cluelessG

Alize Cornet - Viktoriya Tomova Viktoriya Tomova +1.5 sets - 1.952 with Pinnacle Tomova came through qualifications and Cornet is in unknown shape but past her best.

Up to 5 flights affected: https://opencourt.ca/2021/01/17/test-positive-possibly-five-flights-to-melbourne-covid/

Ludogorets Razgrad have appointed a caretaker manager after parting ways with coach Pavel Vrba. They failed to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League and lost their Europa League match against Antwerp last week. They also lost a key player - Higinio got injured over the weekend and will be out for a few months. He had scored in each of the last 4 games he played for Ludogorets. And he has a great record for them in European tournaments, having scored against Antwerp, Dynamo Brest and Buducnost.

I did not have a bet (I was busy with other stuff yesterday) and I only watched the start and the end of the match (while doing other things), so I do not really feel cheated on. It looked like the "doping medicine" finally kicked in for Nole halfway through the 3rd set. I hope ATP is happy with TV ratings and overall revenue. Rafa is certainly happy with yet another title and and catching up with Federer.

I'd still blame COVID: out of the top 11-ranked WTA players, 5 have missed the tournament (Barty, Osaka, Andreescu, Bencic and Serina, who quit after round 1). Including 2 of the top 3. That would be a problem in any sport. 2 of the remaining 6 players are still in the tournament. The rest: Halep - lost to Swiatek, not too many people disappointed with that, a new star joins the hierarchy Pliskova - lost to a former Roland Garros champion Svitolina - lost in the quarter-finals Bertens - used a wheelchair in round 2 but got to round 4 ? And as AgaRadwanska said, the weather further complicates things.

I don't really care about hierarchy. As long as the quality of tennis is great, I don't care for sport stars and icons. As lelit already mentioned, COVID-19 wrecked the whole tennis calendar this year - and a few other things as well. But would you be ok with the current tournament IF Osaka and Andreescu were healthy and they were still in play at this stage, together with Kvitova, Kenin and Swiatek (the new star who stopped Halep - the tournament favourite)? That does not look bad at all to me.

Leicester City, please

Pironkova ?

Wolverhampton Wanderers, please

Everton, please

Chelsea, please

As Larkin22 said, the tournament is run by an US organization and corporate image is important for financial results. I turned on a hockey TV channel yesterday and the first thing I heard was "How dare NHL proceed playing on Wednesday when NBA postponed their match(es)?". The NHL promptly cancelled Thursday's matches.

I've placed a small bet on M'gladbach to win at Werder. The hosts have not looked particularly impressive since the restart and they were lucky to win at Freiburg. The visitors are in much better shape, even though they lost against a red-hot Bayer Leverkusen. I don't rate Werder's defence too highly - they had problems at Freiburg (who always find it hard to score - just 35 goals this season) and they will be in real trouble against M'gladbach (53 goals). Both sides should be motivated - Werder fighting against relegation and the visitors still have a decent chance of getting a CL spot. Odds 1.8 with Pinnacle are good enough for a small bet.

The Hammers are missing their best player - Fabianski. Antonio is out too, he's a hard-working player and they need him badly against teams like Burnley. They have been struggling to find a reliable player at left back. So, today they have some challenges in these positions. I believe this match go can either way, Burnley should be favourites and odds are probably just about right. I'd recommend to watch the first 15 minutes of the game and then place a bet, depending on how motivated the teams are.

I've placed a bet on Svitolina to win against Barty - odds 2.00 with bet365. Svitolina is the player getting results in Shenzhen so far. Plus her H2H record against Barty looks great (5:0, from what I have been able to find).