Andy Murray has been told he will not be fit enough to take part in Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Slovakia later this month after picking up injuries during his recent run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Murray's absence for the Euro/Africa Zone Group I tie at Glasgow's Braehead Arena between 10-12 February leaves James Ward and Dan Evans as the probable singles choices for GB captain Leon Smith. http://betting.betfair.com/tennis/

The established doubles pairing of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins will complete the four-man team. Those looking at Betfair will be wondering if they can compete.

A disappointed Murray told the LTA's official website: "I'm gutted to miss out on the Davis Cup, having really enjoyed playing last year. But as it's only the start of an important season, which includes the Olympics in London, it's probably a sensible decision."

My focus in 2012 is on performing well in the Grand Slams and the London 2012 Olympics. I look forward to playing in the next Davis Cup tie later in the year."

Murray pushed eventual winner Novak Djokovic hard in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne eventually being beaten in five sets.

Slovakia have two players ranked inside the top 100 in the men's game, Lukas Lacko and Karol Beck, with Ward (155) and Evans (296) both much lower in the rankings.

Victory for GB would see them set up a clash with Belgium in the second round of Euro/Africa Zone Group I, with the winners of that tie heading for a World Group play-off.

The Slovakia clash will be GB's first back at Group I level following last year's promotion.

There's no doubting the fact that Andy Murray has earned himself some much needed time off from the trials and tribulations of top level best live tennis  competition, if only to hand him the opportunity of keeping up the momentum and good work with his new coach whilst reflecting honestly on how to hone the psychological side of his game before the next Grand Slam, but his decision to pull out of the Great Britain tennis team's upcoming fixture in the Davis Cup has left the team in rather a problematic situation.

Murray has suggested he is "gutted" about missing the game, arguing that he has been forced to sit it out due to a few minor niggles picked up during his time down under, but the Scot has previously gained a bit of a reputation for being a man who is not 100% committed to the Davis Cup and British hopes, with Davis Cup fans in particular all too aware where his priorities lie.

However, when all is said and done, perhaps the main problems Team GB are facing have not been caused by Murray, but by the fact that British tennis has failed to produce any kind of strength in depth, with tennis betting offers more likely to predict humiliating defeats than dramatic victories. This means that Andy Murray is now relied upon far too heavily in an age during which he needs to maintain a focus on developing his own career.

Should Team GB start one day to produce back-up players of real quality, then maybe we can discuss Murray letting the nation down. Until then, though, perhaps he is the only one who has really been let down.
 

There is little doubting by now that Serb Novak Djokovic is the unrivalled King of grass and hard court surfaces in the world of men's live tennis, but there is still one surface in the sport where another man reigns as King, and that surface is clay, with the man in charge undoubtedly Spain's Rafael Nadal.

Although Djokovic has previously beaten Nadal on clay, he failed to claim the crown that counts at Roland Garros last year, and has never seriously been considered a worthy candidate by punters placing online bets for being named King of a surface that is arguably the hardest to conquer and still unique in an age during which the differences between hard court surfaces and grass court surfaces have been reduced drastically.

With Nadal learning how to play the game of tennis on clay when he was a boy, he clearly has an innate advantage when it comes to competing on the surface, but the fact that he has managed to teach himself the best techniques to succeed on other surfaces boosts his credentials as a legend in the sport even more. In contrast to this, it's fair to say that Djokovic is something of a rank amateur on clay, meaning that when the time comes for him to compete at the French Open this year, he will be treading firmly on Nadal’s territory.

If, and only if, Nadal can prove that he is still the King of clay by dominating, and of course winning, the French Open, then he may just be provided with the launch pad needed to start another bid to become the top tennis player in the world. Fail to do this, though, and the Spaniard may well have to watch Djokovic pick up the famous Roland Garros trophy, which might just spell the beginning of the end of Nadal’s fantastic career.
 

Yesterday in Australia, Rafael Nadal managed to pull off a fantastic performance on court that was enjoyed by tennis fans across the world. However, despite the stunning display from the Spaniard, there is no doubting that Nadal ended up losing a match that he would have had little trouble winning if he had still been the top player in the world.

If Novak Djokovic had somehow managed to let victory slip out of his grasp after sprinting to a 2-1 set lead, those loyal Nadal fans who believe he is close to climbing back to the top of the pile may have been able to add some significant weight to their argument.

