Bettingboots

2 out of 3 with 6 yellow cards and Birmancevic scoring.
Olympiakos v Ludogorets: 20 points on Masouras to score at 49/20 with Uni

That was also in my mind, and makes his price too short. Could be completely wrong and Joker could turn up and blow him away, but I just don't see it in front of this Italian crowd. 

Isner can trouble anyone in these conditions, and if you can't find a way to break him, your chances don't improve much in TBs (because he plays so many of them he has a decent record). I thought he served poorly yesterday by his standards but he raised his game on the big points and was too solid in the TBs for Rublev. Thiem is building up for Roland Garos, and is clearly rusty after his lay off, so is more vulnerable than normal today. I haven't backed him but Isner could win this and I don't think it would be a disaster for Thiem. The main thing for the Austrian is to find his match fitness and his confidence. There were some silly prices for him on the FO outright before this tourney (14/1 on the exchange at one point), so I've invested in that with a view his price will contract a lot before the start of Roland Garos.   

Isner can trouble anyone in these conditions, and if you can't find a way to break him, your chances don't improve much in TBs (because he plays so many of them he has a decent record). I thought he served poorly yesterday by his standards but he raised his game on the big points and was too solid in the TBs for Rublev. Thiem is building up for Roland Garos, and is clearly rusty after his lay off, so is more vulnerable than normal today. I haven't backed him but Isner could win this and I don't think it would be a disaster for Thiem. The main thing for the Austrian is to find his match fitness and his confidence. There were some silly prices for him on the FO outright before this tourney (14/1 on the exchange at one point), so I've invested in that with a view his price will contract a lot before the start of Roland Garos.   

12 times Monte Carlo champion Nadal doesn't need any help or favours, trust me ?

12 times Monte Carlo champion Nadal doesn't need any help or favours, trust me ?

Its also possible that, despite being 18 months older, she is in better physical condition now than she was in that Wimbledon final. At that time she had been out the game for a while, having her child, and definitely struggled when she first came back. 

Its also possible that, despite being 18 months older, she is in better physical condition now than she was in that Wimbledon final. At that time she had been out the game for a while, having her child, and definitely struggled when she first came back. 

Its also possible that, despite being 18 months older, she is in better physical condition now than she was in that Wimbledon final. At that time she had been out the game for a while, having her child, and definitely struggled when she first came back. 

Its also possible that, despite being 18 months older, she is in better physical condition now than she was in that Wimbledon final. At that time she had been out the game for a while, having her child, and definitely struggled when she first came back. 

Yeah, I'm also in the camp of Serena having a good shot this time around. She's nowhere near her peak, of course, she won't get there again, but this match looks winnable. Halep had some luck against Swiatek in that Swiatek made a few more errors and bad decisions than expected after the first set.
That's not to say that I'd be that keen on backing Williams, though. Obviously Halep can defend well and move her around, which is - and always has been - the right idea on beating Serena. Not many players can pull that through, but Halep can, as she is nimble and can run all day long. If she can turn it into an attrition contest, she should win. If she doesn't get stuck in early on, though, Serena will smash through.

I'd also add to the conversation that Serena looks fitter to me and also slightly more mobile than in the last few years. I don't know, but I suspect she recognised her physical condition needed fine-tuning and that she spent a lot of time between the end of her season last year and now getting into the best possible shape. It's a difficult balance to strike - optimum Serena will want to retain as much power as possible without sacrificing too much agility.
Regarding the Wimbledon final where Halep schooled Serena, I can still remember it quite clearly and Halep did what Kerber had done before, which was to follow the 'blueprint' that I mentioned in an earlier post which at it's simplest is to move Serena around the court and wait for the errors to come - errors which have still been in evidence at times in this tournament. My feeling though, based on what looks like an improved physical version of Serena, is that she will get the better of Halep in this one even though Halep is entirely capable of beating her. Whatever happens it should be a great watch.

I wish you luck with your Halep bet, but don't share your big confidence. Williams is nearly 40 years old now and  is regressing, so more players have more chances than ever before, of beating her. So I don't think she'll win another slam, but she is still dangerous. While she lacks movement and court coverage (although that was never her strong point anyway), she retains some dangerous weapons, esp her serve which remains the best in the game. She also has something which has seen her over the line in countless matches when she should have lost - mental strength. This is the reason she practically owns Halep in the h2h, Halep has the game to beat her, all the tools she needs, and should have beaten her several times already, but she hasn't. Halep is a massive underachiever in the women's game - that tell you she has a mentality issue. She got over this issue the last time at Wimbledon so she should draw a lot of confidence from that, and her backers will be hoping she can just continue with this. But I'm not convinced yet she is totally over her mental midgetry. A match to watch but not bet in, for me. GL with your bets.

