Federer Gets No Favours from Olympic Draw

Beijing, China – Olympic Tennis wagering begins on Saturday, August 9, 2008 but sports betting ebthusiasts can already start betting on who will win the men single’s gold medal. Vying for a place on the podium is current No.1 Roger Federer along with heir-apparent No.2 Rafael Nadal (Federer will relinquish his World No.1 ranking to Nadal on August 18), No. 3 Novak Djokovic, fast rising, No. 6 Andy Murray as well as a whole slew of tennis players representing numerous nations. With such a stellar cast assembled in Beijing, Olympic tennis betting at BetUS Sportsbook is sure to have a little bit of everything; promising a dramatic week in sports gambling for the online sports betting hamlet at BetUS Sportsbook.

Swiss Roger Federer, who turns 27 on Friday, got no favours from the draw when Dmitry Tursunov of Russia was pulled as his opening challenger. The wily Russian Dmitry Tursunov trails 0-2 against Federer. Ordinarily, Federer’s opening match would not warrant much conversation, but considering the numerous shocking defeats that have befallen Federer, one wonders whether his quota for weird losses in 2008 is a done deal. Could the Olympics be the scene for yet another?

Hindsight: his semi-final loss to Mardy Fish (who barely seems to be able to winning anything these days) at Indian Wells seems now to be a watershed moment. It would appear to have emboldened many players on the tour. Even Andy Roddick achieved his first triumph against Federer on his 12th consecutive attempt (spanning over five years) when he stopped him in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters the following week. Others to join the conquerors club were Radek Stepanek (Rome Masters in May), Gilles Simon (Toronto Masters in July) and Ivo Karlovic (Cincinnati Masters in July). The usual suspects were there too – Rafael Nadal notched four victories and both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic one each.

Now, do not get me wrong, Federer’s season is by no means a complete disaster. Well maybe by his standards it might be, as he has neither a chance of replicating his usual annual quota of three Grand Slam titles nor a chance to overtake Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slams this year. He brings a decent 44-11 mark for the year which includes back-to-back final appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon for the third consecutive year and two ATP titles – Estoril and Halle.

The problem is the manner with which he lost against the unusual suspects that makes betting on him in current times unsettling. He imploded against Gilles Simon in Toronto. Played his worst match ever against Robby Ginepri in the second round of Cincinnati before going to lose against Karlovic in the third round (but the match I have to say was not as much a disaster as the previous two because he lost without being broken once on his serve in the entire match).

After failing to win anything major in the early months of the year, Federer was quick to remind anyone who would listen that as a proven champion he should be judged by how well he performs during the Roland Garros/Wimbledon months of the season. He reached the final of both; but walked away with the runner-up dish. So what does that say about his performance? He raised the bar in tennis so it follows he should be judged by that very bar. Justifiably all sports bettors are split asunder, levitating between disappointment and praise. Eight months into the season and Federer is noticeably without a Masters Shield or a Grand Slam title. Now he pins his hopes on the Olympics and the US Open to salvage his worst year since taking over as the World No.1 four years ago.