Tag: tennis

US Open tennis

US Open tennis

What an intruiging set up we have for the mens tournament this year.

Djokovic isn’t invincible this year, Federer is bouncing on a slow decline, Nadal is out and Murray just defeated his nearest competitors to win a Gold Medal. Murray also likes this surface as well. It’s a tantilising set up.

The top three make up 85% of the market so anybody on Djokovic’s side of the draw could stand a chance of getting into the later stages. If …

28/08/2012 | By More
Murray might

Murray might

Reason to look forward to this afternoon’s gold medal Tennis match with optimism.

Age – Murray is younger than Federer and Federer, despite his world #1 ranking, is in decline. Just very gradual and from a very high peak. Murray is approaching his peak and when players peak anything is possible. Both players are on the process of converging.

Format – Murray got of to a great start at Wimbledon and flew out of the blocks before Federer used his …

05/08/2012 | By More
Sports overload!

Sports overload!

I swear if there is more sports available on TV my head is going to explode!

It seems for most of the summer I have been bouncing from one major sporting event to another and now, with the Olympics on, it’s all gone into over drive. I am definitely going to have a rest at the end of this period.

The Tennis has been by far the most tradable sport at the Olympics and we culminate with the finals this …

04/08/2012 | By More
Marray, Murray, Wimbledon,Tennis and Fish

Marray, Murray, Wimbledon,Tennis and Fish

Really looking forward to the Wimbledon mens final today, when history will be made one way or another. Maybe we will see a Marray / Murray double, how funny would that be?

Unfortunately I will not be able to witness it first hand as I will stuck in mud / traffic at the British Grand Prix. I didn’t figure Nadal would go out of the tournament so early and that Murray would make it to the final. It’s also a …

08/07/2012 | By More
Best Wimbledon trading ever?

Best Wimbledon trading ever?

This has been a great Wimbledon so far. Lots of seeds faltering and some outright fails in the mix already. The biggest coming last night when the second seed, Nadal, spectacularly crashed out despite starting at decimal odds of 1.01. It could be my imagination but it’s difficult to remember so many opportunities to turn over such short odds when trading, even for a small number of ticks.

It prompted me to look back at previous Wimbledon tournaments to see …

29/06/2012 | By More
Good start for traders at Wimbledon

Good start for traders at Wimbledon

There are three main surface types that Tennis matches are played on. Hard, Grass and Clay. Over time I’ve got to understand just how important each surface type is and how it affects matches.

Which surface do you think throws up the most competitive matches? I’ll answer later in the week.

Yesterday saw several good chances to profit from a range of matches. Red hot favourites struggled to break down stubborn opponents, see Nadal’s match, and good starts by rising …

27/06/2012 | By More
Bizarre end to Queens Club Tennis final

Bizarre end to Queens Club Tennis final

In the last twelve years I’ve seen a lot of weird things in sport. Unexpected endings or remarkable twists and turns. Today I learnt something new about Tennis, Injuring an official will cost you the match, no matter how important the match.

David Nalbandian has done well at Queens this week and was doing well in the final. He vented his frustration on an advertising hoarding after losing a game and injured a line judge. The result was disqualification. Never …

17/06/2012 | By More
A tale of two different tournaments

A tale of two different tournaments

You couldn’t wish for two more different tournaments in the French open this year. On the men’s side Nadal is playing consistently and has eased through to the latter stages. His opponents meanwhile have stuttered and at times looked in real trouble. If you look at the men’s draw; all this has meant that Nadal, ‘the king of clay’, has shortened from 1.72 at the start of the tournament to just 1.58. All the other top seeds have drifted.

On …

04/06/2012 | By More
Another Murray moment

Another Murray moment

Andy Murray conspired to throw up another great trading match today at the French Open. Unfortunately I had to miss it as I had an appointment with the bank and solicitors!

Murray went off at short odds and traded as high as 21’s before going on to win. 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. His opponent traded at very short odds before Murray’s comeback, much to the disbelief of people who kept backing his opponent at ever larger odds.

