Names such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are well-known to
tennis fans the world over.
Roger Federer... we've seen the Swiss player winning titles for the best
part of 10 years now.
But as backers, we need to spot the new, young players who will one day replace
these current stars at the top of the
ATP
Tour rankings. Because by recognising this upcoming talent, we can
find ourselves some good players to back... and when we back good players
(especially ones who are under-rated or simply unheard of) we can make
ourselves a tidy profit!
Besides, it's hard to make good money backing the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and
Federer. Bookmakers often price up these leading players at prohibitively short
odds.
Even the next group of players in the world rankings - guys like Andy Murray,
Ferrer, Tsonga or even Juan Martin Del Potro - all of these players might
not be as successful as the top trio... but they too are regularly chalked up at
very skinny prices by the layers.
What we need to do, therefore, is to do a bit of detective work. Don't
always follow what we might well call the obvious 'top ten talent' and
find the players who might not be the big names of today... but they could well
be the tournament winners of tomorrow!
Below are five players who have caught the eye over the past 12 months.
None are above the age of 21 so it can be argued are still open to further
improvement.
A couple of them will be familiar, several won't. But do monitor their progress in 2012.
I expect all to make significant progress in the world
rankings, to win tournaments and establish themselves as the potential stars of
the years to come.
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Ricardas Berankis |
Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
The 21-year-old Lithuanian comes into the year ranked No.125 in the world.
However, this is a young player who was the world junior No.1 in 2007... the same
year he won the Boy's Singles at the
US Open. He possibly hasn't kicked-on as
expected since then but a guy who could start climbing the charts... once the penny
drops!
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Milos Raonic |
Milos Raonic (CAN)
Ok, to be honest the cat is out of the bag concerning this player. Born in
Montenegro, Raonic has already won on the ATP Tour and looks destined for a big future.
At 6'5'' he has the physical attributes and just 21 he's certainly got time on his
side. Stands a chance of cracking the top ten this year if he stays fit and strings together some
solid hard court performances.
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Pablo Carreno-Busta |
Pablo Carreno-Busta (SPA)
Something of a wild-card but with Spain being the reigning
Davis Cup
champions and providing a never-ending list of talent (Nadal, Ferrer, Almagro, Ferrero, Verdasco,
Granollers...) the question is who will be the next big Spanish clay-courter. Another
Rafa? Probably not. But keep an eye out for this 20-year-old. Yet to make his mark on the
main tour... but you never know!
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Bernard Tomic |
Bernard Tomic (AUS)
A bit like Raonic, no great prizes for originality with the young Aussie but the man
from the Gold Coast (via Stuttgart, Germany) began 2012 at No.42 in the world... aged
just 19. Won the
Australian Open junior title in 2008 as a
mere 15-year-old and also won the US Open junior title in 2009. He clearly has
'game'. A strapping 6'5'' he is also a big talent and one to watch very closely.
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Grigor Dimitrov |
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)
The 20-year-old Bulgarian, now living in Paris, was on this list for 2011. The fact he
re-appears for 2012 suggests that his progress hasn't been all it might have been!
Sadly talent isn't enough to make it in tennis (or any sport) it's temperament, application
and maybe some luck with injuries and opportunities. Dimitrov has the ability... it will
be interesting to see if he can apply it this year.
These are just five names to familiarise yourself with during the coming year...
you may very well have your own favourites (if so, drop me a line - email me
here)
It's not to say all will win major tournaments, be splashed across the sportspages and
replace the likes of Djokovic and Nadal at the head of the rankings.
However, they should all make progress up the standings. They should be able to win tournaments.
And, crucially, they should all be available at decent, backable prices.
That's what really matters when it comes to making money... not always following the obvious
players but finding those who have the potential to win (but are often over-looked by the
bookmakers, and other backers, alike).
These are the sort of players we back on the Tennis Betting Service... so if you're not a
member, you should give us a try... click here to start backing winners
