Betting Exchange Portal - http://www.laytheodds.com
Best of North and South America can tackle Federer in Melbourne
http://www.laytheodds.com/articles/393/1/Best-of-North-and-South-America-can-tackle-Federer-in-Melbourne.html
Gareth Topham
Wayne Halliday is a professional sports writer,  who has been involved in the betting and gambling industry as a tipster, broadcaster and columnist for the past seven years. He has had a keen interest in horse racing for the past 20 years and regularly makes a profit from his selections particularly on the National Hunt front. Moreover, since the inception of the exchanges and spread betting, he has shown handsome returns in other sports primarily, cricket, tennis and football.  
By Gareth Topham
Published on 01/14/2008
 
Wayne Halliday looks at the contenders to knock Roger Federer off his lofty perch and comes up with a couple of value bets to challenge for the Australian Open Men's crown.

We could be witnessing an historical year in tennis if Roger Federer can win at least three of the four Grand Slams in 2008. He stands just two titles behind Pete Sampras who landed 14 crowns throughout his illustrious career, and Federer could well make inroads into that haul of Slams by winning the Australian Open which gets under way today. The world number has been given a favourable draw in the early rounds, indeed his first major test will probably not come until the quarter-finals and having been Champion in Melbourne for the past two years has a great chance of capturing a hat-trick of titles. He has, though, had an interrupted preparation - pulling out of an exhibition event last week due to a stomach virus, and supposing he reaches the last eight he has some possible tough matches from then on. He is obviously the class act in the field but at odds-on (Best price 8/11) I am going to look elsewhere for some value.

As far as the competition is concerned he has old adversary Rafael Nadal, but the Spaniard has yet to conquer the "hard courts" at Melbourne Park. Novak Djokovic is a Grand Slam winner in the waiting and the always-entertaining Serb is improving with each tournament but he is in the same half of the draw as Federer.

The locals will be cheering on former Wimbledon Champion Lleyton Hewitt who reached the final of this event back in 2005, but you have to go way back to 1976 when Mark Edmondson became the last Aussie to lift the crown. Britain's Andy Murray is another player for the future but he does have a tough draw and starts off against the man who ended Tim Henman's career Jo Wilfried Tsonga.

The two players that I think will give Federer most to do though are, David Nalbandian who has an impressive (8-8) record against the Swiss ace and Andy Roddick. The genial American has a massive serve and with the new Plexicushion surface expected to help his game add to the fact that he has made the last eight in four of the last five Slams at 20/1 could meet Federer in the final.

Selections: Andy Roddick (20/1) and David Nalbandian (16/1)


Wayne Halliday is a professional sports writer who blogs on tennis betting at Betfair