I wish you luck with your Halep bet, but don't share your big confidence. Williams is nearly 40 years old now and  is regressing, so more players have more chances than ever before, of beating her. So I don't think she'll win another slam, but she is still dangerous. While she lacks movement and court coverage (although that was never her strong point anyway), she retains some dangerous weapons, esp her serve which remains the best in the game. She also has something which has seen her over the line in countless matches when she should have lost - mental strength. This is the reason she practically owns Halep in the h2h, Halep has the game to beat her, all the tools she needs, and should have beaten her several times already, but she hasn't. Halep is a massive underachiever in the women's game - that tell you she has a mentality issue. She got over this issue the last time at Wimbledon so she should draw a lot of confidence from that, and her backers will be hoping she can just continue with this. But I'm not convinced yet she is totally over her mental midgetry. A match to watch but not bet in, for me. GL with your bets.

I wish you luck with your Halep bet, but don't share your big confidence. Williams is nearly 40 years old now and  is regressing, so more players have more chances than ever before, of beating her. So I don't think she'll win another slam, but she is still dangerous. While she lacks movement and court coverage (although that was never her strong point anyway), she retains some dangerous weapons, esp her serve which remains the best in the game. She also has something which has seen her over the line in countless matches when she should have lost - mental strength. This is the reason she practically owns Halep in the h2h, Halep has the game to beat her, all the tools she needs, and should have beaten her several times already, but she hasn't. Halep is a massive underachiever in the women's game - that tell you she has a mentality issue. She got over this issue the last time at Wimbledon so she should draw a lot of confidence from that, and her backers will be hoping she can just continue with this. But I'm not convinced yet she is totally over her mental midgetry. A match to watch but not bet in, for me. GL with your bets.

Su-Wei Hsieh to beat Naomi Osaka at 7.04 with Pinnacle (2/10)
Just laying off my stake for the pre-tournament outright. Osaka still has some mental demons by the looks of things and Hsieh can throw her off with her style. For 2 points, why not be a bit more conservative.

What about 9 out of the other 10 times when she lost to her ?

What about 9 out of the other 10 times when she lost to her ?

What about 9 out of the other 10 times when she lost to her ?

Completely agree about Djokovic v Raonic. If Djokovic can move, he wins. Even if Raonic gets into a winning position, and again on the assumption Djokovic is able to move freely, mental demons will creep in and stop him from getting over the line.

Djokovic v Raonic is not a good match up,   for Raonic.  On paper, the Canadian should have a lot in his favour - lightning fast court and questions marks over Joker's fitness. But he is a mental midget and unless the Serb is genuinely injured, I'm expecting the same result as every other time he plays him.
Dimitrov v Theim should be a good match. Dimi loves it here and shades the h2h with Dominic so looks a bit of value at current prices.

We'll find out in the next few days wether Joker's injury was real or serious, but he has a long long history of selling a bag of goods, and those brave enough to go against the market swings would have made some juicy profits. I had a little at Evens in-play, but I know he traded a lot higher than that, and in the outright he drifted out to a huge price at one point. Nice trade if you got it, but I'd be greening up now if it was me because he hasn't looked great in any match and these courts look super fast and that won't be in his favour (hasn't he already complained about the courts?).

We'll find out in the next few days wether Joker's injury was real or serious, but he has a long long history of selling a bag of goods, and those brave enough to go against the market swings would have made some juicy profits. I had a little at Evens in-play, but I know he traded a lot higher than that, and in the outright he drifted out to a huge price at one point. Nice trade if you got it, but I'd be greening up now if it was me because he hasn't looked great in any match and these courts look super fast and that won't be in his favour (hasn't he already complained about the courts?).

Two for me this evening, both on the WTA side. I'm backing Diyas to beat Pera, as I think the price for Pera is too short and is mainly due to her strong win over Kerber. These two met at the last US Open and although Pera won, the foundation for the win was taking a tie-break in the first set. Also, for that match the odds were much closer which reinforces my feeling that the prices have been swayed too much by how Pera played in the first round - neither player was in great form ahead of this tournament so this feels more like a pick 'em to me. I'm also backing Giorgi to beat Swiatek, because as much as Swiatek is a talented player I still prefer her on clay, whilst Giorgi is definitely at her most comfortable on hard. She may misfire, and her level is very hard to guage generally because she either paints the lines or hits everything out but that's priced into the odds and I'm happy to take a chance on her.
20pts Diyas to beat Pera @ 2.50 Bet365
15pts Giorgi to beat Swiatek @ 4.00 Bet365

1 Australian Open pick.

ATP: SHAPOVALOV-TOMIC 3:0 sets @ 1.8 betvictor,bet365, betfair sportsbook (-2.5 sets handicap bet)
Shapovalov is not at his best probably but Tomic is so bad (and he has been like that for the past 2 years) that it should be an easy win for the favorite Shapovalov.