Even those not into tennis know full well that this is an individual sport. If, for example, team unity plays a considerable role in basketball or football, things are very different when it comes to tennis. Here we have a player who is responsible for themselves and their mistakes, and there is the opponent, who absorbs all the energy that comes from the player like a sponge.
What is the fundamental difference between tennis and team games? It is impossible to reset the counter and start everything from scratch again here. Behind every player stands their whole history from the very beginning: losses, victories, unfortunate events and resounding successes. If in football there is a team where players continuously replace other players and create a new one, you can’t do that in tennis. You need to go through this path to the end: with your competence and motivation.
Every tennis player remembers their personal “walk of fame” very well. They keep all previous opponents in mind and understand what trick should be used and when. But the question is: what should the bettors do in this situation to be better at making predictions? How to work out the mood of a tennis player? How to understand which match is unimportant and which is the decisive one?
Today we are talking about the importance of face-to-face meetings and how to analyze tennis events well.
Face-to-face matches: what should you pay attention to?
Before placing a bet and starting to follow the next tennis tournament, you need to analyze the previous matches carefully. Here it is better to rely on three points that will help to get a clearer picture of the event.
Firstly, to understand how long the athlete has been on the court.
Secondly, to evaluate the probability of losing or winning on a particular surface.
Thirdly, keep in mind which country the meeting will take place in.
Let’s break down each of these important factors.
How long ago was the duel
You might wonder what difference the time that has passed since the last match makes? But this is a key point in the analysis, which can significantly improve the prediction of the game.
Imagine a fairly common situation in tennis: more or less equally skilful opponents enter the court. The bettor understands that both athletes, for example, are among the TOP-100 tennis players in the world. Both are excellent players and have a good record. What should one do in this case? How to understand who will win today? Here, we need to look at the latest matches very carefully.
Often, sports betting fans make a gross mistake: they label the player as weak too early. This is exactly what happened when the Swiss Roger Federer was marked as an outsider and Nadal as a favourite. However, Roger boldly and confidently took the lead. Why?
Tennis players faced each other a few weeks ago, and Nadal won. Bettors unanimously decided that this would continue on. But they did not consider an important factor: the players were approximately at the same level, and things simply did not work out for Federer then. The bitter disappointment from the loss has not settled down yet – too little time has passed. Therefore, Roger was ready to rave and storm – which is basically what he did. The desire to recoup was stronger than all predictions about the Spaniard’s advantage.
What is the important moment in this story? Only a few weeks have passed since the last match, and the desire to urgently recoup has not yet expired.
There are a lot of such examples: that’s why you should look at the standings and make sure that the opponents did not face each other 2-4 weeks ago.
The main conditions for choosing a leader
To avoid hesitating between two tennis players of approximately equal level, three important “ifs” are worth keeping in mind.
If the last match were up to 1.5 months ago, the outsider of the final fight would be eager to take revenge. And believe me, they will succeed. When the abilities are approximately the same, one needs that very eagerness and iron motivation to win.
If the competitors actually have almost the same fitness level. How to figure it out? By looking at the rating in the table. In the case when a tennis player from the TOP 50 goes against an athlete from the TOP 150, no matter what results they have shown in past matches, they are obviously not equal in strength.
If the athlete who lost last time is not stuck in sports stagnation. When someone gets “unlucky” once – it’s an accident. But, if you see that the tennis player has frankly no fortune for the past 5-6 matches, this may signal a protracted crisis. It is better to stop trying to bet on this player.
Looking at the surface of the court
Here amateurs in betting may also have a question: is there any difference what to play on? Believe me, there is, and it’s huge.
Every player has their own weak point. Some deftly manage to manoeuvre on the grass, and some, like Nadal, do well on hard.
Therefore, when there is a match between fairly equivalent athletes, bettors need to use other tricks: to analyze how tennis players do on a particular surface.
If the player who lost in a recent meeting will compete on the preferred surface this time, expect the “outsider” to win.
The beauty of tennis matches is to look at the tricks that may hint at the winning of equal players.
Tennis Match location
East or west, home is best. A well-known expression that can be exaggerated when it comes to the player’s home country. It doesn’t matter if it’s football, hockey or tennis. When athletes play in their home arena, this is a sure signal for the bettors: perhaps there will be a victory here.
If a tennis player could not win a few weeks ago and is now waiting for an opponent in their country, this is almost a 100% win guarantee. The motivation of this player is increasing before our eyes.
Therefore, if we are talking about a recent loss and the opportunity to take revenge on your own territory, this is the combo that will make any player believe in themselves and the bettor – to believe in this player.
Grudge matches
This is a separate category of the games where old rivals meet. The path of a tennis player is pretty long. And in a sports career, every player definitely has rivals who they do not want to give victory out of a grudge. Usually, these are athletes of equal skill who show almost the same results or breathe down each other’s necks in the world rankings for a long time.
