US Open Betting / Simon Mundie / 27 August 2009 /

With the US Open starting next week and plenty of five set matches sure to take place, Simon Mundie tells us who we should be siding with when it comes to a decider and who we should be opposing at a time when stamina and mental strength is the name of the game.

With the US Open just about ready to get underway, it's time for the players who can produce their best form when it really matters to step forward. Capturing a Grand Slam tournament is a vastly different animal from winning elsewhere on tour: obviously there's the extra attention and pressure that comes from playing in the sport's showpiece events, but even more important is that matches are played over five sets. Players would obviously rather not play too many five-set thrillers during the course of a Grand Slam tournament, but when they do have to go the distance who is likely to thrive and who is likely to fold?

The 'Big Four' are all exceptional when their matches go into a fifth set, as it's that ability to dig deep and come up with the goods when the chips are down that sets them apart from their peers. Think back to the Australian Open of 2008 when Roger Federer was on the brink of defeat against the dangerous Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in the third round, down two sets to one and far from his best. In the fifth set of that match Federer dug deep and eventually took the match 10-8. For more recent evidence, his French Open semi-final win over Juan Martin Del Potro, or indeed this year's Wimbledon final against Andy Roddick are evidence of his skill over five. Federer's actual win/loss record in five set matches isn't incredible (16-12), but that is partly down to losses early in his career. Against anyone bar Nadal, you would still expect the great man to come up trumps when a match goes the distance.

In Nadal's case the best five setter he has been involved in was the Wimbledon final, again of 2008. Having been leading by two sets to love only to see his lead whittled away, Nadal managed to hold on despite Federer playing some quite sensational tennis to win his first major crown away from the clay courts of Paris; he then repeated the trick in this year's Australian Open final. There is probably no one better when it comes to five set matches; the Spaniard has proved his mental and physical resilience time and time again.

As for Andy Murray, his career really took off after he proved he had the necessary steel and determination in beating Richard Gasquet in five sets at Wimbledon from two sets down, also in 2008. That match was pivotal for the Scot as since then he has gone from strength to strength to his current position as the new World number 2; his career win-loss in five setters is fairly impressive at 9 wins against 5 losses.

Some people may think that Novak Djokovic's five set record would be slightly suspect, because of his tendency to let his head drop and his willingness to pull out of matches at the slightest hint of injury. The reality is somewhat different though, when it comes to the crunch he knows how to tough it out: he has won more than three quarters of the five set matches he has played in his career (8-2), so do not bet against him in the cauldron of a fifth set.

Outside of the 'Big Four' then, who enjoys the drama of a five setter, and who is likely to fold? One player who knows all about digging deep on a tennis court is LLeyton Hewitt, renowned for his 'mongrel' spirit. The Australian has played more five set matches and had more five set wins during his career than any other active player, winning 29 and losing just 13. Get him deep into a fifth set and you know his opponent is going to have to produce something special to win the match.

Andy Roddick managed to achieve exactly that in the Wimbledon quarter finals this year to beat the Australian, yet his record in matches that go the distance is nothing to write home about. Surprisingly the Nebraskan has won 11 five-setters, but lost 13 during the course of his career.

It is well worth keeping your eyes peeled to see whether several other players' matches go the distance during the Open, as their record in five setters is particularly poor. The big serving Ivo Karlovic finally got the monkey off his back when he beat James Blake in Davis Cup action earlier this year in five sets; up until that point he had played 11 five set matches, and lost each and every one. However, that solitary win wasn't a total shock when you bear in mind James Blake's record: he had won four and lost eleven prior to that defeat. The flaky Frenchman Paul Henri-Mathieu is another to avoid backing in bruising five set encounters, having won 3 and lost 8.

Juan Martin Del Potro, a potential winner at this year's final Grand Slam stop hasn't yet proved himself when a match goes to a fifth; his record stands at 2-2, and the question marks over his fitness will remain until he wins a few more.

What about those players you should avoid betting against when their matches go into a fifth set? The Spaniard David Ferrer has an exceptional record in five-setters, winning 11 and losing just 3. While he isn't the most talented player on tour, his ability to grind out matches has really enabled him to achieve more than he would have hoped for early in his career. Despite losing to Murray in five at Wimbledon this year, Stanislas Wawrinka is another man whose record in five-setters is impressive, winning 12 five-setters against just 4 losses.

While the majority of matches during the course of the US Open fortnight will not go the full distance, when they do, the formbook can be somewhat thrown out of the window because, as Boris Becker once said, when you get into the fifth set in a Grand Slam, it's "not about the tennis, it's about the heart and mind".

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: