A Beginner's Guide to Tennis Betting

Tennis is currently enjoying unparalled growth around the world as both a participant and spectator sport. Particularly in the former Eastern European communist states, tennis has become the sport of choice for a whole generation of young sports enthusiasts.

Despite its increasing popularity around the world, tennis does not enjoy a high profile as a betting sport. Whilst many people associate sports betting with horseracing and football, the fact of the matter is that tennis is arguably one of the best sports in the world to bet on.

If you consider yourself to be something of a tennis expert and are interested in finding how you can convert your knowledge into dividends in the tennis betting markets, then you need look no further than the following basic guide to tennis betting.

Match Betting is the most basic betting option available in tennis, and placing a match bet couldn't be easier. Simply pick the winner in any given match. If your prediction is correct you'll get paid out the odds on your bet.

Tennis match betting slips are easy to make sense of: the slip will feature the name of each player (or players in doubles), and all you have to do is check the box beside your chosen player's name.

There are usually several other betting opportunities available in any tennis match. A popular option is the handicap bet which works in much the same way as a match bet. The difference is that you can choose between a bet which deducts games from the stronger player's final score, or a bet which adds games to the weaker player's final score.

Handicap betting makes a contest more even from a betting point of view, but generally offers lower odds.

Set betting allows you to bet on the final score of a tennis match by sets. You can bet on any variation of the balance of sets won in any match, and this betting option carries some good odds.

A simple variation on set betting is betting on the winner of a specific set . Whether it's the first or third set, the bet works in the same way as a matched bet - simply pick the player you think will win the set in question.

If you're feeling ambitious and are interested in high odds stakes, you can explore several other interesting tennis betting options. These include correctly predicting the number of games in a match . Each bookmaker usually offers its own special bets to spice up your experience of tennis betting.

Last but not least, betting on an outright winner is a very popular tennis betting option. Like most tennis bets this is very simple, all you have to do is select the player you think will win any given tournament. Odds tend to be highest before the tournament begins, and will decrease during the course of the tournament as players are eliminated.

Now that you have a grip on the basics of tennis betting, you'll be able to add to the excitement of world class tennis by backing your favourite players in the betting markets. This means the next time your favourite player wins on the court, you too could win in the betting markets.

Events such as the 2008 Davis Cup and the 2008 Wimbledon Tennis Championship offer exciting opportunities for any sports fan to test their knowledge of the game with a few bets.

Facts About Cuba's Sports

DID YOU KNOW THAT Cocaine was the drug used by the disgraced Cuban sportsman Javier Sotomayor Sanabria, who has been known for his stunning disqualification from the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada. After a failed drug test and an investigation, the ODEPA (Pan-American Sports Organization), ordered Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor Sanabria to return the gold medal he won in the high jump. He said, I have only seen that substance in the movies. I am the victim of a maneuver, a dirty trick.

DID YOU KNOW THAT The most famous Sudanese athlete in history, Yamil Aldama was born in Havana, Cuba. Yamil Aldama is a Sudanese athlete specializes in the triple jump and long jump. She represented Cuba until 2003 (Pan American Games and World Championships). After she became a Sudanese citizen. Sudan is one of the most poorest black African countries

DID YOU KNOW THAT Cuba sent only 7 athletes to the 2007 World University Games in Thailand, heeding Fidel Castros fears about future defectionsCuban delegation had athletes competing in two olympic sports: judo (yanelis Mestre and Kaliema Antomadim) and track and field(Andy Gonzez, Yarianna Martnez,Yenimar Arencibia and Alexei Chivas). Overall, the Cuban team finished 40th place, after the Peopless Republic of China, Great Britain, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, United States, Taiwan, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, Iran, Australia, Belarus, Mexico, Turkey, Austria, Poland, Hungary, North Korea, Czech Republic, Morocco, Lithuania, Switzerland, Finland, France, Ukraine, Brazil, Romania, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Cyprus, Ireland, Latvia, Slovenia, Egypt, Mongolia and Portugal.