However, with Djokovic bouncing back in stunning style from near defeat, managing to play some of his best live tennis more than five hours into a contest that itself was scheduled just a short time after the Serb's five hour tie against world number four Andy Murray, it's been confirmed all over again that Mr Djokovic is the best player in the world by quite some distance.

With this in mind, we've been left with a slightly unusual situation, with neither Roger Federer nor Nadal playing at the same level as the man ranked number one in the world, a situation unthought of since the duo emerged as dominant in the early 2000s. If Nadal wishes to stand a chance of proving the online bets wrong and getting back to the top level, he will need to go back to the drawing board and begin to think seriously about how he can change his game.

If the Spaniard does find a way to make the sort of improvements that enable him to beat Djokovic, we may well be able to talk about the existence of an elite group of top players in men’s tennis once again. As it stands, however, there is only one player who is at the top and he looks quite simply unbeatable.

 

The women's tennis semi-finals at the Australian Open will have an interesting sub-plot as three of the semi-finalists can become both the champion and the number 1 ranked player in the world.

Kim Clijsters is the only women left in the tournament that can't take over the number 1 spot, but she won't really care, as defending the title she won last year will be her main priority.

The Belgian, who says this is her last Australian Open, will play the third seed Victoria Azarenka next in Melbourne, with the Belarusian able to top the rankings herself.

The 22-year-old, who is having her best ever run at the tournament, can become number 1 if she defeats Clijsters and then goes on to win in the final, which in the process will also gain her a maiden Grand Slam title.

In the other semi-final Current Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will take on Maria Sharapova, who is looking for her second success in Melbourne, after previously winning there in 2008.

Sharapova must win the tournament to top the rankings, while the 21-year-old Kvitova only has to reach the final to gain number one ranking, even though carrying on 2011's impressive form and winning her second Slam will be more of a priority.

The number one ranking is up for grabs after current number one Caroline Wozniacki was beaten by Clijsters in the quarter finals on Tuesday.

Kvitova is slight favourite for both her semi-final match and the tournament, probably due to the fact that she beat Sharapova in the Wimbledon final, with the Russian a slight outsider.

The other semi-final is tipped to be close nothing to choose between Clijsters and Azarenka, with both players joint second favourites for the title.

Written by Philip Oliver, a sports fan from England who enjoys making a tennis bet now and then.

The USA have named both Venus and Serena Williams in their Fed Cup team for next month's World Group II first round game against Belarus.

Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez has also named Christina McHale and the world's number one doubles player, Liezel Huber, in her team for the clash which will take place at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on 4th and 5th February.

It will not be an easy match for the American team though as Belarus can call on the services of the current world number three Victoria Azarenka. There are already a number of tennis betting offers available for Azarenka’s matches with the Williams sisters.

The best-of-five match series begins with two singles matches on the Saturday and is followed by two reverse singles matches and the doubles match on the Sunday.

The two teams have never met in the competition before and the winners will move on to the World Group play-off where they will compete for the chance to secure the Fed Cup title in 2013.The losers will be forced to play in a World Group II play-off when they will either maintain their status in World Group II in 2013 or be relegated to the zonal competition.

"I am looking forward to having Serena and Venus on the team for the first time since I became US Fed Cup captain," said Fernandez. "They bring so much to this team, not only for what they can do on court, but the influence they will have on Christina and the rest of the team.”

Serena Williams, who has won 13 Grand Slams during her career, will be making her first live tennis appearance in the Fed Cup since 2007 while Venus was a member of the title-winning team in 1999.
 

 Australian Open Semifinal's!

It's been 10 days since the Australian Open started and now we are headed to a super semi finals show down. 
The big four (Murray, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) have made it to the semi's and all are eager to win the first grand slam of the year.

Tonight Roger Federer plays against Rafael Nadal, for a spot on Sunday's final. Roger goes in as the favorite, all the critics say he's playing amazing and he should prevail against Nadal. But you can never underestimate Rafael Nadal, he's very strong mentally and fisically and in the quaterfinals agains Berdych he demostrated an amazing gain of confidence in the fourth set. This long awaited match up promises to be an outstanding battle.

