Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Hope you guys played Vedasco in play after he was 2 sets down.I know I did, along with Tipsarevic's mates becoz we all know how the Serbian plays.My insiders from Hongkong told me to throw my life savings at the tip and im glad I did:dude happy punting

Yet you only post here afterwards? I think going to a tie-break against Verdasco's error-strewn forehand must be the craziest way ever to throw a match, there's absolutely no way you can predict what will happen even if you throw the ball over the net to him! Anyway, tonight, early fancies are: Dolgopolov, Cilic, Baghdatis, Soderling (-9), Stosur (-5.5)

[red_impact]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Dodig vs Djokovic Dodig + 9.5 games @ 2.00 (b365) Loss This is a huge handicap and I think Dodig is capable of holding his serve acceptable enough. Djokovic should win in 3 but I can see something like 6-3 6-4 6-2 or 6-4 6-4 6-1 to Djokovic. Dodig should keep it close enough to not lose by 10 games. Simon +8.5 vs Federer @ 1.83 (b365) Win Dangerous one for Federer here IMO.... Simon have beaten him both times they played and Federer has some troubles against french players. Simon is in good form and won't be giving the match away and should not lose by 9 games.

To bad Dodig was completely lost in one set losing 6-0. Was not expecting Dodig to lose one set 6-0.

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Fed got the job done eventually, impressive stuff from Simon though. Taking a couple today, may come back with a couple more later depending on the odds shift. Benjamin Becker vs Alexandr Dolgopolov- Dolgopolov - 3.5 handicap- 10/11 Bet365- (6/10) Favoured the Ukranian against Kukushkin a couple of days ago and will happily do so again today. He was impressive on Monday winning in 3 comfortable sets, having opportunities to break in most of Kukushkin's service games. Alongside this, he served 16 aces in just 3 sets, which is a very good return. Came into the slam in decent form with wins over Querrey, and home boy Tomic, with a good show against Simon as well. Becker beat Gulbis in round one in what was the mentally weak affair. Gulbis often after losing the first set, lets his head get down and feels like the world is his enemy. Becker isn't much better in this respect as if things go against him he will play wild shots and get off the court as quick as possible. He is really all power with not too much else, and if his serve isn't firing, he will struggle. Traditionally he doesn't perform too well in the slams, only getting past round 2 in any of the slams way back in 2006 in the US. Dolgopolov is improving all the time and expect him to shoot up the rankings this year. Becker won their only meeting back in 2006 but even then, Dolgopolov took the first set easily, and since then he has matured and developed. Fancy him to cover the handicap here if he is solid throughout. Alisa Klebanova vs Simona Halep- Kleybanova -5.5 handicap- 8/11 Bet365- (4/10) Not the best price for this handicap in a women's match but feel the Russian can cover it. Hit a really good patch of form at the start of this season, with wins over Schiavone and Cibulkova, before pushing Clijsters all the way in the third set. If she carries her good form on for a sustained period of time, a top 10 place isn't out of her reach given her age as well. Watched her match against Clijsters, and I've never seen anyone outside the top 5 make Clijsters work so much around the court. Alisa hit winner after clean winner and for the best part of 2 sets, outplayed Clijsters. Looks like she has a mass of confidence after that performance, hammering Falconi for th expense of one game in the first round, meaning she will be fresh for tonights match. Halep needed 3 sets to beat Kremer of Luxumbourg in round one, who it is fair to say is nowhere near Kleybanova's standard. If she struggled against her, Kleybanova should dominate most of the rallies with her hard hitting and win a good percentage of the points. Feel the handicap is a good one also as the best player Halep has played this year is Wickmayer, where she lost to love, and to two. She then lost in the qualifiers in Hobart. Two players very different in ability wise, and form wise, expect Kleybanova to win this without too many worries.

[slider24]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Illya Marchenko - Andy Murray OVER 27.5 GAMES @ 11/10 (BET 365) Strength (7/10) Feeling pretty confident about this one. Marchenko is a player that is improving steadily and has a good all-round game, which should enable to him make at least one of the sets pretty competitive - a 7-5 or even a tie break maybe - and that should take care of the bet. The Ukrainian took care of Hildago in the first round and will go into this with nothing to lose. Murray doesn't convince me and I still think he is in a slump, he's gone beyond the stage where people are impressed by demolition jobs against lesser ranked fodder and they want him to actually win a Slam at last, so I don't think he will go into this match with the same spark and oomph that he may have this time last year, when he was going into each match like a man on a mission. It will be scrappy match and I think Murray will make sure to do just enough to win, and won't worry about trying to make statements or impress anyone.

[Atko]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) One of those days when loads has stood out. Early make or break day for me in this tournament with lots of bets... - Alexandr Dolgopolovv -3.5 games AH (vs Benjamin Becker) @ 1.95 with 188bet (8/10) I think the Dolgopolov bandwagon will continue in this one. He is playing very well and is enjoying the slower hard court surface. Becker caused a shock by beating Gulbis in the last round but the Latvian blows hot and cold. Becker has got the serve to keep himself ticking over but he's going to not enjoy Dolgopolov's spinny shots and variation. The Ukrainian won't give the German any rhythm and that will get to him. As fishy25 mentioned earlier, Dolgopolov took a set off him two years ago when he was a far inferior player to what he is now. I feel he's matured and is a level above Becker when at his best. I expect him to take care of Becker and cover the handicap too, which is modest. - Radek Stepanek (vs John Isner) @ 1.813 with Pinnacle (7/10) Fancy the Czech to get the job done here. Isner is not playing at the level of last year. Sure, he still gets loads of aces and cheap points from that, but he's still struggling in rallies. Stepanek, conversely, is just starting find his form after injury. He too likes to dominate off serve as he comes to the net often, but he's also capable of sparring from the back of the court and he has more variation than the American. Stepanek knows what to expect, having beaten him in 2008 on grass. He has a decent record in Australia across all tournaments and I think he's better placed to win here. - Milos Raonic +3.5 games AH (vs Michael Llodra) @ 1.952 with Pinnacle (7/10) This could be a really close game. Raonic served down over 20 aces against Phau and didn't face a break point. Now Llodra is a better player than the German, but not on return. I can't see him getting much of a look in on the Canadian's serve unless its level drops. Llodra did well to see off Chela and is more experienced, but this won't be easy for him. He lost last year in his only meeting with Raonic and I still question how comfortable he is away from playing in France. Raonic doesn't have to win the match to cover the bet and I suspect he might fall short, but he can force breakers and nick a set, which could be enough for this line. Happy to take this one on. - Blaz Kavcic +8 games AH (vs Mikhail Youzhny) @ 1.892 with Pinnacle (7/10) I feel the bookies are underestimating Kavcic in this one. The Slovenian has proven in the last few weeks that he is a player on the rise. His wins haven't been stunning but he has despatched Chardy and Anderson in recent events and can hold his own in rallies. Youzhny is such a tough player to predict. Extremely talented but can let players back into matches as he can get passive. He won his R1 match comfortably enough but Kavcic is a much tougher proposition than Ilhan, who the Russian beat in the last round, but only by eight games. Kavcic has come through the qualifiers and is playing well. I don't expect him to win here, but he can win ten games, or indeed a set. - Under 29.5 games AH (Jurgen Melzer vs Pere Riba) @ 1.87 with Pinnacle (6/10) I don't often get involved in game lines but this seems good to me. The handicap is -9AH Melzer, which he could probably achieve, but this bet allows a 6-4 6-4 6-3 win as a winner. I think Melzer will be a couple of levels above Riba. Really impressed that the Spaniard got his first ever Tour hardcourt win over Ball but not sure he can compete with Melzer. The Austrian made mincemeat of Millot in the last round and I feel he can do the same to Riba, who hasn't got any huge weapons to glean points. The only way he will get close is if Melzer starts to misfire, and I'm banking on the fact that he won't. Just feel there's a gulf in hard court class here. - Jan Hernych +5 games AH (vs Thomaz Bellucci) @ 2.07 with Pinnacle (5/10) I've not been impressed with Bellucci since the start of the season. I put his poor matches in Auckland down to rust but he was very ropey for parts of the match with Mello, needing a final set to win. Hernych seems to be playing very well at the moment. He breezed through the qualies and took care of Istomin in four. Not normally a player I take not of, but he's on one of those runs and Bellucci won't faze him. The Brazilian has been struggling on serve and isn't taking to the hard courts like I thought he would (he's a clay-courter by trade). Like Kavcic, I'm not sure he'll win, but he can keep this close. Decent odds on this I feel. :hope

[Tyler]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) I do like the look of Maran Cilic tonight vs. Santiago Giraldo. 365 have his handicap set at -4.5 which to me looks very do-able. I do not know a great deal about his opponent though. Their last and only previous meeting was on hard-courts and Cilic cleared this with ease but I don't know how much Giraldo has come on since then. Can anyone with better knowledge shed some light on this match?