I did have …

31/05/2012 | By More
Serena Williams crashes out of French Open

Serena Williams crashes out of French Open

Low backers were handed an almightly thumping when Serena Williams crashed out of the first round of the French open this evening.

It is the first time the 2002 champion has lost in the opening round of a grand slam event. Those who read my article of last year on forecasting decline in players may have had half an eye on Williams, but few would have honestly expected defeat this early and in this manner. Most speculative short layers should …

29/05/2012 | By More
French open tennis – When it’s good to see red!

French open tennis – When it’s good to see red!

Today sees the start of the French open tennis and it’s one of those moments when the red clay surface will often mean green for traders.

Grand Slams often produce good matches and the slower surface at Roland Garros will bring shot making and athletism to the fore.

Early rounds of grand slams often bring up very shot prices, but the odd shock. So I’m generally looking to oppose red hot favourites in the early rounds hoping for a slip …

27/05/2012 | By More
Rome, York, Kiev

Rome, York, Kiev

Back to the fold today and have been watching the Masters Tennis in Rome with much interest. It’s thrown up some good matches already and the ‘non-blue’ clay should give us some clues for the French Open. Murray’s match with Nalbandian yesterday had some great opportunites in it.

The Rome masters is a good place to get some practice in before the French open. Typically players will use it for the same reason as well, but be aware of retirements. …

16/05/2012 | By More
Tennis traders turn blue into green

Tennis traders turn blue into green

The tournament in Madrid has caught my attention this week. I haven’t traded it much in the past, but the move to blue clay caught my attention. I love uncertainty, as it often creates opportunity.

Madrid is playing on a new surface this year, blue clay. Officially the surface is supposed to play the same as red clay but the top players are complaining that it’s playing nothing like normal, “It’s too slippery”. Players have complained that it is hard …

10/05/2012 | By More
Underneath a legendary Tennis match

Underneath a legendary Tennis match

Not many words can describe the fantastic Men’s final at the Australian open tennis, so I wont try. But to say it was special, would definitely be an understatement. I started the match half dressed having not risen early enough to get changed properly, broke for a full Sunday lunch and still returned for a hour of excitement. Amazing stuff.

The great thing about these matches is that pretty much any trading strategy you adopt will win. If somebody goes …

30/01/2012 | By More
Bumps and ripples

Bumps and ripples

What can you tell about a Tennis match before it has started? Quite  a lot actually.

The market is pretty accurate at discounting value into a match and assessing the relative strengths of different players, from that you can plot the most likely path through a match and its progression. You can also hunt for bumps and ripples in that path for odds that are most likely to be reached and how. If you do this, you will see that …

26/01/2012 | By More
Caught-siding

Caught-siding

Courtsiding is the method used by people betting on Tennis to beat the in-play delay. The in-play delay is put on matches, such as the Australian open tennis, to stop people from placing bets before other people get to see what happened. It doesn’t work!

Because of the incentive of low risk profit, people will go to great lengths to beat the clock and this has become a feature of many in-play markets, not just Tennis. Like Biff in back …

18/01/2012 | By More
Murray Matrix

Murray Matrix

Looking forward to seeing Andy Murray in action tonight.

Last night I bagged 25 decent winning trades from the overnight matches. I use Tennis Trader to work out key points in a match and what odds are likely to be traded around key points. By looking up these key points in advance I can set up a trade that will trigger at or around those points and offset to a value that will lock in a profit. All markets exhibit …

16/01/2012 | By More
Aussie open – open!

Aussie open – open!

Just about to head off to bed, but in half an hour the Australian open tennis will kick into gear. It’s a great opportunity to get stuck into the Tennis, even if you are not into Tennis, as a lot of matches will appear in the UK early in the morning when not much else is going on.

I have set up Bet Angel to do some simple automation in the early rounds of the tournament as I know where …

15/01/2012 | By More
Big over-reaction

Big over-reaction

Sometimes I just want to roll Gael Monfils up in a bundle and kiss him.

One of my biggest ever wins came on a match with Monfils in it. He overstretched himself and called for the trainer. I had just backed his opponent and his priced rocketed in and netted me a very lucky big profit, so I greened up. After a brief spell with the trainer Monfils carried on and looked like he had never been trouble and went …

05/01/2012 | By More
Is Darts the new Tennis?

