Namely Andy Murray, who not only fell to Tipsarevic on the back of a poor effort in the second round but added insult to injury when, with a backhanded jibe he claimed, he didn’t care about his loss. Apparently, defeat here wasn’t the end of the world because events of this nature are an opportunity to experiment and practise different tactics.

Dubai organizers that paid Murray handsomely for attending the event (requisite $1 million+ guaranteed fee to turn up) and put him up in lap of luxury in a $2,300 a night duplex suite at the 7-star Burj al Arab hotel since arriving in the Gulf a week ago were not too pleased with the Scott let us just say. Justifiably so.

They expected a lot more from the third seed, at the very least a more concentrated effort to reach the latter stages of the tournament. Such scandalous disinterest and disregard for what he would consider mundane (over a mil on the table are you serious?) doesn’t breed respect for the Scot nor will it win him any fans methinks. Think you he might be getting an invite next year? I am going to hazard a no.

Thankfully, Djokovic has taken his commission in Dubai seriously and he reaches the finale with aplomb. He is set to take on Mikhail Youzhny for the title in what should be a very interesting match. The market certainly is so.

• Tennis Betting Line: Mikhail Youzhny +190 Novak Djokovic -275
• First Set Tennis Line: Mikhail Youzhny +175 Novak Djokovic -225
• Tennis Match Time: 10:00 AM Eastern Time Saturday February 27, 2010

Tennis Betting Verdict: Djokovic enters this match as the -275 favourite to win outright and the -225 favourite to take the first set. He is the defending champion, the newly minted world No.2 and in good-from this season. Tennis bettors could not ask for a better recommendation. Youzhny, however, is a dangerous threat to Djokovic.

The Russian is capable of vexing Djokovic, if not outright beating him. In fact, he beat him only a few weeks ago in Rotterdam in the semis 7-6(5), 7-6(6). Lifetime, Youzhny and Djokovic are 3-3 but the Russian has the1-0 edge on him in 2010. Trading at +190 to win outright and +175 to take the first set, Youzhny is a value play. Question is can he repeat his Rotterdam performance or will Djokovic have his revenge. Seems to be there is value whichever way you slice this match.

For my part, and I am not the biggest Djokovic fan I will admit, I am strangely rooting for him to win. If only to restore back, some of the faith lost in the top five by Murray’s selfish behaviour and poor representation.

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Here is the lowdown on the top four frontrunners:

Tennis player: Roger Federer +250

BetU.S. opened trading on Roger Federer at +200 but he has since slipped to +250. The prevalent mood in the market is that Roger Federer tennis player will not win the Aussie Open Tennis this year. Hence, the market moving in a negative direction. This mood flies in the face of certain facts, important facts. Those are that Roger Federer tennis player has won a record 15 grand slam titles and he is enjoying an ongoing run of 22 consecutive semi-final appearances, which means he has reached the semis or better in the last 22 Grand Slams. That incredible, record streak spans over five years. Call me crazy but I cannot take him out of the equation just yet.

Sure, he floundered at the Barclay’s ATP World Tennis Tour Finals and at the Qatar Exxon Mobil tourney at the start of the season, both times against tennis player Nikolay Davydenko. In between, he even lost to Robin Soderling at the Abu Dhabi exhibition event.

But this is a Grand Slam – a stage on which he has vowed to focus and where he typically plays his best tennis. In a best of five sets, nobody save for tennis players: Nadal, Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Marat Safin has gotten the better of him in the last five years.

Federer is very much in the running, his pedigree alone speaks loudly. In terms of value, at +250 he is at the longest odds I have seen for some time. That alone should encourage bettors to chance on him. That said if I were honest, I am not convinced he is our next champion.

Tennis player: Rafael Nadal +350

BetUS went to market with a +450 price tag on Rafael Nadal in the fall of last season; he has since moved in a positive direction, his odds shaved down to +350. Curiously, he is the only tennis player in the top four to have moved in a positive direction in the market. Read into it, as you will. I will take this as a very good sign.

Rafael Nadal comes into the 2010 Aussie Open Tennis as the defending champion. Just like last season when pundits doubted he would win the coveted title, they doubt again, this time they question his ability to defend his title. This should come as no surprise to fans of the six-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal tennis player. You must be used to it by now.

Rafael Nadal got his season off to a great start by winning the Abu Dhabi Exhibition tennis event but he suffered a hiccup at the Qatar Exxon Mobil when he lost the title match to N.Davydenko, a match he was clearly in control of after winning the first set 6-0 and at 2-2 in the second set. The hiccup notwithstanding R.Nadal has proved to be a force on the Grand Slam tennis stage. In a best of five sets scenario, he is tough to beat. One has to give him the edge as the second odds-on favourite. Currently, according to the market, he is second favoured after Federer for the title.

Nadal is a tennis player pundits love to doubt and write off. Countless of times he has put paid on that notion. There will be a lot of pressure on him to defend his title. Aside from Federer, Nadal is the only other tennis player in the men’s game to successfully defend a Grand Slam title on more than one occasion. Think about it.

Tennis player: Juan Martin Del Potro +450

Juan Martin Del Potro remains unmoved in the market at +450 since Bet U.S. went to press. Del Potro masterminded the biggest win of his career at the US Open tennis last year when he beat Roger Federer in the final. There is no doubt that Del Potro is talented and will have an opportunity to win more major titles in the future. Right now, the question is can he win the tennis Aussie Open.

The main handicap against him, that makes this doubtful, is fitness. He has been struggling with a wrist injury since the US Open tennis. It is still not clear whether the injury is healed or not. Another lesser issue might come from dealing with his newfound fame and the pressures that come with it. He might need some time to adjust to expectations. Or maybe not.
If he is fit, and he can rip that lethal forehand of his without fear of injury, watch out.

To sum it up for you:

Del Potro: He has a lot going for him but I don’t see him winning the title in Melbourne. As Djokovic struggled after winning the Aussie Open tennis in 2008, I think Del Potro will too struggle this year to replicate his US Open tennis performance. Nevertheless, bettors could do no worse than backing the Tandil giant. He has defied the odds once already.

Tennis player: Novak Djokovic +550

Novak Djokovic was released at +500 odds in the fall. He has since moved marginally, in a negative direction, to +550. Djokovic is the big question mark in the draw. There is a certain nervous trepidation in the market where he is concerned. Given his calibre, I think he should be listed much shorter but going on his 2009 account on the major stage, I can see why he is so long. Understandably, he left many questions unanswered.

Because we have yet to see Djokovic tennis player in action this season, the doubts have become more prominent. Negating some of the questions is the fact that he had some standout moments last year and ahead of the Barclays ATP World Tennis Tour Finals, he was considered by some pundits as the tennis player to beat in 2010. He still might be.

Djokovic would like us to forget his last outing in Melbourne when he wilted under the scorching sun. Reports are that he has been training hard in the Melbourne heat and working with Todd Martin in that endeavour. I don’t think we will see him wilt this time around. But can he surprise everyone and clean up?

Djokovic has the potential to sneak up and surprise. He has had more than a year to adjust to expectations since winning his Aussie Open tennis title, more importantly, he has matured. I can’t say I am his greatest fan but I can not deny his talent. If Todd Martin steers Djokovic back to the same aggressive game plan that saw him win his maiden major title (dumping the awfully dull defensive game he has recently adopted), then heck, watch out for Nole.

Tennis Betting Line: Fernando Verdasco -300 Tommy Robredo +200

Match Time: 02:00 P.M. Eastern Time Friday November 6, 2009

Tennis Betting Verdict: World No.8 tennis player Fernando Verdasco enters this match as the solid favourite to win outright, listed at BetUS Sportsbook at -300. The reason for the favourite nod is obvious. He has a noteworthy ranking in the top ten and a slight ranking edge over tennis player Robredo who weighs in at No.15.

Verdasco has also had a remarkable season by his previous standards, with groundbreaking Grand Slam results – semi-final appearance at the Aussie Open, quarterfinal appearance at the US Open and back-to-back R16’s at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Tennis player Verdasco also ended a 12-month title drought when he won the title in New Haven ahead of the US Open.
Most recently, he finished runner up in Kuala Lumpur and pushed to the Beijing quarters. His only hiccup during the fall swing was a first round exit to Ivan Ljubicic in Shanghai. Overall, he is 50-20 on the season.

Robredo has had a commendable season. He is 45-23 going into the Valencia quarters. He has two titles on the season in Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires. He had a strong start to the season with a R16 at the Aussie Open ahead of his title victories during the South American clay court swing and he underscored his clay court prowess with a quarterfinal appearance at Roland Garros.

Most recently, tennis player Robredo opened noteworthy accounts at the US Open and Shanghai Masters with a last 16 finish in both, lost to tennis player Roger Federer and tennis player Rafael Nadal respectively.

In some respects, tennis player Robredo stacks up well, which would make one believe him to be a value bet at +200. There is also the fact that Verdasco trails lifetime against Robredo 3-4. Yet, tennis player Robredo best career results have come almost exclusively on clay. That is not to say he hasn’t had success on hard courts because he has, but not against a quality hard courter player as Verdasco is. As such, Robredo will be hard pressed to beat Verdasco, especially, if Verdasco is 100% healthy and on his game.