[red_impact]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Milos Raonic (v Llodra) +3.5 1.80 Raonic have beaten Llodra before in Montreal masters qualifying two years ago 6-4 7-6 and nothing has changed. Raonic and Llodra is just a lot higher ranked now but since Raonic beat him then I think he can do it again. Raonic has a big serve and dangerous opponent for Llodra. Blaz Kavcic (v Youhzny) +7.5 2.00 Not to sure about Youhzny here but Kavcic is essentially a clayplayer but he did some good work taking out Kevin Andersson. He seems to be mutch like Dolgopolov who is a hard opponent for Youhzny. Jurgen Melzer v Pere Riba Under 28.5 1.90 Can see Melzer doing quick work in this match. Not mutch to add. Riba should not be in round 2 but got lucky facing no-brainer Ball. Michael Russell v David Ferrer Under 8.5 games first set 2.25 Taking my chances of Ferrer cruising early on. Alexandr Dolgopolov (v Becker) 3-0 3.50 Also taking my chances here of Dolgopolov winning easy. Andy Murray v Ilia Marchenko Over 27.5 games 2.10 As posted by Slider24 and I'm following.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Haase +7 games AH over Roddick @ 1.725 (Pinnacle:6pts) Huge line here IMO. Haase is a pretty dangerous opponent, big serve and big groundstrokes....shown some decent form at the start of the year. He's already beaten Berlocq and Monaco here and although Roddick should win this I think he could have some problems. Roddick expectedly crushed Hajek, had more problems with Kunitsyn who could have won that first set and now facing an even tougher player. Roddick always has the serve to fall back on but his ground game is quite passive at times....usually defensive slice and wait for errors rather than finishing the point himself. Haase can hit through him. If he serves well for a couple of sets he should cover this. Dont expect Haase to break Roddick too often as his return game is not great and sometimes his groundstrokes can break down...but for a dangerous player like him this line looks too big. GL!

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) More for tonight too. Feeling the Raonic handicap against dodgy Llodra. Feli Lopez over clown Tomic aswell. Someone asked about Cilic above.....IMO stay away! Cilic has been a clown for a while, if he can beat Giraldo I'll start taking him seriously again but a win against useless Donald Young is not a useful barometer IMO. Guy is crap. Giraldo is dangerous if Cilic is not at his best...could be 4 or 5 sets as Cilic likes to clown around.

[Psycho]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) 1) Igor Andreev to beat Nicolas Almagro. 2.80 @ Bwin (5/10) LOSS 2) Juan Monaco to beat Robin Haase. 2.08 @ Pinnacle (5/10) LOSS 3) Ivan Dodig vs Novak Djokovic. Under 28 games. 1.88 @ Pinnacle (6/10) LOSS 4) Stanislas Wawrinka -5 vs Grigor Dimitrov. 1.86 @ Pinnacle (7/10) WIN 5) Xavier Malisse -5 vs Albert Montanes. 1.86 @ Pinnacle (5/10) WIN 6) Virginie Razzano to beat Maria Sharapova. 4.03 @ Bwin (3/10) LOSS After 5/5 day comes 2/6 day. Unfortunately due to connection problems was unable to post my tips for Tuesday which all worked out (SP competition). As for today, really disgusted with Andreev (saw the whole match :rollin ). He should have won as was a break up in the final set, but ran out of gas. Razzano wasn't that far away from an upset either, handicap should have worked, though. Djokovic a mess and Monaco not much better although should beat player like Haase on his day. Match-up is pretty good.

