We are in an interesting age where the two former powerhouses of tennis, the US and Australia, have no highly ranked players. Robin Soderling is not so quietly climbing the world rankings and is now firmly established in the top four. Many pundits are now proclaiming him as the next world number one.

While not young at 26, the Swede is currently in the best form of his career having won last week at Rotterdam and odds on favourite to win today in Marseilles. Soderling is currently on an eight match winning streak in which he hasn’t dropped a set. In tennis betting, Soderling is a hot 1/3 favourite to win today while his opponent, Russian Marin Cilic, is unwanted and drifting at 3/1.

In Memphis, former world number one Andy Roddic saw off another former number one in Lleyton Hewitt to advance to the semi-finals. He will need to get past another player heading for top rankings in Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro. He missed much of last year through injury but is quickly coming back to his best. Before being injured, Del Potro was challenging for world top five ranking and he’s well on the way to reclaiming that position.

Men’s tennis betting has been dominated in recent years by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal while Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have played bit roles. This new age of men’s tennis will see players such as Soderling and Del Potro make their presence felt strongly. Federer is getting past his prime while Nadal doesn’t seem to have fully recovered from recent injuries – one gets the feeling he no longer trusts his body so he doesn’t push it as he once did. Will Soderling be the next number one? You can get 6/1 on it – and it’s certainly worth a thought.