Australian Open semi-final sees £250,000 in-play turnover

Story by Sarah Preece on 2012-01-27 14:24:42

Djokovic delivers the goods

FRIDAY'S SEMI-FINAL of the Australian Open semi-final saw the biggest betting-in-play turnover of the tournament according to Ladbrokes.

The firm saw £250,000 turnover during in-play bets during the dramatic semi-final which saw the UK grind to a halt in support of Murray. After taking the first set Murray produced some majestic tennis to pull it back and take the lead, however the firm was cheering on Djokovic as he saved them from refunding punters £500,000 on losing outright single bets should Murray have gone on and done the business winning his first grand slam in Melbourne.

Murray's failure to make it to the final sees his odds trimmed to 6/4 to win a major during 2012 and it's 11/8 that the Scot never wins a major.

The final sees Djokovic and Rafael Nadal take to the court on Sunday and it's the world number one who leads the betting at 4/6 to take home his third Australian Open title with Nadal the outsider at 11/10.

Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said: "In-play betting was through the roof. All workers in the UK ground to a halt to watch Murray come so far yet so close once again."

She added: "Murray's looking good and we've had to trim his chance of picking up a major this year. We expect punters to rally round Nadal for the final."

Ladbrokes latest betting

Australian Open winner

• Novak Djokovic 4/6
• Rafael Nadal 11/10

• Andy Murray to win a tennis major during 2012 6/4
• Andy Murray never to win a major before 2020 - 11/8

Ante-post markets

French Open 2012 Winner

• R Nadal -Evens
• N Djokovic - 7/4
• J M del Potro - 8/1
• R Federer - 10/1
• A Murray - 14/1
• D Ferrer - 33/1
• R Sederling - 40/1

Wimbledon 2012 Winner

• N Djokovic - 2/1
• R Nadal - 5/2
• R Federer - 3/1
• A Murray - 5/1
• J M del Potro - 16/1
• J-W Tsonga - 25/1
• B Tomic - 33/1
• R Sederling - 50/1

US Open 2012 Winner

• N Djokovic - 7/4
• R Nadal - 3/1
• R Federer - 4/1
• A Murray - 5/1
• J M del Potro - 10/1
• J W Tsonga - 25/1
• R Sederling - 33/1
• T Berdych - 50/1