[2012 Olymic bid]

Re: 2012 Olymic bid Should have bloody layed off my bet :@ I'm delighted as a Londoner, and hedging my emotions was the main reason I bet on Paris anyway, so guess it's a :ok

[2012 Olymic bid]

Re: 2012 Olymic bid That spoof is probably what triggered the drop to 1.2. I do think we'll have to wait till a few minutes before the announcement to see any major changes in prices based on real information.

[2012 Olymic bid]

Re: 2012 Olymic bid I put a lot on Paris the other day, but as soon as I did I got this sickening feeling. London have come on strong, and at the end of the day there's no reason in terms of the bid why they shouldn't pick London. The only 2 factors that give me hope are: 1) Public support was clearly much greater in Paris. 2) Paris lost out last time when they were supposedly a strong bid - they prob won't go for it a 3rd time, but London can go again. So, generally it would be a travesty if London do get it, and not just for my pocket!

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Borovnica- whilst I congratulate you on your fine prediction of Grosjean winning the first I am a little confused as to your reasoning. Surely Grosjean is going to go out and try to win the 1st set just as he'd try to win the 2nd or 3rd! That would be the case in any match-up between 2 plaers no?

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) 2 down 1 to go! And both in straight sets. How excellent.:nana

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) For what it's worth, Nick Bollietieri thinks Nalbandian should come over Johansson today. IMO it's one of those don't touch bets. Having said that - a huge profit over the last 10 days has led me to have some greedy feelings which are leading me to back Johansson simply because I believe he should be closer to evens than he is. Aside from that, I'd eyed the same treble as you Ed ever since yesterday's ladies success. My only doubt is Hewitt,but I read today that he'd won the last 18 (or something) matches against lefties. With Roddick's 6-1 h2h (inc. the last 3 on grass) and Feds clear superiority over Gonzalez, it's as close as you're going to get to a sure thing in any treble acc. ever!

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) I have doubts, but they're not really based on anything yet - I'll look into the matc-up soon. But initial instincts: Bandy should win, but Johansson is a tough cookie and doesn't rollover lightly, potentially causing maximum damage to potential bets...

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Thanks for the tip today Ed :clap I said earlier that I'd staked 50% of my winnings so far on it, but after a quick check just now, it turned out to be 75% :eek so pretty glad it came through! :cow

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) After having the audacity to question your picks yesterday Ed, I have to say that I am completely behind you with your treble today. I reserve that same doubt about Mauresmo's choking ability, but agree that Myskina has been all over the place in the last couple of rounds - and as Mauresmo takes the 1st set, it appears to be the case that Myskina is not posing too much trouble - not enough to justify the little between them in the rankings. Anyway- I've put down 50% of my Wimbledon winnings on this treble so :hope

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Wow- very surprised by some of the straght sets victories today. I would have thought Johannson to have a tougher fight against Mirnyi, but I am especially surprised by Ancic and Gasquet today. I didn't get to catch the games - was it a case of the victors playing well or the losers playing badly?

