Tennis betting: Murray to fail in 2008 Grand Slams?

Andy Murray's first few weeks of 2008 have been a rollercoaster ride. First came tournament victory in Qatar then first round defeat in the Australian Open before receiving the ominous pleasure of being backed by Tim Henman. Now one bookmaker has seen enough is now offering odds on Murray being knocked out in the first round of the remaining three Grand Slam events. Former British No 1 Henman watched his compatriot's display but insisted that Murray's shock first-round loss at the Australian Open is just a minor setback for the Scot. The British No 1 was beaten in four sets by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga despite being tipped to reach the latter stages of the first Grand Slam of the year. "Andy will be as disappointed as anyone but he's playing great tennis," Henman said. "He's had an extremely minor hiccup in losing a match like that. But the biggest thing is he learns from that." Murray, who had won the Qatar Opn in the lead-up to the year's first Grand Slam event, believes that the first round exit in Melbourne is jut a blip and he is good enough to win Major titles and continue to rise above his current world ranking of No 9. "I think I've showed by winning four tournaments in the last few years that I've got the potential to challenge for Grand Slams in the future," he said. "I don't think it's the end of the world. I wasn't completely outplayed. I didn't feel physically I was the worst player but I hit a couple of silly shots here and there." Yet following his first round showing in Australia, Murray is now rated at 5/4 to be ranked 7-11 at the end of the year; 11/8 to be between 1 and 6; and 11/8 12 or higher. William Hill now also offer 25/1 that Murray will crash out in the first round of all four Slams this year. If that wasn't enough the bookmaker have alo lengthened his odds from 5/1 to 7/1 to be the BBC Sports Personaliy of the Year in 2008. Mind you from what we've seen of Murray over the past few years winning an award for his personality is a litle far-stretched given it seems that his brother Jamie got the personality in the family. William Hill prices To win a grand slam in 2008: 10/1 Which Major will he progress the furthest in? 6/5 US Open; 5/4 Wimbledon; 7/2 French Open. To be Knocked out in the first round in the rest of the 08 Slams: 25/1 To win Olympic Gold in Singles: 10/1