Sports Desk

Euro 2012 Qualifying

The dust has barely settled on one international tournament, but come September a long road that hopefully leads to Poland and Ukraine begins for the nations of Europe. On a global scale, the continents of Africa and Asia are regularly cited as the source of emerging powers, but the World Cup suggested that a region within a region had the potential to make a sizable impact on the international stage.

After several years of finding their feet politically, the nations of the former Eastern bloc are finding their feet athletically and have taken the first steps towards upsetting the aristocracy. Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia put in impressive performances in qualifying for South Africa and backed it up with more creditable displays against more illustrious opponents.

With the traditional powers of Italy, France, and England undergoing various forms of rebuilding, there’s opportunity for upsets. The best example is Serbia. They comfortably held off the challenge of France in World Cup qualifying and weren’t far off the pace at the tournament proper. Italy are the top seeds in their Euro 2012 qualifying group and the Azzurri will be a similar proposition to Les Bleus. The tried and trusted older generation are heading into the sunset and the younger replacements appear to have been overrated. The 11/4 for Serbia to top Group C screams value.

Beyond the Balkans, the World Cup showed conclusively that there’s no value about backing England’s overpaid, underperformers at 2/7. Switzerland have been a constant fixture at international events for the last decade and although they lack individual stars, they are invariably a well organised and formidable unit.

Strengthening the case is the triumph of their junior side at last year’s Under-17 World Cup. Several within those ranks are highly rated on the European club scene and the campaign should see a few emerge in the senior side. The 6/1 for the Nati to win Group G looks worth a nibble. Ditching Raymond Domenech should see an immediate improvement from France, but despite his short yet impressive resumé Laurent Blanc may find it hard to repair a squad clearly in disarray. 1/2 to win Group D looks a tempting lay price considering the presence of Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina will make it a tight group.

US Open Tennis

The domination of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal of men’s tennis has made it difficult to find real value at Grand Slam events in recent years. However, with both players looking sporadically vulnerable these days, there is a group of six or so players capable of taking advantage and landing a major. Sadly, the bookmakers have long since cottoned on to the likely successors and finding value isn’t easy.

In the women’s division however, there is scope for opportunity. Undoubtedly there is a core group of elite players that occupy the seedings, and accordingly, the top places, in the betting for every event, but the playing field is a lot more even and the pinnacle of the game is within reach of more middle-ranking players. The fact that two comparative journeywomen contested the final of the French Open illustrates that making the breakthrough to the top of the sport isn’t a pipe dream. At Wimbledon the business end of proceedings also featured a few names that were far from household names.

Identifying the players capable of succeeding at the highest level is the next step and with that in mind it’s worth considering Yanina Wickmayer as a potential US Open winner.

Having shown flashes of potential in her career, 2010 has seen her rise to just outside the world’s top ten. The Belgian was named the World Tennis Association’s Most Improved Player for 2009 and although that doesn’t bestow any great gifts or entitlement, she does now have something in common with multiple major winners Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, and Steffi Graff.

It’s probably not worth getting overly excited about, but it shows she’s considered to be on an upward trajectory. Possibly the most encouraging sign was her run to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last year. She has been gradually improving largely under the radar and although it’s hugely dependent on the seeding and draw she receives, it’s likely she’ll offer a bit of value to win in Queens.

Another rising star is Melanie Oudin. Although she hasn’t made the progress of Wickmayer, she is ranked as the best American who’s not a Williams’ sister. At just 18 years of age, it’s asking too much of her to claim her national title just yet, but there might be some value in backing her in the match betting, particularly against some more established stars who maybe are relying more on reputation than results these days.