James Blake - Why he is value in Madrid

The Masters Series tennis is getting to the important stage of the season. Players will be desperate to earn points to gain a spot at the lucrative Tennis Masters Cup. This weeks Masters Series Event in Madrid will be a week of first class tennis as the pressure for points mounts.

The season ending Tennis Masters Cup is being played in Shanghai by the eight highest ATP 2007 Race Point earners. There have only been four players qualify so far. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko have already qualified for the eight player event.

There are some players playing in the second round at the Madrid Masters that desperately need to earn points to qualify. With only this week and the Masters Event in Paris remaining the play will be hard and tough.

One player in need of points is James Blake who is currently sitting 10th in the ATP race. Blake was runner up in last year's season final and will be keen for a repeat finish. A good result this week in Madrid will go part-way to getting him into the final field.

Blake's opponent in Round 2 is Mario Ancic. Ancic is coming into this event with a slight return to form after a bitterly disappointing 2007. With so much to play for it does seem like a match that Blake should win. The 1.76 currently available at Betfair seems like great value.

It is important in the Madrid and Paris events to find players close to qualifying and in need of a good result. As well as James Blake, there are players such as Tommy Haas and Tommy Robredo who are right on the borderline of qualifying. It will be an intriguing week of tennis as we continue the countdown to Shanghai in November.

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