DID YOU KNOW THAT For political reasons, Cuba boycotted the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Like Czechoslovakia (currently Czech Republic), Hungary, Poland,East Germany (currently Germany), Bulgaria, North Korea and the USSR, Cuba boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles(Unites States). Some Cuban sportspersons sprinter Sylvio Leonard, runner Alberto Juantorena, boxer Juan Hernndez, hurdler Alejandro Casaas, volleyball players Mireya Luis Hernndez, Mercedes Mamita Prez, Mercedes Pomares, Imilcis Tllez, Josefina Capote, and Leonel Marshall-lost their olympic opportunities.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Niurka Montalvo is a Spanish long jumper. She was born on June 4, 1968 in Havana, Cuba. Like Magaly Esther Carvajal Rivera (volleyball player), Ivan Prez Vargas (water polo player), Joan Lino Martnez (long jumper) and Rolando Uros (handball player), she became a Spanish citizen in 1999.

DID YOU KNOW THAT In the 1940s and 1950s, baseball became the most popular sport in Cuba, thanks to such heroes as Adolfo Luque, Sandalio Consuegra, Conrado Marrera and Orestes Mioso.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Cuba hosted the 2nd Baseball World Cup in 1939. The Cuban team won the championship, with Nicaragua second and the United States taking third

DID YOU KNOW THAT Between February 25 and March 9,1951, the Cuban delegation participated in the First Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning 7 gold, 8 silver, and 10 bronze medals. Overall the Cuban team ranked fourth, after Argentina, United States, and Chile.

DID YOU KNOW THAT From 1900 to 1958, Cuba had great athletes: Rafael Fortn (track and field), Angel Garca (track and field), Bertha Daz (track and field), Margaret Chapman (diving), Ricardo Morales (tennis), Raul Capablanca (chess) and Ramn Fonst (fencing).

DID YOU KNOW THAT Lissethe Bustamante, a Cuban journalist and witer, known for her interviews with Fidel Castro has alleged that she was raped by olympic champion Teofilo Stevenson in 1984.

DID YOU KNOW THAT For political reasons, Cuba will not send a boxing team to the World Cup in the United States.

DID YOU KNOW THAT The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba, between August 2 and August 18, with 39 countries participating. The 1991 Pan American Games were a huge source of pride for Fidel Castro Ruz.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Between August 25 and September 2, 2007, the Cuban delegation participated in the World Track and Field Championships in Osaka,Japan. Overall, the Cuban delegation ranked 11th place, after the United States, Kenya (Africa), Russia, Ethiopia (Africa), Germany, Czech Republic, Australia, Jamaica (Caribbean), Bahamas (Caribbean), Great Britain and Belarus.

DID YOU KNOW THAT In 1987,Cuba did not compete at the Womens World Junior Volleyball Championships in Seoul (South Korea). The reason: There was not diplomatic relations between Cuba and South Korea.

DID YOU KNOW THAT In the 1970s, Alberto Juantorena, a famous Cuban runner, was coached by Zygmunt Zabierzowski, who was born in Poland. Under the leadership of Zygmunt Zabierzowski, Alberto Juantorena won two gold medals at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.

DID YOU KNOW THAT For political reasons, Cuba did not send a baseball team to the 27th Baseball World Cup in South Korea in 1982.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Along with North Korea, Seychelles, Albania, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Nicaragua, Cuba boycotted the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance writer. Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry. He's studied political science and journalism.He has published more than seventy-five research paper in English, and more than twenty in Spanish, concerning the world issues, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His next essay is called "The Dictator and Alicia Alonso". He is an expert on foreign affairs. Furthermore, Alejandro is the first author who has published a world-book encyclopedia in Latina America.

He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), Hillary Clinton (ex-First Lady of the USA), and Jimmy Carter (former President of the USA). His favorite film is "Gorillas in the Mist". Some of his favorite books are The Return of Eva Peron and the Killings in Trinidad (by V.S.Naipaul), "Las Mujeres de los Dictadores" (by Juan Gasparini) and Murder of a Gentle Land (by John Barron and Anthony Paul).His personal motto is "The future is for those people who believe in the beauty of their dreams" by Eleanor Roosevelt.