Tennis Betting: Roddick is raring to go in Abu Dhabi
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Sean Calvert believes that Nikolay Davydenko is only in Abu Dhabi for a much needed sun tan. Meanwhile, Andys Murray and Roddick's strong records in January make them contenders to win the Capitala World Tennis Championships.
The world's elite tennis players have barely had time for a breather since the end of the 2008 season, but they're back on court already this week for the Capitala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.
This in an exhibition event, aimed at promoting sport in the United Arab Emirates and it has attracted six of the world's top players in the Gulf region's quest to become one of the world's premier sporting venues.
Rafa Nadal 3.1, Roger Federer 2.88, Andy Murray 4.3, Nikolay Davydenko 17.0, Andy Roddick 17.0 and James Blake 34.0 are the contenders for the winner-takes-all prize of $250,000 in a straight knockout event.
The matches are to be played on outdoor hard courts, using the Plexipave surface that is used primarily in the United States in events such as the ATP Masters in Indian Wells.
The draw has conveniently placed Nadal and Federer automatically into the semi-finals, which I'm sure has nothing whatsoever to do with ticket sales, and the remaining four must battle it out for the right to face the top two.
Roddick plays Davydenko in the first round, with a match against Nadal the prize for the victor; while Murray takes on Blake in the other first round clash with a semi-final against Federer on offer for the winner of that one.
There is of course a fair amount of guesswork regarding the players' motivation and match fitness involved in picking the winner of any of these games, but on paper one would expect Roddick 1.85 to come out on top against Davydenko 2.0.
The American has a 5-1 head-to-head record over the Russian and generally plays well in January, so if you factor into the equation his likely enthusiasm for working with (another) new coach, you should have a decent case for Roddick taking out Davydenko and perhaps Nadal too.
Davydenko for his part hasn't made it past the semi-final stages of any tournament in the month of January since beating Kristof Vliegen to claim the Adelaide title in 2002 and has never made it past the quarters at the Australian Open, so it's fair to suggest that he's probably here for some practice and a much needed sun tan.
His infamous comments that Sydney is a 'small tournament' that 'nobody cares about' in 2007 tell you all you need to know about Davydenko's commitment levels in certain events.
Roddick in contrast has won the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne for the last three years in a row and lost to Federer the previous year, so he likes to start his year with a bang and is a decent bet for an opening day win.
Perhaps surprisingly, Blake 3.5 and Murray 1.28 have only played each other once on the main tour; that being on clay in Hamburg in 2006, where Blake came out on top and it's probably fair to assume that the Scot will be more than keen to square their head-to-head record with a victory here.
Murray has a very good record in January, having won in Doha last year to follow up his run to the final of the same event in 2007, so he is another who doesn't treat the early season matches as purely a tune-up for Melbourne.
Blake has also shown good form early in the year previously, having claimed the title in Sydney twice in succession in 2006 and 2007, but an early exit at the hands of 'The Magician' last year heralded a poor year for the New Yorker and he is best watched after failing to find any sort of form since the Olympics in August.
Murray will be the overwhelming favourite for this one, but I wouldn't be putting too much on the Scot, as I fancy this one to possibly be more competitive than the other first rounder.
As for the two favourites, I'm sure Nadal would rather forget his January appearance in Chennai last year when he was thrashed by Mikhail Youzhny in the final 6-0, 6-1 to add to his defeat by Xavier Malisse in the same event in 2007.
A retirement in Sydney also in 2007 and a quarter-final loss to Ivan Ljubicic in Doha in 2005 add to the Spaniard's poor record in the month of January, so he certainly won't have my cash riding on him this week, particularly given the continuing concerns over his injuries.
Federer doesn't usually like to pick his racquet up much in competitive play prior to Melbourne, but interestingly he is scheduled to play Doha next week for the first time since consecutive wins in 2005 and 2006, which were each won without the loss of a set, so he clearly feels he needs some court time this year.
The Swiss maestro tends to show up at the Kooyong Classic and will play there again this year, but he's never actually won the event, so I'm sure he won't be too concerned by not collecting the $250,000 on offer here.
In conclusion then, the clear value choice in the outright market would have to be Roddick, as he has the most to prove, the will to do it and the January form to suggest that he can.
At 17.0 he is a big price and I certainly wouldn't be recommending him in a Slam or Masters Series event, but he could just spring a shock under these unique circumstances if the courts play fast.