Murray vs Djokovic is another great match. Many would agree that both of these players have the best deffensive game right now. Djokovic has been playing amazing since last year, he holds the No. 1 Ranking and is looking almost unstopable. He has not have many problems beeting all his oponents on his way to the semi final. We will see if he can prevail against Murray's Deffensive style of play.  Murray has a new coach Ivan Lendl who might be the missing ingredient for Murray to win his first grand slam. 

It will be very entertaining to watch the semi's and final's. 

Now its time for you to get out there and play some tennis!

The 2012 Australian Open, held in Melbourne, begun on the 16th of January. So far it has been an exciting competition and I anticipate more excitement in the up-and-coming round three and four matchups. This particular article will focus on the Women's Singles. It will include a list of some of the more notable women tennis players with some brief explanations regarding their chances in this year's Aussie Open.

As there are a numerous amount of high-ranking players still left in the prestigious Grand Slam event, it's hard to pick an out-and-out winner early in the tournament. Of the players that are left, the most notable for me would have to be: current Australian Open champion and Belgian national Kim Clijsters, the 13-times Grand Slam champion and former number one Serena Williams, last year's Aussie Open finalist and current French Open title-holder Li Na and 21-year-old Danish number one Caroline Wozniacki. Those following the Grand Slam betting should bear this in mind.

Generally the bookies seem to be favouring the American national Serena Williams. The best odds for Serena remain to be at odds of 7/2. These odds do not surprise me in the least as the awe-inspiring star has won the Australian Open a total of 5-times with the last time being back in 2010. The final in 2010 saw the American face up against the number seven ranking and Russian star Vera Zvonareva. The result ended in a clear and deserved victory to Williams in what was a particularly enthralling matchup. Anyone placing Australian open bets should remember this.

Last year's Australian Open was won by Belgian Kim Clijsters. She managed to defeat Chinese professional Li Na in what was an enticing match. In the 2012 Aussie Open Clijsters is generally the fourth favourite with the bookies at odds of around 8/1. For me, if you were to place a bet on the winner of the Women's Singles in this year's tournament then I would place my money on the reigning champion.
 

Two-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams failed in her bid to add a third title to her collection after she was dumped out by the unseeded Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. Williams failed to find any real foothold in the match, making basic errors and looking lethargic throughout, and the Russian was able to record a famous 6-2 6-3 victory and book herself a spot in the quarter-finals. People looking at the

will have been amazed.

Williams, who went into the tournament looking to add to her 13-Grand Slam titles, was in no doubt as to why she had been beaten so comfortably – her own error count. While Williams has been struggling with injuries coming into the tournament, she was quick to praise her opponent for how she had performed; playing down the role her fitness issues may have had in the defeat to the world number 56. Those placing Australian Open bets need to bear this in mind.

"She played really well, she went for broke on a lot of shots," Williams said.

"I made 37 errors and that pretty much told the story of the match."

"I just did not serve well, it was just disastrous really."

"I never blame any injury I have because I feel like she played really well and deserved the win."

The 30-year old manage to rack up 37 unforced errors in the two sets and that was the clear difference between the former world number one and the Russian. Makarova took nearly every chance that came her way courtesy of her opponent’s mistakes, ending Williams’ 17-match unbeaten run at Melbourne Park in the process. 

Third seed Victoria Azarenka proved her title-winning credentials as she romped her way into the Australian Open third-round with a confident victory against Casey Dellacqua. The 22-year old came into the tournament in great form, following victory at the warm-up tournament in Sydney, and has continued her impressive performances since arriving in Melbourne. 

The 6-1 6-0 score-line is a clear indicator as to what the situation inside the Rod Laver Arena was. While Dellacqua was backed by a vocal home crowd, it was not enough to inspire the Aussie to find anyway past a scintillating Azarenka – who will go into the third round after conceding just two games in her opening two matches.  People who bet on Andy Murray should remember this.

The Belarusian gave nothing away and her opponent was given no chance to get back into the tie once she'd gone behind. The 22-year old's power was too much for Dellacqua to handle, and the Aussie could only chase shadows on her way to a 57-minute defeat. 

Azarenka will now take on Mona Barthel in the second round, after the German produced something of a surprise to knock out 32nd seed Petra Cetkovska in straight sets.  Those who bet on tennis should bear this in mind.

On this sort of form, there will be plenty who will have sat up and taken notice of Azarenka in this tournament, where she could well be in line to go on and win her maiden Grand Slam title.