[Psycho]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Andreas Seppi vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Over 34.5 games. 1.66 @ Bet365 (6/10) Not the most attractive odds but has to play with what's offered. Won't go for 37 games as a precaution. Both players played 5-setter in the opening round and my problem with Tsonga quite often is that he is dropping sets against average players. Seppi is average but funny enough still has managed to beat Tsonga in their only meeting, getting past the Frenchman in 3 sets. Expect him to win at least one set here to cover overs. Don't think Tsonga will win in straight sets. Even if he wins, this line is cover-able with a close scoreline. Radek Stepanek -1.5 games vs John Isner. 1.90 @ Bet365 (5/10) We all know very well what Isner is capable of doing with his serve. Stepanek has got very crafty style of play and one that will be a nightmare for Isner to deal with. I can already imagine Radek playing a variety of shots and make this match a misery for Isner. Big John should be able to remain in the match in early goings, but can't see him surviving the whole thing. Stepanek will win here. Agnieszka Radwanska -3.5 vs Petra Martic. 1.83 @ Bet365 (6/10) Radwanska got a very tough win in the first round coming through against Krumm. That was the first match of the season for Radwanska and she looked what she had to look really. Playing Martic will be a lot easier. The Czech player has got decent serve and she can hit some forehands sometimes but is very inconsistent and Radwanska's boring style of play will force Martic to make lots of errors. Winning by at least 4 games should not be a problem for Aga. Klara Zakopalova to beat Lucie Safarova. 2.00 @ Betsafe (5/10) Quite obvious match-up problems for Safarova who is so error prone that you can hardly believe what you see sometimes. Besides she's got serve issues here as well and making quite a few double faults. Zakopalova might not have the power but her return game will make the difference in this one. She leads H2H 2-0 and I honestly believe has got what it takes to get the 3rd win. Jurgen Melzer vs Pere Riba. Under 29.5 games. 1.80 @ Gamebookers (6/10) Riba's win over Carsten Ball was his first on hard courts in ATP main draw. He is a clay courter and barely knows how to play on hard. Melzer will take care of him very easily. To get unders should not be a problem here. Handicap (-9 games) is also an option on Melzer although unders looks better in a 3 set scenario

[Psycho]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

More for tonight too. Feeling the Raonic handicap against dodgy Llodra. Feli Lopez over clown Tomic aswell. Someone asked about Cilic above.....IMO stay away! Cilic has been a clown for a while, if he can beat Giraldo I'll start taking him seriously again but a win against useless Donald Young is not a useful barometer IMO. Guy is crap. Giraldo is dangerous if Cilic is not at his best...could be 4 or 5 sets as Cilic likes to clown around.

Actually took Cilic -5.5 games against Young the other day. Agree on the thing that he has been a clown over the past year but he has to defend tons of points from semifinal so there should not be problems regarding attitude and motivation. He is a better player than Giraldo, there's no point even getting into this matter. From what I saw in his first match, he was in the right mood for once in a very long time. Had a look at handicaps and would have taken 4 games. Than one tiny half a game that's been added put me off for some reason.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) I agree with Zakopalova being a bad match-up for Safarova. However, just two factual errors there. Martic is not Czech, but Croat. And Safarova won a match against Zakopalova in 2007, 6-2 6-2 on clay.

[dizzyme]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) As mentioned by few others Dolgopolov looks good to win against Becker. Anna Chakvetadze vs Petra Kvitova Kvitova to win 1.40 bet 365 - 3.5 games 1.72 bet 365 I think Kvitova will get the job done here Chakvetadze lost in the 1st round of warm up tournaments in Hobart and Brisbane, and Kvitova has started in really good form taking the Brisbane title and beating in form Petkovic, Pavlyuchenkova, Cibulkova and Petrova along the way not too shabby host of opponents to have beaten. I expect Chakvetadze to be a headcase as usual (pls don't prove me wrong) and for Kvitova to triumph nicely over her. Michael Russell vs David Ferrer under 28.5 1.90 bet 365 This might be a risky one but i'm willing to take Ferrer runs everything down and has started the season will winning convincingly in Auckland easily disposing of Nalbandian in the final 6-3,6-2. Russell has old legs on him and will find it hard to match stride to stride with Ferrer he had good win over a young Aussie player Ebden but i think Ferrer will beat him convincingly. A score line like 6-4,6-3,6-3 would win it and i think Ferrer is capable of doing it.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Raonic +4 games AH over Llodra @ 1.935 (Pinnacle:4pts) Like Raonic here just because he has the big serve which should keep him competitive. Llodra has a pretty horrible record at the AO aswell and although he got a good win over Chela, the guy does have a powder puff serve.Llodra's experience could see him through here but Raonic has been serving well in nearly all his matches here through qualies and first round beating Phau in 3....needed 2 tie-breaks and not surprising as his ground game is not the best but he's barely been broken in his few matches here this year. If he can keep a couple of sets tight and nick one then handicap has a good shot. Also have taken Baghy with small stake as his price has gone up and I think it's winnable for him. Baghdatis to beat Del Potro @ 2.120 (Pinnacle:3pts) Baghy escaped a 5 setter with Zemjla, OK not the best result but new day, new opponent and I really think Del Potro will lose the first match where he's taken over 3 sets. I'm still not sure he's match ready for a big test. Sela nearly took that first set break and I think it would have been a real struggle from there for DP...and Sela has no serve although he can be tough on the ground at times. Del Potro looks to be finding his range again, some great ball-striking but his return didnt look too good to me and Baghdatis should be another class above Sela......not renowned as the fittest man around but I think the longer this match goes on the more it favours Baghy winning it. Should be 4 or 5 sets but I'd rather be on Baghdatis as the underdog here.