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Sean Calvert believes that Nikolay Davydenko is only in Abu Dhabi for a much needed sun tan. Meanwhile, Andys Murray and Roddick's strong records in January make them contenders to win the Capitala World Tennis Championships.
The world's elite tennis players have barely had time for a breather since the end of the 2008 season, but they're back on court already this week for the Capitala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.
This in an exhibition event, aimed at promoting sport in the United Arab Emirates and it has attracted six of the world's top players in the Gulf region's quest to become one of the world's premier sporting venues.
Rafa Nadal 3.1, Roger Federer 2.88, Andy Murray 4.3, Nikolay Davydenko 17.0, Andy Roddick 17.0 and James Blake 34.0 are the contenders for the winner-takes-all prize of $250,000 in a straight knockout event.
The matches are to be played on outdoor hard courts, using the Plexipave surface that is used primarily in the United States in events such as the ATP Masters in Indian Wells.
The draw has conveniently placed Nadal and Federer automatically into the semi-finals, which I'm sure has nothing whatsoever to do with ticket sales, and the remaining four must battle it out for the right to face the top two.
Roddick plays Davydenko in the first round, with a match against Nadal the prize for the victor; while Murray takes on Blake in the other first round clash with a semi-final against Federer on offer for the winner of that one.
There is of course a fair amount of guesswork regarding the players' motivation and match fitness involved in picking the winner of any of these games, but on paper one would expect Roddick 1.85 to come out on top against Davydenko 2.0.
The American has a 5-1 head-to-head record over the Russian and generally plays well in January, so if you factor into the equation his likely enthusiasm for working with (another) new coach, you should have a decent case for Roddick taking out Davydenko and perhaps Nadal too.
Davydenko for his part hasn't made it past the semi-final stages of any tournament in the month of January since beating Kristof Vliegen to claim the Adelaide title in 2002 and has never made it past the quarters at the Australian Open, so it's fair to suggest that he's probably here for some practice and a much needed sun tan.
His infamous comments that Sydney is a 'small tournament' that 'nobody cares about' in 2007 tell you all you need to know about Davydenko's commitment levels in certain events.
Roddick in contrast has won the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne for the last three years in a row and lost to Federer the previous year, so he likes to start his year with a bang and is a decent bet for an opening day win.
Perhaps surprisingly, Blake 3.5 and Murray 1.28 have only played each other once on the main tour; that being on clay in Hamburg in 2006, where Blake came out on top and it's probably fair to assume that the Scot will be more than keen to square their head-to-head record with a victory here.
Murray has a very good record in January, having won in Doha last year to follow up his run to the final of the same event in 2007, so he is another who doesn't treat the early season matches as purely a tune-up for Melbourne.
Blake has also shown good form early in the year previously, having claimed the title in Sydney twice in succession in 2006 and 2007, but an early exit at the hands of 'The Magician' last year heralded a poor year for the New Yorker and he is best watched after failing to find any sort of form since the Olympics in August.
Murray will be the overwhelming favourite for this one, but I wouldn't be putting too much on the Scot, as I fancy this one to possibly be more competitive than the other first rounder.
As for the two favourites, I'm sure Nadal would rather forget his January appearance in Chennai last year when he was thrashed by Mikhail Youzhny in the final 6-0, 6-1 to add to his defeat by Xavier Malisse in the same event in 2007.
A retirement in Sydney also in 2007 and a quarter-final loss to Ivan Ljubicic in Doha in 2005 add to the Spaniard's poor record in the month of January, so he certainly won't have my cash riding on him this week, particularly given the continuing concerns over his injuries.
Federer doesn't usually like to pick his racquet up much in competitive play prior to Melbourne, but interestingly he is scheduled to play Doha next week for the first time since consecutive wins in 2005 and 2006, which were each won without the loss of a set, so he clearly feels he needs some court time this year.
The Swiss maestro tends to show up at the Kooyong Classic and will play there again this year, but he's never actually won the event, so I'm sure he won't be too concerned by not collecting the $250,000 on offer here.
In conclusion then, the clear value choice in the outright market would have to be Roddick, as he has the most to prove, the will to do it and the January form to suggest that he can.
At 17.0 he is a big price and I certainly wouldn't be recommending him in a Slam or Masters Series event, but he could just spring a shock under these unique circumstances if the courts play fast.
