Hard court season on the horizon

The grass court season is a very short one in tennis and all too quickly eyes will move onto the hard courts and the build-up to the US Open.

With Wimbledon being the third Grand Slam event of the season, and coming only weeks after the French Open with very little time for players to adapt to grass, very quickly the summer tournaments finish.

This is an important period of the year and can help any player go into the US Open with some great form and confidence if they come out of Wimbledon in high fashion. Those looking to bet on Andy Murray should bear this in mind.

But it can also work to the opposite. After Wimbledon and the French Open coming in very quick succession, the fact the US Open is not until September gives players a chance to recover from a poor grass court season.

Many players have shown over the years they can come back into contention at Flushing Meadow after missing many tournaments, either by choice or through injury, as they are 'fresh' compared to many of their rivals. The US Open 2011 tennis odds often reflect this.

There are so many tournaments on the international circuit and the hard court season is no different. Players need to be very careful picking and choosing their preparation for the US Open.

While the US Open betting will tend to reflect the world rankings there will always be form players coming through in the weeks before the tournament gets underway.

The tournament also gives one more chance to those top players who have missed out at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon to add a Grand Slam victory to their CV for 2011, while boost their rankings points to get them into the end-of-season tournament.

Flushing Meadows can punish any players who come in under-prepared or in a poor run of form. With so many players under pressure to win a Grand Slam title in their short careers to truly be considered among the top stars of all time, the US Open is usually one of the most entertaining tournaments of the year.