St Petersburg Open Betting

The St Petersburg Open is an ATP 250 indoor/hard court event held usually during the last week of October at the city’s Sports and Concert Complex. It is the second Russian ATP 250 event in two weeks following on in quick succession from the ATP Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Like the ATP Kremlin Cup, the St Petersburg Open is still fairly new to professional tennis having been inaugurated in 1995.

Former dual major winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov lifted the first title at the expense of Guillaume Roux and became the first of three Russians to win the championship to date.

Mikhail Youzhny took the honours in 2004, whilst former World No.1 Marat Safin won back to back titles in 2000 and 2001 – a feat which has only been matched by Andy Murray who recorded his consecutive victories in 2007 and 2008.

Swede Thomas Johansson also walked away with the winner’s cheque on two occasions however his wins remarkably came eight years apart in 1997 and 2005. The tournament currently consists of a straight 32-man knockout format with no byes included.

In many ways, the St Petersburg Open is extremely similar to the ATP Kremlin Cup, making the transition from one to another reasonably smooth.

Both tournaments are played in fine indoor venues in front of a partisan spectatorship and the standard of competition is of strong quality without quite being top class due to many of the world’s top ten often opting to sit out the action following a hard season.

The BNP Paribas Masters and World Tour Finals are the two biggest tournaments left in the tennis calendar moving into November so it is fairly understandable that the world’s elite focus their attentions towards those assignments by taking a sizeable break in October.

Some, like Andy Murray however, use the tournament as a direct build up to the challenges that lie ahead. Other players, who are ranked on the fringes of the world’s top ten, are likely to throw everything they have left at the tournament in an attempt to lift some silverware and finish their seasons on a high.

Russian players have not been quite as prolific at this event as in the ATP Kremlin Cup, so it is hardly a crucial factor when taking betting into account.

Nevertheless, playing in front of a home crowd always gives players an extra lift, so it may come as a welcome boost to any selection or selections made.

The action is likely to be fast and highly competitive, with the court suiting agile players with a strong all-round stroke armoury.

Time and time again it will be fitness that plays a key part in the results, so watch out for the players who are still visibly looking enthusiastic and in excellent shape after a long year.

Decent odds are likely to be available even for the favourite with a wide open field usually expected, so the St Petersburg Open really does offer a unique ‘value’ opportunity as opposed to some of the bigger, more prestigious events which are dominated by a handful of star names.

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