Events / Editor / 10 September 2007 /

Linz in Austria is the destination for the latest WTA event in late October with many eyes on the Russian players after the bets landed by them in the past couple of years.

The tournament is a Tier II WTA event and those looking at the betting will focus on the players who are most comfortable on the indoor hardcourts.

Despite being Tier II, the competition usually attracts the cream of the women's game with past winners including stars such as Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport, who if competing are likely to be among the principles in the betting markets.

The defending champion, Sharapova, could come under consideration for those punters considering a bet, however, her odds may look a little restrictive given the indifferent 2007 she has had so far.

She looked set to get off to a flier at the start of the year as she made her way into the final of the Australian Open, but ended up being comprehensively beaten, ensuring many bets went down at the last.

She had to wait until August before winning her first WTA event of the year - the final ever edition of the Acura Classic held on the hardcourts of San Diego. There are no doubts about her liking of the surface and she may therefore enjoy plenty of support in both the individual-match and outright-winner betting markets.

However, she is far from the only player whose odds will be under consideration in the betting with fellow Russian Nadia Petrova having a liking for this event. After being a losing finalist in 2003, she went one better in 2005 and narrowly lost out to Sharapova in last year's final.

She is likely to turn in another good performance this year although those looking at her odds in the betting prior to the start, will note that her third-round exit at the US Open means she has not gone past the fourth round of any major tournament all season, the first time that has happened since 2002.

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