Tennis Betting Advice - January 2021
My first early-bird pick for 2021...
Thursday 14th January 2021
In your Ones to Watch email today:
Sebastian Korda ran out of steam last night. He had a medical time out, too.
The 20-year-old got off to a fast start in his first ever ATP final, breaking serve straight away. But Hubert Hurkacz gathered himself, and played very well indeed to win 6-3, 6-3, and take the Delray Beach trophy.
Hurkacz won the ace count, 4-1. Korda was 5-0 on the double faults.
Price Watch…
The first silverware of 2021 has been dished out. Here’s how the Outright Winner prices went…
Results & pre-tournament odds from week one of the ATP & WTA season:
ATP 250 – Antalya
Winner: A.De Minaur (3/1)
Runner-up: A.Bublik (25/1)
ATP 250 – Delray Beach
Winner: H.Hurkacz (4/1)
Runner-up: S.Korda (28/1)
WTA 500 - Abu Dhabi
Winner: A.Sabalenka (8/1)
Runner-up: V.Kudermetova (50/1)
The favourites claimed the big prizes, at 3/1, 4/1, and 8/1.
But all three runners-up were at very attractive odds, 25/1, 28/1, and 50/1.
With Each Way terms of half the odds for reaching the final, a runner-up at those prices is very desirable. That’s the kind of area I go for with my Ones to Watch picks.
We’ll be keeping tabs on the weekly tournament prices again this season. I record them all on the Calendar page on the Ones to Watch website.
Coming to fruition…
From the names in our new Ones to Watch in 2021 report, Sebastian Korda was the star of the show in week one. Reaching his first final on the Senior tour, at odds of 28/1.
Elsewhere, the youngest man on our 2021 list, Carlos Alcaraz, has qualified for the Australian Open. The 17-year-old won all three of his matches at the Qualifying event held in Doha. Booking his place in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time.
And looking back on our annual pre-season lists from the last two years…
OTW 2020 nominee Hubert Hurkacz lifted the Delray Beach trophy last night. After no tournament wins last season, the 23-year-old Polish player has started 2021 with a second career ATP title. Both have come at outdoor hard-courts events in the USA.
Veronika Kudermetova also featured in our 2020 report. The 23-year-old Russian made a flying start to the new season, reaching a first WTA final, as a 50/1 outsider in Abu Dhabi.
OTW 2019 name Alex De Minaur won three ATP titles in 2019, but none in the disrupted 2020 season. The 21-year-old Australian was back to winning ways in week one of 2021, taking the title at Antalya.
Aryna Sabalenka was on our women’s list in 2019…
Sabalenka stands out at 28/1…
Sabalenka has started the new season as she ended the last one: winning matches with brutal, dominant, attacking tennis.
The 22-year-old is on a 15-match winning streak on hard courts. After finishing 2020 with back-to-back indoor titles at Ostrava and Linz, the Belarusian added the Abu Dhabi trophy to her cabinet this week.
Aryna won three titles in 2019, and three in 2020 – but has yet to get past the 3rd round at any of the four Grand Slams. A big run at the Australian Open and/ or US Open must be in her sights this year…
The bookies have reacted to Sabalenka’s current sizzling form by chopping the 22-year-old World No.10 from 20/1 to 10/1 for next month’s Aussie Open.
Current odds of 28/1, 25/1, and 20/1+ for the year’s other hard-court Slam, the US Open, look well worth getting in the book…
If 2021 does prove to the year that Sabalenka makes the step up at Major level, then by the time New York rolls around at the end of the summer, Aryna could be trading at 10/1 or even shorter.
Indeed, Skybet are already just 12/1 for the US Open. As I write, there’s 28/1 available with Ladbrokes & Coral, and 25/1 at Boylesports.
When her power game is on full tilt, Sabalenka can knock anyone off the court. For example, last season, she recorded hard-court wins over former Grand Slam winners including Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, and compatriot Victoria Azarenka.
On the weekly tour you’ll be hard-pressed to get any exciting Outright odds for Sabalenka. Those 20/1+ quotes for the US Open tick that box for my first ante-post selection of 2021. This is a price that could prove to be good value as the season develops.
Ones to Watch:
Outright Winner – Each Way
US Open 2021 – Women’s
Each Way terms: 1/2 odds 1-2 places.
Coming up…
The top players are jetting off to quarantine in Australia, in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year which starts in Melbourne on 8th February.
Before that, there are ATP & WTA ‘warm up’ events Down Under, starting from 31st January.
As well as building up to the Australian Open, I’ll be keeping tabs on the lower-tier ATP Challenger Tour this month…
Next week the first Challenger tournament of the season begins in Istanbul. The match-day markets will be on my radar. I’ll keep you posted with any selections next week.
Enjoy the tennis…
P.S
Want to get in touch? Email me at: tom.wilson@oxonpress.co.uk
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson