Davis Cup betting

Davis Cup betting success is often a case of location, location, location.

Spain are chasing a third successive victory, and with clay court master Rafa Nadal in their ranks, predictions that they can bag a trio of titles are not far wide of the mark.

Britain's best Andy Murray has put personal gain ahead of national fame by announcing he will not be part of the Great Britain team which takes on Turkey in the Europe-Africa Zone Group II match in July. But such are the variety of matches on a variety of surfaces, those seeking good value Davis Cup betting odds should scour the internet to find out who, when, where, why and what.

It is the one tennis competition which truly unites the world and betting on Davis Cup success for the traditional powers of tennis can be fraught.

Since the competition first began in 1899 when four Harvard students sought to introduce a tennis match against the British, the Davis Cup has grown into the biggest annual international team competition in sports.

Davis Cup betting has grown with it.

The world's 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and

Davis Cup bets often focus on the rivalry between the USA, winners a record 32 times, and Australia, who have triumphed on 28 occasions.

However, Spain, with four wins since 2000, offer great comfort to UK and other European punters. Not surprisingly, throughout the different stages of competition, online bookmakers - who offer any number of free bets - are looking for an upset.

There are, however, certain records unlikely to beaten.

How about the youngest competitor? Mohammed-Akhtar Hossain from Bangladesh, who was 13 years and 326 days. And the oldest? Togo's Gadonfin Koptigan Yaka, at 60 years and 247 days.

Davis Cup betting should be as much about team selection as the opposition, although staying close to European teams offers a reasonably secure road to profit.

Spain are the top ranked nation, and are joined in the world's leading 16 nations by Russia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Sweden, Serbia, France and Switzerland.

Invariably, Davis Cup betting odds will normally favour the 'home' country, but the daring predictor of unexpected results searching for value has often been rewarded as nations as diverse as Croatia, South Africa and Italy have won the trophy.

Try picking a winner from the world group fixture this September between Kazakhstan and Switzerland? Place your Davis Cup bet on the eastern Europeans, especially if Roger Federer is not involved. Indeed, such is the interest in Davis Cup tennis betting that the Romania versus Ecuador match will also draw attention from your online bookmaker.

Regrettably, Great Britain has not featured highly in Davis Cup tennis betting odds since their last victory in 1936, although they did finish as runners-up in 1978.

But with a new captain in place in Leon Smith, backing Britain for your bet on the Davis Cup offers good value, with Turkey surely not capable of sending Britain even further down the food chain, that’s worth a free bet - on offer from any number of online bookmakers.

Champions Spain have been drawn away to France in their quarter-final and early Davis Cup betting will have them as firm favourites, but there are
several interesting fixtures to captures punters’ attention.

For example, Russia host Argentina, Croatia have a fascinating tie at home to
Serbia, and Chile host the Czech Republic.

They’re the type of tasty ties designed to tempt punters to take the plunge and engage in some Davis Cup betting. They should – it could be considerably more profitable than they imagine.