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Unfortunately I can't say I'll be following any of your bets today Ed. I was having a look at the games yesterday, and thought to myself "hell, so many of these games can just go either way, I wonder what sort of bets Ed will be tipping tomorrow!" For the benefit of those who follwo your (usually excellent) tips blindly, I'll try to play a little devil's advocate so that people who don't really follow tennis can make a reasonable fair judgement as to which picks of yours they want to follow. First let me start by covering myself - don't get me wrong, but Ed's got a great chance of ending up in profit with those tips, he's probably picked the players I would favour in each of their outcomes, but feal that in most caes it's only a 60-40 chance, and thus, with 3 accs, just 1 going wrong in each could lead to a big loss! Here's a bit about why I think those bets can be dangerous: In the 1st Accumalator I 100% agree that Roddick and Grosjean should walk their matches, however, as Ed admits as much, Mirnyi is just in far too good form to be ebt against, especially when he's up against a non-grass court player who Murray could have beaten at Queen's, and Gilles Muller took to 3 sets. On the other hand Mirnyi has only lost to Hewitt and reached the final at Nottingham where he lost to Gasquet - who will be one to watch on all surfaces for years to come. As mentioned, Johansson is still likely to win this considering he also has a 4-0 h2h, including a grass court game in 2004, but you should be aware of how good Mirnyi is looking this year. In the 2nd Accumalator, I think going for someone who is less likely to lose is a risky gamble. If 2 people are playing badly then in my experience that is almost the definition of "it could go either way". So backing Myskina is tough. In the Ancic game, I would agree that he is the likely victor, but actually think that odds of 1.33 are stingy to say the least. Lopez has just beaten a resurgent Safin (although admittedly Safin didn't show many signs of the resurgance in their match) and is riding high on confidence. He also practically played the perfect game, with a high percentage of 1st serves in, and few unforced errors in terms of what you'd expect from an attacking player. Furthermore, Ancic's mental stability issues are not a big secret, and I would rarely back him in tough encounters - not at those odds anyway. In the 3rd Accumulator, Gasquet is a pretty good bet - maybe include him in an accumulator with A-Rod and Grosjean if you still get decent odds. Personally I wouldn't bet against Clisjters ever. In my book you never bet against a top player playing well, even if she is a choker. IMO decent shout to lay her for the title, but she still has some way to choke - it doesn't necessarily mean she'll do it today. So there you go. I don't mean to directly disrepsect your tips Ed, just thought that too many of them are close calls and people should be made aware fo that! I sincerely hope that I'm wrong though and your tips come out - I'd follow them if I was playing a game, but woudlnt' put some hard earned cahs behind theem, if you get what I'm saying.

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Didn't lose much - but had him in an acc. that could have potentially have won me a little. Goes to show the funny world of tennis. All indicators pointing towards a Safin win yet he gets beaten in straight sets.

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Ok -this is not just a hype bet - but I'd checked out the draw at the beginning of the tournament, and placed a small bet on Gasquet to win the championship, to lay off later. Why? Well imo the only mad who could stand in his way of a semi was Stepanek, and now he's out. There's Nandy-Bandy, but I'm not rating him much this year, and I think as soon as he comes up against Gasquet, he'll lose. Point is, Murray now has the path open as well - little bet on him to win it? He faces Nalbandian next, then Gasquet (or Muller!) in the 4th, then probably Mirnyi or T.Johansson - both of whom he's got a good shot against. Then it's the semi where he can face Roddick or Grosjean (pobably the former) If he, or Gasquet, do reach the semi, their odds will be slashed - so I think there's a great chance for the lay. Opinions?

[Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open]

Re: Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open Ed- I don't mean this in a bad way, because you put some some great tips a lot of the time, but I have noticed over the last month that I've been reasding your tips that whenever they go wrong you say "there was some crazy happenings today/this week". It's quite amusing! By the way, all the favourites won today, so not that "crazy"! Honestly, just joking around, don't take offence....

[Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open]

Re: Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open Unlucky with Schalken Ed. I've herad that he's not been playing to his full potential really, serving weakly etc due to some sort of shoulder injury?

[Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open]

Re: Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open That defeat was on hard - grass courts are a completely different prospect. Carlsen's grass court record since 2001 is something like 13w14L, which is pretty poor, and is only 5-8 since 2003 inclusive. (Both not counting this tournament.) Having said that, since '98 Mirnyi's grasss record is 15-19, which is terrbile. He did take a set of Hewitt the other week though so he's playing bewtter on the stuff this year. I would say Mirnyi is a safish bet - but I have the strong opinion that rarely is anything a safe bet in tennis, and it's about getting more wrong than right in the long run.

[Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open]

Re: Tennis : Nottingham Open/Ordina Open I like the lok of Ancic vs. Arthurs as well, to maybe add in to one of Ed's doubles above. Arthurs has been uselss on Grass the last 2 years, whereas Ancic has a semi at Wimbledon last year, and is the last man to beat Federer on the surface. One word of caution is that Arthurs thrashed Ancic on hard a couple of month ago...

[Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Hewitt's Match fitness is a little worry - but I can see him being seeded no.2, with Roddick no.4 (Nadal 3) based on the ATP rankings, which means that both Roddick and Hewitt will be in the opposite half to Federer. This makes them both great bets in the w.out Federer market, with Hewitt at 8.00 a great offer IMO. If he is fit, with his H2H vs. Roddick at 6-1 I can see him winning that semi-final should they both get there -although point to note is that the only time they met on Grass, at Queen's last year, was Roddick's only win. Nevertheless, a big punt on Roddick and a small cover on Hewitt should guarantee some profit, if the draw is indeed as I expect... On that last point though, Wimbledon have been known for not sticking exactly to the rankings when seeding their players...

