Different bookmakers have differing rules to deal with these circumstances. Ladbrokes, Coral and Blue Square all state that if a player has started a match (ie at least one full point has been played) then whoever goes through to the next round of the tournament – or picks up the winner’s trophy if is the final – also wins the bet.

However several bookmakers rule that if a player retires then all bets are void and money is returned on both players. Bet 365, Paddy Power, William Hill, Stan James and Victor Chandler all follow these rules.

And then there are the bookmakers who fall half way between these rules. Betfair and Totesport both say that if at least one set has been played and a player retires then the player who goes through to the next round wins the bet. If a full set has not yet been played then the bet is void.

Why do bookmaker have these different rules? Mainly because it is impossible to agree an industry standard across the sports betting world, so each firm’s head trader decides what he thinks is fairest on bettors. There is no obvious format that is right – at Tennis Bet we personally think that all bets should be void as it stops players deliberately feigning an injury in order to lose a match and win bets placed against them – but it is important as a gambler that you know what rules will apply to you when you put your bet on.

The Dane finished as runner up to Kim Clijsters last year and the Belgian come-back sensation is ranked no 2. But Clijsters is rated favorite to win the event at best odds of 7/2 (bet $2 to make $7 profit) with Paddy Power. Wozniacki is best priced at 17/2 third favorite with Sky Bet.  Fourteenth seed Maria Sharapova is second favorite at best odds of 9/2 with Extrabet.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is a previous US Open champion and can be backed at best odds of 16/1 with Sky Bet.

US Open tennis women’s seeds and best betting odds

1. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark 17/2
2. Kim Clijsters, Belgium 7/2
3. Venus Williams, United States 10/1
4. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia 33/1
5. Sam Stosur, Australia 40/1
6. Francesca Schiavone, Italy 150/1
7. Vera Zvonareva, Russia 22/1
8. Li Na, China 50/1
9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland 80/1
10. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus 9/1
11. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia 16/1
12. Elena Dementieva, Russia 20/1
13. Marion Bartoli, France 80/1
14. Maria Sharapova, Russia 9/2
15. Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium 66/1
16. Shahar Peer, Israel 200/1
17. Nadia Petrova, Russia 66/1
18. Aravane Rezai, France 66/1
19. Flavia Pennetta, Italy 50/1
20. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia 66/1
21. Zheng Jie, China 125/1
22. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Spain 300/1
23. Maria Kirilenko, Russia  500/1
24. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovak Republic 200/1
25. Alexandra Dulgheru, Romania 500/1
26. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic 500/1
27. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic 150/1
28. Alisa Kleybanova, Russia 150/1
29. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine 500/1
30. Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan 250/1
31. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia 500/1
32. Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria 200/1

US Open women’s tennis winner betting odds

Federer has an enviable record at Flushing Meadows and has won the title five times, which is why the bookmakers make him favorite to win the 2010 championship. He is top priced at 5/2 (bet $20 to make $50 profit) with Totesport while Nadal is on offer at best odds of 10/3 with Paddy Power and Sky Bet.

Djokovic was runner up in 2007 and Murray was runner up in 2008, and the Serbian is top priced at 14/1 with Paddy Power to win this year. Murray is on offer at best odds of just 7/2 with Bodog after his Cincinnati Masters triumph, in which he beat both Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final, both in straight sets.

The draw for the US Open will be conducted at 12 noon EST on Thursday 25 October, 2010.

Seedings and best odds available about player

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain – 10/3
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland – 5/2
3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia – 14/1
4. Andy Murray, Great Britain – 7/2
5. Robin Soderling, Sweden – 16/1
6. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia – 50/1
7. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic – 20/1
8. Fernando Verdasco, Spain – 125/1
9. Andy Roddick, United States – 25/1
10. David Ferrer, Spain – 200/1
11. Marin Cilic, Croatia – 66/1
12. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia – 200/1
13. Jurgen Melzer, Austria – 250/1
14. Nicolas Almagro, Spain – 250/1
15. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia – 400/1
16. Marcos Baghdatis, Cyprus – 500/1
17. Gael Monfils, France – 200/1
18. John Isner, United States – 125/1
19. Mardy Fish, United States – 50/1
20. Sam Querrey, United States – 80/1
21. Albert Montanes, Spain – 500/1
22. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain – 300/1
23. Feliciano Lopez, Spain – 500/1
24. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia – 80/1
25. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland – 200/1
26 Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil – 500/1
27. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile – 300/1
28. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic – 300/1
29. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany – 250/1
30. Juan Monaco, Argentina – 500/1
31. David Nalbandian, Argentina -  25/1
32. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia – 150/1

US Open tennis men’s winner betting odds

The Norfolk-based tennis player made it as far as the semi-finals of the ATP tournament, much to everyone’s surprise, but was duly knocked out by the eventual winner Mardy Fish.

