The British number one might have been favourite before the tournament started, although Andy Murray let a 1-0 and a 2-1 set lead slip against Fernando Verdasco to go crashing out of the Australian Open at the fourth round stage. Bookmakers such as Blue Square and Ladbrokes were offering 5/2 about the Scot on their pre-tournament outright market, following some excellent performances leading up to this first Grand Slam of 2009. However, his Spanish opponent had other ideas, proving superior thanks to a much stronger first serve.
While some punters on betfair must have been celebrating Murray’s demise, those on the other side of the fence will have been kicked in the teeth. That’s because over £30,000 was matched at odds of 1/20 on the exchange, while nearly £1million was traded at odds of 1/10 or lower. These transactions will have taken place when Murray stormed into a 2-1 lead after winning the third set 6-1. Who could have predicted that Verdasco would claw his way back into the match, winning the fourth set 6-1, before breaking Murray to win the final set 6-3.
Indeed, the Spaniard was matched on betfair for small amounts at 17/1 to win the match, although he’s now 30/1 to win the Australian Open after he defeated the number four seed. It’s his compatriot Rafael Nadal who is the man to beat in the eyes of the bookmakers, with the Wimbledon champion the only player not to drop a set following a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Boylesports and Sportingbet were the quickest to revise their prices on the outright market, going 11/8 that the world number one is victorious in Melbourne. After all, Nadal no longer faces the prospect of playing Murray in the semi-final.
Roger Federer also remains short on the outright market, with totesport offering 15/8 about the Swiss. Last year’s winner Novak Djokovic is a 7/1 chance (totesport) to win back-to-back Australian Opens, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga available at 20/1, also with totesport.