Murray is a serious player in US Open

Sport betting:

AT what stage does a top-notch tennis player start to go over the hill?

Roger Federer might be only 28, but the signs are that his relentless pursuit of Grand Slam titles is starting to take its toll.

The Swiss superstar was vulnerable throughout Wimbledon and it was no great surprise to see him go out at the quarter-final stage to Tomas Berdych.

With Rafeal Nadal adding the Wimbledon title to his French Open crown, perhaps there is a changing of the guard at the sport’s highest level.

But wait a minute, the next Grand Slam event is the US Open at Flushing Meadows, a venue where Federer has been nigh on invincible for the last six years.

OK, he was beaten in an incredible final against Juan Martin Del Potro last year, but in the five previous tournaments he had come out on top every time.

In contrast, great rival Nadal has yet to reach a US Open final on a surface which clearly does not suit.

These statistics show that Federer deserves to be favourite for the US tournament, which gets under way at the end of next month.

He is an 11-4 shot, with Nadal 7-2 and Britain’s Andy Murray 4-1.

Murray, beaten by Nadal in the Wimbledon semi-finals, has a serious chance at Flushing Meadows.

With the injured Del Potro sidelined and Federer seemingly in decline, Murray could step up on his runner-up position of two years ago.

He has beaten Nadal at this event and, if Federer continues to struggle, our man could at last land his first Grand Slam title.

It should be a fascinating tournament.




TONIGHT sees the second semi-final of the World Cup yet the return of football on the domestic scene is just around the corner.



League One gets under way on August 7, with Premier League action starting a week later.

Athletic, under new manager Paul Dickov, are 66-1 to win the League One title, while neighbours Rochdale are rated 80-1 shots.

And the clubs are quoted at 18-1 and 25-1 respectively for promotion.

The Premier League crown is likely to be fought out between Chelsea (13-8) and Manchester United (5-2), but Manchester City are rated third favourites at 6-1 by the bookies and Liverpool - almost unthinkably - are a massive 14-1 to win the title.

The oddslayers clearly have little faith in new manager Woy Hodgson.