Is Darts the new Tennis?

Some great matches again at the PDC world darts championship this week. Dramatic comebacks from impossible positions, turnarounds, low odds turned over, high odds coming in, big matched bet turnover. Darts certainly has the characteristics of a great trading market. It’s popularity is picking up now as well.

Its scoring and ‘feel’ is similar to Tennis, you also have familiar concepts such as a break of throw / serve. But a big advantage of Darts is that the games are

02/01/2012 | By More
Awesome match

Awesome match

At last, a real classic match to talk about at the US Open. Djokovic through to the final after defeating Federer, again, in the semi final from two match points down. A great trading match as well, with some clear cut entry and exit points.

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10/09/2011 | By More
Hasse vs Murray

Hasse vs Murray

“There is a cluster of potential around 1.30′s in this match”

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02/09/2011 | By More
Passive Tennis trading

Passive Tennis trading

Missed most of the US open last night as I opted to play Tennis rather than watch it, but I still profited on the matches last night.

I also had a nice reminder of how using stats can show a different version of the match than the score. I won 6-4 6-4 last night, but the first set was quite tight and I effectively won it with a break of serve in the ninth game. The second set was not …

02/09/2011 | By More
Feast or farce

Feast or farce

Not difficult to choose what to do this afternoon. Yes there was some racing on but when end up with 15 minute gaps and one race at Pontefract had just two runners, though curiously this was the best race of the day for me.

Over at Wimbledon there were quite a few decent matches and opportunties so it was this that held the main interest for me today. As a point of interest, if you want evidence that people are …

27/06/2011 | By More
A week full of opportunities

A week full of opportunities

We are now just beyond the half way point in the year. So double what you have made so far and you end up around your annual total!

Glad I am sat here and not half drunk on some beach. OK I lied, but any regret at not getting sun burnt has been tempered by some fantastic results in the market this week. I’ve really picked up speed in June and I am heading for a great month overall. Despite …

26/06/2011 | By More
Tennis – Grass vs Clay

Tennis – Grass vs Clay

What statistical evidence is there to support the differences between grass and clay court Tennis?

Yesterday we highlighted some ATP data that told you the difference in how much shorter a point is on grass. Winning a point on grass is an average of 1/3rd the time on clay. My first instinct on reading this statistic was that a match on grass must be shorter than on clay.

Ever curious, I downloaded and analysed ten years worth of grand slam …

21/06/2011 | By More
Grass is for cows

Grass is for cows

Wimbledon is the only grand slam on grass, but it wasn’t always that way. Two other tournaments were played on grass on the grand slam circuit. The US Open, was played on grass until 1974, and the Australian Open, was played on grass until 1988.

Very few players would not admit that a win at Wimbledon would be a career defining moment. But it’s not through trying that players fail; it’s generally down to how each surface plays. Research by …

20/06/2011 | By More
Federer loses French Open final

Federer loses French Open final

I’ve deliberately titled this post in a manner that is completely dissimilar to the current headlines out there. Well done to Nadal winning the French open; but if you look at the flow of the match from a statistical viewpoint, it was more like Federer who actually lost it in my opinion.

It was a fairly tight match, till the last set at least, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1. You would expect the younger player of the two to do better …

05/06/2011 | By More
Fab Friday

Fab Friday

Today, we have a decent looking day ahead of us on the sporting front.

The Epsom derby meeting kicks off today and the Oaks is always a reminder of the first race that Betfair took bets on back in June 2000. To be honest I haven’t really ripped through this Friday for a few years. So I’ll be taking things careful until I get a feel for the day.

At the French Open the top four men in the world …

03/06/2011 | By More
New balls please

New balls please

One of the key stories going into the French open was the fact they were going to use a new ball type. I sort of guessed this may lead to a few suprises, but it realistically is going to take the whole tournament to work out if it really made much difference. It’s certainly added a few variables to things. This is an interesting article discussing this very point: –

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576341380613199152.html

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01/06/2011 | By More
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