Events / Editor / 13 September 2007 /

Betfair tennis expert Mandeep looks at the claims of each of the six pretenders to be crowned the Betfair Turbo Tennis king

This Saturday sees the inaugural Betfair Turbo Tennis take place at the O2 arena. It is worth remembering that the entire event will be completed on the day, and takes place on an Indoor Hard Court.

Rules and Format

1. Matches will last for 30 minutes.
2. Short breaks between points, serves and games.
3. No net cords. Play will continue provided the serve is in.
4. At deuce, no advantage will be played, producing a sudden-death scenario.
The winner is determined by who has the most games after the 30 minute period. Should this be level, whoever is in the lead when the klaxon sounds wins the match. If scores are entirely level, a sudden death point will determine the winner.

For a full detailed list of the rules, please click the following link:

https://promo.betfair.com/turbotennis/theevent.html

The Players
The six players in this event are James Blake, Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Jamie Murray, Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Cash.

As this is a new tournament, the desire and belief to win this tournament will be extremely important. The British contingent will be desperate to win in front of their home crowd, and use the matches as worthwhile match practice before the upcoming Davis Cup Tie against Croatia. James Blake is a competitive player and will want to make up for a slightly disappointing US Open performance. The former champions are more likely to treat this as an enjoyable experience, and are unlikely to have the capability of going all the way.

I believe the favourite for this tournament is James Blake. At the time of writing the market makes Andy Murray slight favourite which is somewhat surprising. Blake has just completed an excellent US Hard Court Season, and is the fittest player competing. Obviously this will have a major influence on his chances of winning. None of the other players have played as many matches recently, and the short breaks will mean the winner must be physically strong. Also remember he has a bye into the semis (as does Andy Murray), and therefore only needs to win two matches to win the tournament.

Andy Murray has been struggling with his form and fitness since injuring his wrist at the Hamburg Masters. A disappointing recent return suggests he has some way to go before finding his best form.

Tim Henman has a good chance of winning this event. He performed admirably whilst defeating Dmitry Tursunov at Flushing Meadows. His most famous tournament victory was at the Paris Masters on a similar surface.

Jamie Murray does not have the calibre to compete with the three favourites, unless he can have an inspired day of serving.

The former champions should pose no real threat, but Goran Ivanisevic is still likely to have that exceptional serve. I personally am looking forward to a few 2nd serve aces !!

The Matches

The two confirmed quarter final matches are Goran Ivanisevic v Tim Henman and Pat Cash v Jamie Murray. Let's have a look at these matches in more detail.

Ivanisevic v Henman

The format will definitely help Ivanisevic. Although the rules are different, this is still fundamentally the sport of tennis. A lot depends on how Goran serves in the match, which he has to first up. If he can serve anywhere near the level he used to, this match could be tighter than is expected. However, should Henman break Ivanisevic's serve, it is unlikely he himself will get broken. If Goran can hold serve for the duration of the match, be prepared for sudden death, whereby serve is crucial.

Cash v J. Murray

This should be comfortable for Jamie Murray, as Cash has been a long time retired. Both players will try to serve and volley, but Cash will not be at the physical level required to compete with the younger man.

Summary

I would expect the former champions to go out at the quarter final stage. The draw now becomes crucial. Should Henman get to face Jamie Murray he becomes the value bet to win the tournament. However I would stick with Blake, as $100,000 is a lot of motivation for a day's work !

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