favourite backers may want to take note that since 1988 the men’s singles event has never been won by a player ranked in the first five.

Federer is second in the betting but his recent Masters Series defeat against giant Ivo Karlovic has led to many experts questioning his powers.

But let´s not forget that he came within a whisker of winning this year’s Wimbledon and he has after all won a staggering 12 Grand Slam titles.

Classy Serbian Novak Djokovic will be a warm order due to his excellent results on this year’s Olympic surface - Deco Turf II.

But the reigning Australian Open champ is probably reeling from his recent Cincinnati Masters Series final upset to Scot Andy Murray.

For our money we make the in form Dunblane man the value bet of the men’s singles.

More Beijing hopefuls come in the form of James Blake, David Nalbandian, David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko.

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Take Roger Federer to bounce back from recent disappointment in Canada by winning this week’s Masters Series event in Cincinnati.

The Swiss suffered a shock second round defeat to Gilles Simon in Toronto but we’re willing to overlook that loss as a complete one-off.

It was Federer’s first outing since his momentous Wimbledon final defeat to Rafael Nadal so we can excuse him lacking match sharpness.

A week on in Cincinnati it should be a different story for the defending champion (he beat James Blake in a straight sets final in 2007 and also won this event in 2005). Federer has been drawn in a very weak looking first quarter that features a much faded Andy Roddick.

Rafael Nadal is again Federer’s main challenger but with an energy sapping run all the way to the Toronto final against Nicolas Kiefer it is asking a lot of the Spaniard.

Novak Djokovic would appear another credible candidate but he looked lacklustre in losing to Andy Murray in Toronto quarters and is probably best overlooked this time.

In terms of outsiders Scotland’s Andy Murray makes appeal. Murray famously beat Federer here in 2006 and he has been drawn in a very winnable second quarter of the draw.

His form in Canada last week was excellent – reaching the semis before falling to Nadal.

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With Rafael Nadal now crowned Wimbledon Champion the Spaniard’s sights now turn to Flushing Meadows, New York, the famous home of the US Open.

Yet again the man he will be looking to dislodge is Roger Federer who is gunning for his fifth straight US Open title.

Totesport go 9/4 that Rafa will do it - a tasty bet indeed when you consider the massive psychological boost that thrilling five-set win over the Swiss has given him. Federer is 11/10.

Nadal’s best effort here was a QF in 2006 and he no doubt disappointed many backers in losing to David Ferrer in the 4th round of 2007, but a year on and a year considerably wiser and richer we expect a far bolder show.

Already the master of clay and now the green stuff, Nadal has the game to prosper on hard-courts make no mistake about that. He’s won Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Canada and is learning all the time.

It wasn’t so long ago that many said he didn’t have the game for grass…

Third favourite is Novak Djokovic, the man who lost in straight sets to Federer in last year’s final. But that was then. The Serb has since vanquished that painful memory by beating Federer in the Australian Open final in January.

At 11/4 he could be the value bet of the main runners.

Of the rags, only Marat Safin makes some appeal. 66/1 for a former winner and this year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist is worth a small interest.

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As we enter Wimbledon’s second week it’s great to see Scotland’s Andy Murray still standing after an impressive fourth round win over Germany’s Tommy Haas.

Murray was a 25/1 chance on the eve of Wimbledon fortnight but those odds have tumbled as the Dunblane stroke-maker eyes up his first ever Wimbledon quarter final appearance.

But he’ll need to overcome classy Frenchman Richard Gasquet first and that’s no easy task - they’ve met twice with Gasquet winning on both occasions.

Those wins have come on hard courts and it will be interesting to see if the Scot can make it third time lucky on the green grass of SW19. We reckon he will, but don’t be surprised to see it go five sets.

As ever, totesport have a vast array of betting opportunities available on Wimbledon.

Tournament favourite Roger Federer’s progress has been effortless thus far and with his serve in such fine form is clearly going to take some stopping.

If anyone is going to halt the Swiss juggernaut then Spain’s Rafael Nadal is surely that man.

The French Open champion, who is gunning for his first All England Club title, faces Mikhail Youzhny in the last 16. A straight sets win against the Russian would be no surprise.

Should Nadal prevail, Murray is a potential quarter-final opponent for the swashbuckling Spaniard.

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Roger Federer´s incredible stranglehold on the Wimbledon title now looks under more threat than ever before with the emergence of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

And that´s something that totesport´s tennis punters have no doubt considered when perusing SW19´s outright market.

Federer took his incredible unbeaten grass court record to 59 matches in landing the Gerry Weber Open in Halle recently.

But it was events over at Queen´s Club in London  - the traditional warm-up for Wimbledon - where the performances of finalists Nadal and Djokovic really caught the eye.

Nadal´s 7-5, 6-4 semi-final win over perennial Wimbledon fancy Andy Roddick was particularly impressive and marks him out as a genuine title contender.

In last year´s brilliant Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer the Spaniard showed that the gap between them on grass is narrowing despite coming second best then.

There is no doubt that Nadal is the king of clay - as demonstrated by the way he thrashed Federer in Paris - and one wonders how much of a psychological advantage that win will be when they next meet.

Australian Open champ Djokovic thrashed Lleyton Hewitt and David Naldandian at Queens to re-assert his grass court claims and can also hold genuine claims for a semi-final appearance at the very least.

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Bet on Wimbledon with totesport

Wimbledon is now firmly established as one of the big betting events in the sports calendar and at totesport we have some great tennis betting opportunities.

The oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world offers punters great excitement during the two weeks of play in early summer.

The biggest interest centres on the Men’s and Women’s outright betting and totesport’s ante-post markets are popular destinations for punters as the event gets ever nearer.

The number of players who get to lift the coveted trophy is of course restricted and in recent years the men’s singles has seen a trend of one player monopolising the competition.

Roger Federer is arguably one of the best all-time players and currently dominates totesport’s tennis markets.

The Swiss ace has won the only Grand Slam event to be played five years on the trot emulating Bjorn Borg’s five titles in a row and is strongly fancied to go one better in 2008.

He still has a bit to go to equal ‘Pistol’ Pete Sampras’ record of seven wins secured in an eight-year period from 1993-2000 but is hungry for more success.

Whether the World number one can continue to dominate Wimbledon remains to be seen, as a host of talented youngsters are gunning for his crown.

In particular, Rafael Nadal has proved to be Federer’s biggest rival recently but while having the better of him on clay, the Spaniard is still to defeat him on grass, although he did take the Swiss ace to five sets in a thrilling 2007 final.

His battles with Federer are counter-punching spectacular events featuring ferocious power and are exhilarating contests which makes for thrilling betting.

Set betting can be an exciting betting opportunity with totesport and in-play markets featuring the two rivals at Wimbledon is always popular.

Meanwhile, anyone who thinks the big two won’t win overall are likely to get very generous odds in our various markets.

In recent years Tim Henman carried the weight of British hopes on his shoulders but the closest he came was four semi-final outings in a five-year spell from 1998-2002. Having retired from the sport, he has passed the baton on to Andy Murray, who will hope for better fortune this time after he was forced out of the tournament in 2007 with a wrist injury.

The young Scot is bound to be popular among patriotic punters, particularly to make the last four and he could also be worth a bet in totesport’s special To Win Mens Wimbledon Singles In Their Lifetime market.

Our Men’s “Most Aces” market is worth checking out for value among the big hitters during the event.

No female player dominates the sport like Federer does, and as a result the women’s competition with defending champion Venus Williams, her sister Serena, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova all fancied in totesport’s betting.

Betting on Wimbledon rarely disappoints and for all the best betting action go to totesport.com.