Tennis Betting Advice - September 2022

US Open: Day 5 - has this happened to you?

Friday 2nd September 2022

Welcome to Day 5 of your daily US Open service. Play starts at 4pm, UK time…

Past, present, and future…

A tough day for our picks yesterday, with particularly disappointing performances from Hubert Hurkacz and Marie Bouzkova, who both went down surprisingly meekly in the 2nd round.

Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova was also outclassed on the day.

To put a positive spin on those three losses, I truly think we can expect to see more from those players at Grand Slam level in the future. Especially so perhaps for Linda Fruhvirtova, who will turn 18 years old next season.

Also, we should look out for Linda’s younger sister, Brenda, who will be 16 next year – and hitting the main tour…

  • Right now, on the lower-tier ITF circuit, Brenda Fruhvirtova is on a dominant four-tournament winning streak, standing at 20 match wins and counting

Putting losses behind you is something I’ve had to learn to deal with over the years. It certainly takes time, and a particular, stoic mindset. But even I was feeling the burn when I turned in last night (or should that be early this morning), after seeing Hurkacz tumble out of the US Open.

On the upside, just an hour or so before, I’d enjoyed the usual competitive spirit and brave big hitting of our latest women’s tournament pick, Danielle Collins. The American won 2-0, and from top prices of 50/1, 40/1 and 33/1 Each Way when we got involved yesterday, I’m happy to have Dani on our side. As I write, 33/1 is still of offer at Bet365, Betfred, and BetVictor.

Moving the goalposts…

Dealing with defeats is one thing. Looking forward to our next win with hope and optimism is another. But that all relies on there being a level playing field in the first place. So, it’s a completely different feeling when the rug gets pulled out from under your bet, through no fault of your own, or of your player…

That ugly, someone’s-moved-the-goalposts sensation is being felt by Ones to Watch members Richard and Alan right now. I fear more of you might suffer this, too.

Both Richard and Alan have emailed me within the last 24 hours to say that their pre-tournament 100/1 bets on Liudmila Samsonova have been voided by 888 Sport, with the firm claiming that a ‘pricing error’ had been made.

“Hi Tom,

Have you heard of anyone else this has happened to?
I was on Samsonova @ 100/1 after your advice.
Bloody diabolical.

Richard”

Here’s an excerpt from the email that Richard received from 888 Sport, dated yesterday, 1st September:

Email from 888 Sport to Richard

Quite frankly, it stinks…

If you’re a long-time reader, you’ll know that I rarely if ever get involved with bookie-bashing. But the timing of this move from 888 Sport really does stink to high heaven.

If it was a pricing error for the 100/1 shot, why wait an entire weekbefore contacting customers? Therefore, denying the customer the chance to re-strike their bet at the alleged ‘correct’ price, or with another bookmaker (when 80/1 was available the very same day last week with Bet365 and Betway, for example).

And is it mere coincidence that the 100/1 ‘error’ just happens to involve a player who has since powered through to the 3rd round of the tournament, and is now trading at 12/1 at best, as one of the favourites for the trophy? Could it be that someone at 888 Sport has got nervous about the potential pay-out liability on this 100/1 shot? Just a thought…

Are we supposed to trust that 888 Sport would’ve still voided those bets and contacted all customers on Samsonova, had she gone out in the 1st round? I think we can all take a guess. And Ones to Watch member Alan makes that same valid point, too:

“Good morning Tom

The good news is that I got £2 e/w at 100/1 on Samsonova with 888 when you tipped her last week. The bad news is that yesterday they emailed me to void the bet under the palpable error rule!

Can you believe it? There was some 80s available elsewhere at the time and I bet if she had lost in the first rounds I would have heard nothing…”

What can we do?

I’m really frustrated about this situation. Of course, no-one here is counting any chickens before they hatch, and Samsonova is still four matches away from even reaching the final. But if she does, this is really going to sting.

I’m not sure what the chances of a U-turn from 888 Sport are, seeing as they’re leaning on their terms & conditions. But I have heard of situations in the past (at other bookies) where a customer does manage to fight their case in regards to a winning bet that was controversially voided. In that respect, I guess we have to wait and see how Samsonova does in the tournament. But I’d also suggest getting in touch with 888 Sport, ASAP, to clearly voice your complaint, if this has happened to you.

The most official line you can go down is by contacting IBAS, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, to raise a dispute. Visit the IBAS website at:

www.ibas-uk.com

You could also go down the ‘going public’ route. For example, raising the issue on social media, in an attempt to draw attention to your cause. I’m not too up-to-date with social media, I have to admit, so I’m not the best qualified to advise you in that way.

This issue has certainly got my back up this morning. More than ever now, I really hope that one of our big-price picks goes all the way and wins the US Open for you. That would be some proper bookie-bashing.

Along with Liudmila Samsonova, and the aforementioned Danielle Collins, we have three other players that were recommended at massive odds, and are through to the 3rd round which takes place today and tomorrow: Cameron Norrie, Casper Ruud, and Veronika Kudermetova.

The Samsonova situation has taken up a lot of my headspace today, and I don’t have any betting picks for Friday’s matches. I’ll be back tomorrow, up and at ‘em again, with your Day 6 email.

P.S

Want to get in touch? Email me at:

tom.wilson@oxonpress.co.uk

Enjoy the tennis…

Best wishes,

Tom Wilson

Tom Wilson

Ones to Watch