Usually, bettors are attracted to match winner bets, but when the odds for victory are not so attractive, handicap betting in tennis is the best choice.
What is handicap and its peculiarities in tennis?
Handicap (or handicap) is an advantage in games or sets given to one of the tennis players. It allows you to increase your winnings by providing an opportunity to bet on a player with increased odds. The essence is that we have a match between two athletes, where tennis player “A” is the clear favorite and odds for his success range from 1.20 to 1.30. Betting on the victory of player “A” with such a modest coefficient is pointless; playing at low odds is inherently losing in the long run. If you are confident in the easy victory of the tennis player, you can bet on his success with the handicap. This strategy is particularly useful in the Aviator game mostbet.
Let’s consider what a handicap in tennis betting is using an example of a match between Alison Van Uytvanck and Catherine Kozlova, which took place on 02/22/2019 during the WTA tournament in Budapest, Hungary.
Positive handicap
These are additional games added to the final result of the match, which are added to the games of the underdog.
Before placing a bet on a handicap in tennis, many factors should be considered: court coverage, current form, and even the player’s mood.
It is important to determine how many breaks the underdog is capable of making and whether he can break the opponent’s serve. If you are sure that the athlete will have difficulty doing this, do not bet on his positive handicap. But if you think that the game will be equal and the underdog will easily take the favorite’s serve, and the bookmaker has set a handicap of +4.5 for him, then play this option.
Positive handicap in tennis should be played when the favorite:
- is not in the best form;
- is tired after a series of grueling tournaments (matches);
- after a recent injury;
- struggles to take the opponent’s serve.
For example, on 02/28/2019, a match took place at the Dubai tournament between Marton Fucsovics and Roger Federer. The Swiss was the favorite, and odds for his victory ranged from a modest 1.14 to 1.18, while the odds for Fucsovics’ success were 5.0-6.1, with +4.5 handicap.
It was profitable to bet on a positive handicap because the Hungarian player was in excellent form, and his first serve accuracy ranged from 67-73%. Federer, in turn, had a couple of unsuccessful matches before the meeting – the game was similarly difficult.
It is profitable to play the positive handicap of a tennis player who has a good serve on fast surfaces (grass, hard).
There are tennis players who are called “servers” – they serve so powerfully that it is difficult to return the serve because the ball speed reaches 200-263 km/h. If such a player goes as an underdog on grass, bet with a plus on him.
On clay, everything is more complicated, and more factors need to be considered, primarily the quality of play from the baseline, i.e., on the reception. Rallies often turn out to be protracted – the ability to play on the reception comes to the fore.
Before placing a bet, check the performance ratings of tennis players by surface types and how opponents play on the surface throughout their careers, for example, using the matchstat.com website.
The screenshot shows information about Alexander Zverev’s results by surface types, where:
- Hard – hard surface.
- I Hard – hard surface indoors.
- Clay – clay.
- I Clay – indoor clay.
- Grass – grass.
- Carpet – indoor court.
Negative handicap
Similar to the positive handicap, but in this case, games are subtracted from the favorite’s total.
Let’s look at how the negative handicap works in tennis using an example of a match between Isner and Lajovic, which took place on 02/21/19 at the ATP Delray Beach tournament. Isner was given modest odds of 1.14 for victory. The bookmakers set the standard handicap at -3.5 for 1.72. The game ended 6-4, 6-3 in favor of Isner, so bets on (-3.5) passed. Let’s consider how the final result is calculated taking the handicap into account. The game score was 12-7, subtracting Isner’s won games by -3.5, we get the final result of the game in games with the handicap taken into account: 8.5-7.
Confidence in the tennis player and his ability to hold his serve, play consistently – he must not just win, but do so confidently on the scoreboard. He should play well on the return and on the surface on which the tournament is held, it should be his specialty.
Before placing a bet, determine how successfully the player plays on the surface.
Rafael Nadal is considered the king of clay, Novak Djokovic shows the best results on hard courts, and Roger Federer is considered the king of grass.
It is very important to consider surface statistics:
On grass, there are the most aces, i.e., serves that cannot be returned. If a tennis player has an excellent serve and plays well on the return, like Federer, you can confidently play negative handicaps on grass, even if they are large. Provided that the opponent has a weak serve.
On clay, consider endurance and the ability to sharpen on the return. For example, on clay, Raonic with a serve of 250 km/h does not feel comfortable, so it is not practical to play him with a negative handicap on such a surface, unlike on hard or grass courts.
Always consider motivation and the importance of the tournament. Many top players are focused on top tournaments that bring more points in the rankings. Therefore, in less prestigious tournaments held before major ones, be cautious about betting on favorites.
For example, a week later, a tennis player is starting performances in a major tournament, so there is no point in exerting oneself in a modest competition, and often they simply “tank” to receive prize money for participation. This leads to sensations in the form of victories by clear underdogs.
Handicap 0
Handicap in tennis (0) implies victory for one of the opponents with a small hedge, in case both tennis players score the same number of points. The bet is calculated with odds of 1, and the placed money will be returned to the account.
When forming the line for bets with a handicap in tennis, bookmakers do not like to give whole values of handicaps, setting the line to be in the plus without returns. Therefore, most handicaps are set with 0.5 points above – 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, etc. This forces players to split into 2 fronts – placing positive and negative handicaps, and the bookmaker is in the black due to the margin. But sometimes a zero handicap occurs. As a rule, it is set in a match between 2 equal opponents. An example is the meeting between Nadal and Djokovic.
Let’s understand what handicap in tennis (0) means in the match between Nadal and Djokovic. Let’s say we placed a bet with (0) on Nadal, and the game ended 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 in favor of Djokovic. It turns out that the final result in games is 16-16 – a tie. Your money will be returned to the account because the bet is calculated with odds of 1.
Another example: Nadal wins 6-4, 7-6. By games, it turns out to be 13-10, and the bet wins. If you bet on Nadal’s victory, and Djokovic wins: 4-6, 6-3, 4-6. The final result is 14-15 – the bet loses.
Such a bet is a good choice with good insurance, but remember that there is a possibility that the tennis player will win, but you will lose. When betting on Nadal’s success with (0), if the match ends 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in his favor, the bet will lose because the game score is 15-16.
Games handicap
These bets are calculated by adding up the total number of games won by each tennis player, and then applying the handicap. We’ve already discussed how to calculate them.
This type of bet is one of the most popular in tennis, used by both newcomers and professional bettors.
But don’t forget, betting can be very tricky, and it’s no wonder that almost every bookmaker offers a similar type of bet. Before placing bets on handicaps, consider the following:
The number of sets won. In men’s tennis, there are tournaments that require winning 3 sets – the game potentially could last not 3 sets, but 5. This could extend to 3-5 hours, with cases known where the match was finished the next day, which can have a strong influence on the outcome.
The surface on which the match is played. For example, if the underdog holds his serve well, and he is given a handicap of +5 on grass – it’s better to bet on him, because it’s harder to return a serve on grass.
The ability to make a break – to win the opponent’s serve.
The ability to hold one’s serve – the quality of serving.
The ability of the tennis player to consistently perform during the match. Sometimes a tennis player wins during the match, but then there’s a turning point and the game “falls apart.” After confidently winning a set, athletes can “collapse” at any moment.
Keep in mind, if you take a small handicap of +0.5, +1.5, or +2, you must be sure that the tennis player is capable of winning a set. In the case of losing in 2 sets in a tie-break, you’ll get: 7-6, 7-6, i.e., the difference will be 2 points, and in the best case scenario, you’ll get a refund when betting on (+2). Instead of such handicaps, it’s better to bet on the outright victory of the underdog – it has more value.