The Englishman had only won once before on the ATP circuit, yet his first round match attracted significant interest from tennis punters.

It was a surprise that bookmakers initially priced up both Bloomfield and Rochus at evens (1/1) to progress to the second round of the tournament, giving them each a 50% chance of victory. Rochus was formerly ranked 38 in the world and should have been the bookies’ favourite for a match against a British ‘no-hoper’, even if the Belgium player has made it known to the press that he plans on retiring at the end of this year.

If the initial quotes were not strange enough, the betting markets soon went into overdrive. Over £1million was traded on the Bloomfield v Rochus match on Betfair, and even more concerning is the news that the British player was backed into ridiculous odds of 1/4 (1.25) on the exchange before a ball had even been hit. Skinny odds of 1/4 about Bloomfield prevailing implied that he had an 80% chance of winning, suggesting that the match was fixed.

The betting market took another crazy turn after Bloomfield won the first set, as the British player traded at short odds of 1/8 to win the match, when his odds should have been near the 4/6 mark. Nevertheless, the market called it spot on as Bloomfield won 7-6, 6-3 in one hour and 22 minutes.

The Tennis Integrity Unit is now investigating the match to find out how punters ‘knew’ that Bloomfield would create a memorable upset in Newport.

ATP Swedish Open Odds

ATP Stuttgart Odds

US Open Odds

Fish is best-priced at 4/5 (bet $50 to win $40 profit) with Betfred and William Hill to win the last grass court tournament of the ATP season and Olivier Rochus is the second favourite at 6/1 with Corals.

World No. 336, Frank Dancevic, was fairly impressive in seeing off France’s Nicolas Mahut in the last round as the Canadian did not even face a break point. Dancevic is a 7/2 underdog with Bet 365 to beat Fish tomorrow, but his fans may want to take a chance that he wins the tournament at 10/1 with William Hill.

Ryan Harrison and Raven Klaasen are both 20/1 shots with Labrokes to win, the same odds as Brian Dabul.

The rank outsider is England’s Richard Bloomfield, who is 25/1 with Bet 365. ‘Bloomers’ beat second seed Santiago Giraldo to reach the quarter-finals and is Britain’s 12th best player according to the ATP rankings.

ATP Newport Match Index

ATP Newport Winner Odds

Should the match go to an epic fifth set, the in-running betting could go through the roof, especially on the betting exchanges.

Andy Murray has enjoyed a brilliant run up to the semi-finals, and he only dropped his first set in the quarters against Tsonga. Meanwhile Nadal was also made to come from a set down against Robin Soderling, and this morning his odds of winning the match have come under pressure as both Stan James and Paddy Power have been forced to trim the early price of 8/13 down to 4/7 (bet £70 to win £40 profit). Boylesports are currently the only firm to hold out 8/13 against the Spaniard progressing to the final. Murray has been eased slightly out to 6/4 by Victor Chandler.

Totesport are betting 4/1 that Murray loses in Sunday’s final and 8/13 that he does not win a Grand Slam in 2010. Just imagine Murray’s odds of winning the US Open and BBC Sports Personality of the Year getting hammered though by British punters should he triumph in the final!

Going back to the Murray v Nadal match, it is 5/2 with William Hill that the winner is decided in five sets. Murray is 6/5 with Bet 365 to win the first set.

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Match Odds

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Set Betting

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Game Handicap

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal First Ace Odds

Wimbledon Men’s Singles Winner Odds

The result now means that Murray will face former SW19 champion Rafael Nadal on Centre Court tomorrow, and the bookmakers predict that the winner of Murray’s semi-final will most probably win the singles title, at the expense of either Novak Djokovic or Tomas Berdych. Nadal yesterday foiled a massive gamble on Robin Soderling, who attracted plenty of money at 80/1 before the tournament began.

In the Murray v Nadal match betting, Nadal is favoured by William Hill and Victor Chandler at 4/7 (bet £70 to win £40 profit). Murray is a 7/5 shot with Boylesports to beat off Nadal, but should he do so, he would be odds-on with the bookmakers to win his first Grand Slam on Sunday afternoon. In the outright tournament winner betting, Rafa is the 5/4 favourite, followed by Murray at 5/2. So if the bookmakers are to be believed, this is the real Wimbledon final.

Tennis bettors trying to predict the result of the Murray match can get enhanced odds on the set betting. The betting exchanges narrowly favour a 3-1 win in sets for Nadal rather than a straight-sets win (3-0) at 3/1 and 4/1 respectively. A 3-1 win for Murray is 5/1 with Betfred, whilst an epic win for the British No. 1 in five sets (3-2) is 13/2 with Sky Bet.

