US Open results in flurry of betting

US Open, third round: betting on Federer, Hewitt, Sharapova, Jankovich...

Roger Federer, world's number one and top seed in the ongoing US Open, is doing well. He left behinld Marcos Baghdatis, a tough Cypriot qualifier, in a second-round on Wednesday.

Serena Williams and Lleyton Hewitt, who is back in his top form, also advanced to the 3rd round of US Open.

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova proved her obstinacy in training with her well-earned victory over American Laura Granville during the first-round match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, Maria was ‘pushed to the limit” when a fierce first serve sealed a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory after two hours, nine minutes of thrilling tennis on a packed Arthur Ashe Court. Seventh-seed Sharapova,17, who gained the title of new queen of women's tennis, avoid becoming the first Wimbledon champion to lose at the first round of the U.S. Open in the modern era.

Numerous sites reporting on the US Open tennis tournament are now creating their odds predicting the final outcome of the competition. Aficionados of the tournament, which have just begun, start visiting official tennis sites and online betting resources.

In 2003 the official ATP site recorded 18 percent rise in visitors compared to 2002. According to Onlinecasinonews.com, tennis support, like other sporting and online gambling industries, is moving online with fans checking updates and commentaries, and expressing their opinion in web forums.

Therefore, online betting activity also saw a substantial growth since many companies opened new betting options on outcomes of finals, particular matches or even odds concerning particular players.

So far, the official US Open site is now open to keep informed its tennis fans interested in betting choices and the draws along with rich informational content dealing with opinions, statistics and analytics. The majority of betting sites currently have Federer as a strong favourite to win the tournament, followed closely by Roddick. Other prospective candidates are Hewitt and Agassi.            

This match Sharapova - Granville may result in wide opportunities for Sharapova at the Open. Sharapova, who lost in the second round last year to Emilie Loit, is to play against Jelena Jankovic next. She has never met this player before and Jelena may teach Maria some new things, helping uncover some her deep resource.

According to Oddschecker.com, Maria is currently listed at 1/8 (SportingOdds and SportingBet), 2/9 (William Hill), 1/6 (Paddy Power and Bet365). At the same time bookies offer following odds for Jankovich: 9/2 (SportingOdds and SportingBet), 13/5 (William Hill), 7/2 (Paddy Power), 10/3 (Bet365).