"I was thinking about this bet before the tournament started but last night's poor performance from Nadal has just

confirmed to me that he has next to no chance of winning this tournament. He is clearly the best player in the world

away form hard courts but on the fast North American hard-courts he continues to struggle year after year.

He was up against Gabashvili last night, a player ranked 93, who is having a fairly good year, but is nothing special.

Nadal took 63 minutes to win the first set and 68 minutes to win the second set!

It was a night match so conditions were not as fast as they would have been during the day and Nadal has no excuse

such as fatigue that could account for this poor performance. Maybe it wasn't even a poor performance - Nadal said

he played quite well particularly on serve.

This match doesn't bode well for the rest of the tournament. Next up is Istomin, a player in the form of his life who is

exactly the type of player Nadal hates to play. Istomin hits hard and flat, in a similar way to Robin Soderling and is

likely to pose all sorts of problems to the world number 1. I'm inclined to back the Uzbek at 14/1 on betfair!

The next round might be against Kohlschreiber or Simon, both players that have either beaten or given Nadal huge

problems on hard in the past. Round 4 would be against Lopez (who beat Nadal at Queen's) or Ljubicic (who beat

Nadal at Indian Wells), so I think there's at least a 50% chance that Nadal will be out by the quarter final stage..

If he does get to the quarters though his opponent is likely to be Nalbandian (a player who's had match points

against Nadal in the past) or Chardy or Ferrer, two players in great form at the moment.

By the semis Nadal is likely to be suffering from a series of tough matches, that could cause be causing a lot of

trouble to his dodgy knees. This surface is a lot tougher on any knee problems than clay or grass. His opponent is

likely to be Murray or Berdych, both of whom would be big favourites to beat Nadal in my book.

Murray has yet to lose a set against Nadal on this surface this year and Berdych is in the form of his life.

If by some miracle Nadal were to reach the final Federer would be in no mood for letting his friend win a title. Federer

is still unhappy about losing at Wimbledon and losing his number 1 ranking so would be delighted to win his 2nd

slam of the year.

I simply find it impossible to imagine Nadal winning this tournament this year. He's never been past the semi-final and

this year there are so many other player in great form so I think he'll lose before the quarters."

First up in the 3 Balls is Jamie Donaldson. The Welshman has been on superb form this year and played some great

golf last week to finish 3rd. He was the only player in the field to break 70 in the tough conditions on Sunday and that

included two three putts on the final two holes.

It was Donaldson 6th top ten of the season which has seen him take his game to another level. Today he plays with

Ross McGowan. I can see why McGowan is over rated at the moment as this time last week he still had a chance to

get in the Ryder Cup team. Quite bizarre really when you consider he has just 1 top 10 all season.

2010 has been a disaster for McGowan and I'm sure the Ryder Cup qualification has not helped. This season his

scoring average is 72.61 compared to Donaldson at 70.92. We don't even know how fit McGowan is as he had to

withdraw from Gleneagles last week with what I believe was a shoulder complaint.

The third member of the three ball is Julien Clement, a Swiss Challenge Tour player. Without being mean the only

reason he is in this event is that he is Swiss. Ok so he has played well here in the past but so has Donaldson.

Clement is ranked 48th on the Challenge Tour with earnings of just € 17,140. Donaldson has won € 480,505.

The 11/8 being offered at Paddy Power on Donaldson to win this three ball is great value. I also like Donaldson to

beat Oliver Wilson in a mythical 2 ball offered by Skybet. Oliver Wilson is a very good player but has struggled this

year. I have no doubt he will rediscover his form but right now he is player to oppose.

He played some decent golf in the third round last week saying he found something on the range before the round.

He clearly lost it again on Sunday as he shot 77, 7 worse than Donaldson. That has been the story of his season,

poor ball striking and that will cause him to struggle again. Take Donaldson at 21/20 to beat him today.

We have already tipped Bradley Dredge this week. As a former winner and a superb record on this course he is a

player to watch out for. Add to that his T7 finish last week and he could be a big factor come Sunday. Stan James

have put him against Simon Dyson in a mythical 2 ball today offering 21/20 on Dredge.

I can see why they have done this as Dyson has been playing very well of late but that was in an attempt to get

in the Ryder Cup side. He has not stopped traveling in recent weeks and sooner or later that will catch up with him.

With the team decided how motivated will a tired Simon Dyson be this week? Back Dredge to beat him!

Finally Soren Hansen looks a good bet to beat defending champion Alexander Noren. Both players have struggled

this season but Hansen had his tax evasion issues to deal with and since that was settled his game has improved.

It has been a terrible year for Noren. Only one top ten to his name and that came in a weakened field in China. His

best finish since May was T39 at Celtic Manor. Wayward driving and poor putting have been his problem and you

only need to look at the scoring averages to know this is a good bet.

Soren Hansen's average in 2010 is 71.64 compared to Noren at 72.42. Add to the equation the fact Hansen is starting

to find his game, T19 last week including a 2nd Round 65 and the Dane looks a decent bet at Evens at Stan James

to shoot a lower score on Day One.

Stricker is the defending champion of this tournament and also comes into the event off the back of T3 finish last

week in the Barclays. In the tournament last week Stricker only made 4 bogeys in 72 holes, fewer than any other

player. He is such a good putter that he can go low in any of the four rounds this week.

Last year was not the first time Stricker played well at TPC Boston. Other good finishes include T13 in 2008, T9 in

2007 and T7 in 2006. With Woods and Mickelson both struggling with their games, Stricker is the obvious choice to

win this week and looks worth a gamble at 12/1 at Skybet.

