Blake returned to play the Legg Mason Classic, a tournament he won in 2002, in the hope of finding some form ahead of the US Open later this month. Blake failed to find his serving game in Washington. He was knocked out in the first round, to qualifier Ryan Sweating, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. World number 119 Sweating, will now go on to play Michael Llondra in the next round. Tennis betting pundits note how Blake is coming back from a bad knee injury this season. The American was forced to miss the entire clay court season, including the French Open due to the injury.

Blake returned to action in time for this summer’s Wimbledon but may wish he hadn’t. The 30 year old was beaten in straight sets by Robin Haase in the first round. Last year at the US Open, Blake went out again disappointingly, this time in straight sets to Spain’s Tommy Robredo. Blake has gone as far as the quarter final stage at Flushing Meadows on two previous occasions, 2005 and 2006. It’s been three years since Blake reached the quarters of a Grand Slam. His form may be poor going into the tournament but Blake has proved on countless times over the years that he has the ability to do things on a court that not many other players can. If he can avoid injury, the tennis odds suggest that Blake could return to the latter stages of a major.

Retiring with one of the four majors on your CV is no mean achievement, but Roddick knows he has the ability to be a multiple Slam winner, with the attainment of a second major, to join the likes of rivals Lleyton Hewitt, Pat Rafter and Marat Safin on two wins, the minimum requirement as he enters the last years of his career. Roddick is only 27, but with Nadal, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic all significantly younger than him, he must feel like one of the old guard. Indeed, it is seven years since he won that solitary major, at the US Open. The tennis world assumed there would be many more to come.

Flushing Meadows remains his best chance of doubling his Grand Slam tally, but one final appearance in the intervening six years suggests a home crowd and hard courts are not as much of an advantage as they might seem. He will still be well-fancied in the US Open Betting winner’s market. A frustrating season disrupted by injury should not mask the fact that this time last year he had just come within a couple of points of beating Federer in an epic Wimbledon final as the restructuring of his game under Larry Stefanki started to bear fruit.

A-Rod’ has shown glimpses of his old powerhouse in reaching the Indian Wells final and winning at Miami, impressive Masters series performances that showed he can produce at big events. He certainly can in New York and many punters will be backing him to start his preparation with victory at the Atlanta tournament this month.

Although it may not seem a lot on the face of it, Watson was hugely impressive in winning the tournament, which is part of the ITF Challenger Tour, the second division of women’s tennis and she beat a former world top 30 player in the final.

Her final victim was India’s Sania Mirza, but she was no match for the Guernsey youngster, who was winning on the ITF tour for the second time at a much higher level than the title she took in 2009 at Frinton.

But tennis betting pundits note that how it was the manner of her performances in North Wales last week that showed plenty of promise for the future as the 2009 US Open junior champion made it six straight set wins on the bounce with a 6-2 6-4 success.

Watson has had a quiet season so far, although she did win her first match in the main draw of a WTA event this year when she saw off the talented Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak on grass at Eastbourne.

The growing pains in her game were exposed at Wimbledon when she was felled in the opening round by Romina Oprandi, but that setback seems to have kicked Watson up a gear as her form since has been encouraging.

The victory on Sunday was arguably her best in the senior ranks, as Mirza is still ranked only just outside the world’s top 100 despite a two-year battle with wrist injuries and poor form and Watson is trying to rise from 262 playing a reduced schedule of senior events because of her age.

But Watson and Laura Robson certainly give Britain more hope of international success on the women’s side of the game than there has been for the last 15 years or so, and with Andy Murray to follow in the men’s game, maybe the time for a rise in British tennis fortunes is just around the corner.

US Open 2010 betting pundits note how Federer has taken Pete Sampras’ former coach Paul Annacone for a trial spell, as he looks to find his best form before this month’s US Open. The 28-year-old has moved quickly to improve his current form, after slipping down to third in the rankings following a French Open quarter-final defeat against Robin Soderling, which he followed up with a defeat at Wimbledon to Tomas Berdych at the same stage.

 

American coach Annacone will now team up with Federer while he serves out the remainder of his contract as men’s head coach at the Lawn Tennis Association until November. Annacone also had a spell coaching Tim Henman back in 2004. The Swiss star will be hoping Annacone will help him get back on track having slipped down to his lowest ranking for seven years.

 

Federer is next due on the court at the Rogers Cup in Toronto from August 9, before the Men's US Open betting gets underway at Flushing Meadows from August 30. Federer will be looking for sixth US Open title of his illustrious career when he arrives in New York.