[Tennis : Gerry Webber Open/Stella Artois Championship]

Re: Tennis : Gerry Webber Open/Stella Artois Championship Canas isn't your typical clay court specialist David. In my opinion he's just as handy on Hard as he is on Clay, but his nationality tends to make people think he's just like the other Argentinians. I would liken him more to Nalbandian - who got to a Wimbledon final a couple of years back!

[Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June)]

Re: Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June) Congrats to those who picked Nadal. I really don't know what was wrong with Federer today. Still think that he shgould have had Nadal, even after losing the 1st set, and ESPECIALLY having won the 2nd. It might have had an effect on him knowing that they wouldn't be able to play the full 5 on the night - as I think he was counting on Nadal tiring if it came to that, and suddenly there was that much more pressure to win the 4th. Nadal played superb though and good luck for the final...

[Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June)]

Re: Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June) I'd back FedEx as well. 1st meeting, Federer knew very little about him. 2nd meeting, Feder took some time to understand and get used to Nadal's style. I cannot for the life of me see Nadal winning in straight sets, or winning the 5th due to tiredness. So it will come down to the 4th set that Nadal will have to win to stand a chance - and I think Federer will simply be very comfortable with Nadal by that stage, even if he happens to be 2-1 down.

[Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June)]

Re: Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June) Even though he is now 2-1 sets down I backed Puerta as I did not understand why he was rated as the underdog. For me Canas is a little like Nalbandian in that he's a south-american that's not a clay specialist - pretty handy on clay, but not on the same level as your coria's, Moya's and the Spaniards. Obviously being proved wrong at the minute, but we'll see. Mathieu almost pulled him back from 2-0 down so... I disagree on the Robredo bet though. I htink for me Davydenko is a clear favourite (unless his injury hampers him) and whilst he's played well, I don't think Robredo has been outstanding to the same level as Nikolai. So had it been this morning I would have said: Back Puerta and Davydenko. Now just Davydenko...

[Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June)]

Re: Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June) Couple of things. First, what Dave said in response to Ed's replies to my post was exactly right. For me, betting is spotting when odds are too long or too short - that's when there is potential for profit. Ancic was likey to lose in my opinion, but not at those odds there was a fair chance IMO that he could have pulled off a minor shock - one which was maybe a 3.00 shock as opposed to 4.5, ie if I were to bet on that match 9 times, I'd win it 3 times as opposed to twice which is what the bookies think. I actually backed Baghdatis as well in the previous round - again, not becuase I thought I was on a winner, but because at 9/1 odds I thought that he was likely to win more than 1 in 10 times. The fact that he took the 1st 6-0 reflects that. Moving on to tomorrow's games - I actually think the Davydenko match is 50-50, and the bookies offering Haas as the favourite should be bet against. Ferrero should beat Safin, but again it's 55-45 so an odds-against Safin might be worth a bet, especially as he has recently played him and lost - so would be more determined to overcome the defeat... Wawrinka is not the favourite in a match that could go either way - so little bet there, and Kiefer to bt. Andreev and Mathieu (with the home crowd) to bt. Canas (confusing argentine who's more a hard player than a clay man) is another tasty bet.

[Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June)]

Re: Tennis : French Open (23rd May to 5th June) I don't think a bet on Ancic is too bad an idea. He's probably going to lose but I think he's underrated on clay because of his big-serve making him appear to be a fast-court player - but he's pretty handy on the dirt, and Nandy hasn't been the strong force we're used to in recent tournaments.

[Tennis Masters Series : Hamburg (9th - 15th May 2005)]

Re: Tennis Masters Series : Hamburg (9th - 15th May 2005) Couple of picks for me: Ferrero to bt. Safin 2.00 Safin was impressive in his first game but he always does well when he starts well - it's wehn the going gets tough (on clay) that he starts to lose the will, and Ferrero is a man on a mission to get fit and back to his best before Paris. It almost a toos of a coin but I'm willing to back JCF here. Stepanek vs Hrbaty 1.83 (2.08 at betfair) Stepanek has won thier only match which was on clay last year. He's been a much better player on clay this year with Hrbaty really preferring the hard courts - I like the betfair odds and feel that he should definitely be the favourite.