TPC Boston will suit the long hitters this week. There is not too much rough to worry about and previous winners

include Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Adam Scott. When you think of long hitters, you think Dustin Johnson. He

has been in contention almost every week in the past month without landing a title.

Last week he recorded another top 10 finish and in doing so hit the ball further and hit more greens that any other

player in the field. If he can find a few putts this week then I have no doubt he will be bang in contention come the

weekend. Johnson is on offer at a best price of 18/1 at Bet365 to land the title this week.

If you like betting on the top ten markets then Ryan Palmer is a stand out bet. Since getting his clubs adjusted in

Canada recently Palmer has been on superb form. He finished T5 last week in The Barclays and 2nd at Firestone.

He is long off the tee at putts well. The perfect combination for TPC Boston. The one thing I can't quite believe is the

odds on offer. Stan James are offering 10/1 on him finishing in the top 10. When you consider how good his recent

form has been this is a superb price.

BK Tip: Deutsche Bank Championship - Steve Stricker to win - 12/1 @ Skybet

BK Tip: Deutsche Bank Championship - Dustin Johnson to win - 18/1 @ Bet365

BK Tip: Deutsche Bank Championship - Ryan Palmer Top 10 - 10/1 @ Stan James

As the site is still new and they are trying to prove themselves over a longer period of time all the tips are free. All

you need to do to receive the tips is send an email to tennis@bettingkingdom.co.uk quoting 'Tennis' and we will

ensure your email is added to the subscription list with 24 hours.

Tennis Punter have kindly given us permission to post all of their tips on the site for free over the next two weeks.

Considering it is US Open fortnight this is great way for you to see just how good these tips are. Below is the first tip

provided by Tennis Punter for the 2010 US Open.

"Schiavone (ITA,7) is the French Open champion but struggled a bit on hard earlier this season. She's had good

results in the last couple of weeks though so will be confident of winning her 1st round match.

In Montreal she beat Safina (#35) and the in-form Makarova (#69) while in Istanbul she showed her class by

thrashing Keothavong (#151) 6-2 6-2. Although she lost to Safina last week she won a set 6-1 against her in the match

so is probably still in the best form of her life.

Her opponent today is Morita (JPN,83) a 20-year old who lacks the hitting power that Schiavone has. Last week she

was destroyed 6-1 6-1 by Rodionova (#62) and recently she's lost to Hradecka (#124), McHale (#132), Savchuk (#144)

and Azarenka 6-0 6-2.

Schiavone may have been embarrassed as a Slam winner losing in the 1st round of Wimbledon and will be eager to

ensure that the same thing doesn't happen in New York. Expect a professional performance and easy win for the

Italian, Good luck"

Each and every day throughout the course of the tournament you can claim a £5 free bet. All you need to do to take

advantage of this offer is firstly place two £10 bets in running on separate games. You can do this online or over

the phone.

Once you have placed two £10 bets in play you will be credited with a £5 free bet which you must also use in play. To

use the free bet credit online you must select the free bet option from the drop down menu on your bet slip. It must be

used in one transaction and is only valid until the end of play today.

In our opinion this is probably the best offer available on the US Open as you can claim a £5 free bet each day during

the tournament adding up to a whopping £70 over the next two weeks. So what are you waiting for sign up with

Totesport bookmaker today and get a free £5 bet on the US Open today.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT TOTESPORT AND CLAIM YOUR £5 FREE US OPEN BET TODAY!!  

Each of the cashback offers is slightly different. If you place a bet on any men's match prior to the game beginning

and your player wins the first two sets but loses the match, Betfred will refund your stake up to a maximum of £200.

To qualify for this bonus you must place an initial bet of £5 or more.

For the ladies tournament you must once again bet at least £5 prior to the game commencing. If your player is beaten

in a final set tie break then Betfred will refund your stake, again up to a maximum of £200.

You must place your bet before a game begins as any in running bets will not count towards either of these cashback

offers. If you do get a free bet from these offers Betfred will credit it to your account within 48 hours. So if your

going to bet on the US Open, do it at Betfred and you may get some losing stakes back.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT WITH BETFRED AND BET ON THE US OPEN TODAY!!! 

The two offers from 888Sport are for match betting so run throughout the tournament. The first is 'The 5-Set Special'.

Place a bet of £5 or more on any men's match and if your player leads 2 sets to love but goes on to lose the match,

888Sport will refund your stake up to a maximum of £50.

The second offer on the US Open is called the 'Tie Break Banker'. Again place a bet of £5 or more on any match

before it begins. If three or more of the sets go to a tie breaks then 888Sport will give you a free bet equal to your

initial stake, up to £50.

These promotions are only available to residents of United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden. Your free

bet will be credited to your account within 72 days and will only be valid for 30 days. This offer is limited to one per

person, household, computer, email address or payment details.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN 888SPORT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE TENNIS OFFERS!!! 

To qualify for this bonus a minimum stake of £5 or more is required with a maximum refund of £200. So now you

know the bonus on offer it is just a case of which team to back.

If you want our opinion then Inter are the team to back. These pre season games can sometimes be cagey affairs and

players are concerned about avoiding injury prior to their respective domestic campaigns getting underway. With

that in mind a bet on Inter to win 1 - 0 is a good shout with Betfred offering 9/2 on this result.

If you prefer to bet on the first goalscorer then each side has world class strikers at their disposal. Diego Forlan was a

big hit in the World Cup and if he can bring that form to tonight's game then he could be a good bet at 13/2 to find the

net first. Alternatively Diego Milito looks the most likely Inter player to score first and is available at 9/2.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN A NEW ACCOUNT WITH BETFRED AND BET ON TONIGHTS GAME!!!