Novak Djokovic is back to defend his title

Tennis is in full swing this week with the start of the Western & Southern Open, an ATP tournament in Cincinnati. This is an important tournament as it’s a Masters 1000 event and it usually brings in the highest-ranking tennis players in the world.

Tennis tournaments have become great betting events in recent years. Now bettors can wager on not just tournament winners, but head-to-head matchups and even live, in-play betting for televised matches. Our friends at Jazz Sports are giving players $10 just for signing up! Head to JazzSports.ag to create an account and automatically receive a $10 Free Play.

Let's get back to the subject at hand. Here are 5 reasons to bet on the 2019 Cincinnati Masters 1000 Tennis Tournament:

1 - Andy Murray is returning 5 months on the injured list. Back in February, Murray had hip surgery and had to spend time on the sidelines while recuperating. Well, he is back and starts off the tournament against the Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. This is a tough test, but nothing a healthy Murray can’t handle.

2 - Rafael Nadal will not be participating this year, stating fatigue as the reason. This is great news for everybody else in the field, especially for the ones aspiring to win the tournament. Nadal is probably just recuperating himself so he can be at his best once the U.S. Open starts in two weeks.

3 - Novak Djokovic is the defending champion, as he won it last year. This was his first win in Cincinnati and will be looking to make it two in a row. If he doesn't win the tournament, he'll lose points in the rankings and might affect his #1 seeding. 

4 - Don't count out the field just yet.  Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov have both won the Western and Southern tournament before. Cilic won in 2016 and Dimitrov won in 2017. Plus, there is a solid American player field, led by John Isner, who will be sure to make a splash this year.

5 - Roger Federer lost last year's Cincinnati tournament to Djokovic, so he'll be looking for some sweet revenge this time around.  His majesty (Federer) has won Cincinnati 7 times in the past, so he'll most likely have the crowd cheering for him throughout.

Even though this tournament is already under way, many of the top players get a bye in the first round, and with the variety of tennis bets offered at JazzSports and sports books around the globe, players should consider taking advantage of some of the points outlined above to bet on this tournament.