Murray is 1/6 with Paddy Power to serve the most aces in the match, and 8/11 with the same bookmaker to serve more double faults than Nadal. He can also be backed at 6/5 with Bet 365 to win the first set.

In the game handicap market, Murray is 9/10 with Boylesports to win the match with an added +2.5 game advantage. One market that will be settled in the first half hour of the match is the betting on the first player to serve an ace. Murray is favoured by Paddy Power at 2/5, with Nadal at 7/4.

With England knocked out of the World Cup, bookmakers are expecting turnover on the Murray v Nadal clash to be close to £10 million. Andy Murray is now the 5/2 favourite in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year betting.

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Match Odds

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Set Betting

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal Game Handicap

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal First Ace Odds

Wimbledon Men’s Singles Winner Odds

The American star is now just 1/4 (bet £40 to win £10 profit) with Betfred to win the title, and logically her odds are even shorter about her beating Kvitová on Centre Court this afternoon at 1/12. Her opponent can be backed at 9/1 with Boylesports to cause a massive upset in making it to the final.

Kvitová’s fans have every reason to believe that an upset is possible, as she beat off Caroline Wozniacki on her way to the semis, as well as a handful of other solid players. She showed grit and determination to see off Kaia Kanepi in the quarters – saving an incredible five match points in the process.

Nevertheless, everything looks in place for a straight-sets victory for Serena, which is priced up at 3/10 with Sky Bet in the set betting market. A 2-1 win in sets for the favourite is best-priced at 5/1 with William Hill, whereas a 2-1 victory for the underdog is 18/1 with Bet 365.

Serena is 1/100 with Paddy Power to serve the most aces in the match, and she is 1/5 with Stan James to win the first set.

In the game handicap market, Serena’s fans can take her to win giving up 5.5 games with Sporting Bet at 5/6.

Another interesting betting market on this afternoon’s semi-final is guessing the correct score of the first set. The majority think that Serena will wrap it up comfortably, but a 6-0 set to Serena is 14/1 with Ladbrokes. 6-1 is more probable at 11/2 and 6-2 is 4/1. The most likely score according to the betting is 6-3 in Serena’s favour, at 7/2. 6-0 for Kvitová is 250/1 with Sky Bet!

Serena Williams v Petra Kvitová Match Odds

Serena Williams v Petra Kvitová Set Betting Odds

Serena Williams v Petra Kvitová First Set Correct Score Odds

Serena Williams v Petra Kvitová Game Handicap

In-running punters were left stunned as Federer failed to really take control of the match, but he was made to run around the court by 24-year-old Berdych, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open this year.

Roger Federer had been the 11/8 favourite with the bookmakers to win Wimbledon this year as he embarked on his quest for his seventh singles title at SW19. However a string of unconvincing wins to date meant that Fed was still 6/5 with Boylesports this morning, an unusual price for him at the quarter-final stage.

Indeed the same bookmaker stuck its neck out this morning by offering odds of 1/5 about Federer beating Berdych on Centre Court this afternoon. Berdych was opposed by Victor Chandler in the match betting at 9/2.

A straight sets victory for Federer over his opponent was 11/8 with Boylesports, and the 3-1 Berdych win came as a shock to Bet 365 customers at 12/1.

The outright winner betting depends on the outcome of the Nadal and Murray matches, but with Söderling currently one set to the good over the Spaniard, Murray is the new favourite at 3/1. He is closely followed by Söderling at 4/1.

Wimbledon 2010 Men’s Singles Winner Odds

The British No. 1 is 2/7 (bet £70 to win £20 profit) to win his quarter-final against Tsonga with Sporting Bet, and his opponent is a 10/3 shot in Bet 365’s book.

It is hard to justify such a short price about Murray if you examine the head to head between the two players, as it currently stands at 2-2. Murray won the last encounter at the Montreal Masters last year 6-4, 7-6, but the only time they have met on a grass surface was at Nottingham in 2004, where Tsonga prevailed 7-6, 6-2.

Ladbrokes have reported that 80% of bets in the match have been for Murray, and in his rich vein of form it is hard to argue the best odds of 6/4 about him winning the match in straight sets. Next in the set betting is a 3-1 win in sets to Murray, which is 5/2 with Totesport. 3-2 to Murray is a tempting 6/1, whilst a 3-0 Tsonga whitewash is 16/1 with Stan James.

William Hill go 11/10 that the match is decided in three sets, and 6/4 about it lasting for four. A five set thriller is at 10/3.

Tennis bettors are also given the chance to try and predict the correct score of the first set. Sky Bet would be amazed to see Murray win it 6-0 at 100/1, and 6-1 is at 20/1. The most realistic score-lines are 6-4 and 7-5  to Murray, which are both priced up by the bookies at 4/1.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Andy Murray Match Odds

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Andy Murray Set Betting Odds

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Andy Murray Total Sets Odds