Clippwrs Tennis Betting News

<< Stricker six clear after three rounds at Riviera
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Stricker polished off a five- under 66 Sunday and stretched his lead to six strokes after three rounds of the Northern Trust Open. Stricker, who led by five entering the day, carded a p

<< England draws Wales in EURO 2012 qualifying
Warsaw, Poland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England will take on Wales in qualifying after the two nations were placed in the same Euro 2012 group. Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro were also drawn in Group G alongside England and Wales ah

<< Canadiens invite struggling Bruins to Montreal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to avoid tying the longest losing streak in franchise history when they visit the rival Montreal Canadiens for today's Northeast Division clash at Bell Centre. The Bruins have gone the last 10 ga

<< Ovechkin's red-hot Caps host Crosby and Pens
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown at Verizon Cente

Thrashers recall G Lehtonen >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have recalled goaltender Kari Lehtonen from a conditioning assignment with the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Lehtonen has yet to play in the NHL this season after undergoing back surg

Dodgers ink Brian Giles to minors deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed veteran outfielder Brian Giles to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 39-year-old battled an arthritic right knee last season

Eintracht rallies to beat Borussia Dortmund >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastian Jung and Alexander Meier scored goals in the final 25 minutes to help Eintracht complete a 3-2 comeback victory against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday. The visitors went

Turner leads Ohio State over Iowa >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Turner matched a career high with 32 points, as 13th-ranked Ohio State defeated Iowa, 68-58, at Value City Arena. Turner added seven rebounds and four assists for the Buckeyes (18-6, 8-3 Big Ten),

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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