[homunculus]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Considering Soderling vs Muller under 29.5 , but something smells here, because the price is climbing up to 2.300 at Pinnacle. Has anybody info about what can be going on here? I know Muller has taken a set from Robin in Wimbledon 2009, but is that all, or there might be any other reasons?

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) An up and down day yesterday, but managed to book a profit though i have to admit was I very lucky. Verdasco really shouldn't be in the third round, Tipseravic was the better player for most of the match but in fairness Verdasco has the heart of a lion. i think he gets unfairly criticised for his temperment.... there's no doubt that he still gets tight in big moments against the big players and his decision making can be a bit off..but he has always had heart and never gives up...if tipseravic did to verdasco what verdasco did to him in the fourth set, there's no way verdasco would have fallen away the way jannko did! but anyway, that win in gambling terms was pure luck. apart from that sorry about my tip on the total games in the azarenka match....I simply underestimated hlavackova...she played better than i thought she could. Other than that, Haase done the business fairly comfortably...he's a very under-rated player, from the start of the match the result never looked in doubt ..so happy with that. Almagro also won.... in typical fashion....definately lucky with this bet too...although strangely even when Andreev had match points I always thought Almagro was going to win. As Atko said...andreev is always good for a choke! finally nishikori won well.. but i lost a stupid accumulator with wickmayer....however i have a feeling tonight will be a good night...so here is my first tip!! klara zakopalova to beat lucie safarova at evens paddypower 2 points! Psycho already pointed out very good reasons as to why zakopalova will win this one. I'LL just also add that safarova's grand slam form has been very poor over the last year or so and mentally she seems to struggle with the pressure...in the Us open she blew a set and 5-2 lead to paszek in the first round. She also laboured past zhang in the first round and zhang is a poor enough...aggressive but error-prone player. zakopalova has beaten oudin already this year...she's got a strong temperment...and i think the reason she's lower in the rankings is because she seems to go through disinterested phases for spells...but she's a solid player with lovely snap on her forehand. she jhad a comfortable 3 set win over oudin in the first round and i think she's mentally better equiped to take this match than safarova. The 2-0 head to head record is a good omen too.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Three for me today. I totally agree with some of you. 10pts (7/10) R.Stepanek to bt. J.Isner @ 1.83 at Skybet Radek has more variety in his game. Not only that, this is also about going against Isner. He looked unusually tired in the games he played this year. He has the serve to win some games easily, but when it goes missing, he has no solid options. Radek can play around him a lot and unless something goes wrong, he should be the winner. 10pts (6/10) M.Baghdatis to bt. J.M.Del Potro @ 2.12 at Pinnacle Baghdatis is a player that can match Del Potro with power. His serve is not easy to counter easily, so I can see Del Potro struggling on the return. He will certainly have a tougher task than in the first round and it is obvious that he is not in the top form yet. I can see some tie-breaks in this one, but Baghdatis is not the underdog here in my opinion. He has somewhat improved last year and I fancy him to take this further. 10pts (6/10) K.Zakopalova to bt. L.Safarova @ 2.00 at PaddyPower Zakopalova has shown good form this year and she will build on her patience, while Safarova can go missing big time when she starts trying to force things. She would love to play against aggresive players, but Zakopalova will force her too play too many shots and that should be enough for Safarova to start making mistakes.

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Considering Soderling vs Muller under 29.5 ' date=' but something smells here, because the price is climbing up to 2.300 at Pinnacle. Has anybody info about what can be going on here? I know Muller has taken a set from Robin in Wimbledon 2009, but is that all, or there might be any other reasons?[/quote'] Guess the public are just pounding the overs. Muller has a good serve to be fair to him but Soderling is a few classes above, hard to know as one sloppy set could ruin it. Good luck whatever you pick......:hope I'll follow the lads on Zakopalova to beat Safarova......first glance I said no bet but you've swayed me. Have to say I'm a big fan of Safarova aswell but she's hugely inconsistent....and best I've seen her play is on an indoor hard court....very flaky player overall.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) In all honesty, she has more talent than Zakopalova. But her mindset is horrible. It is all about getting her to make a few mistakes early on and she will then continue to struggle. Hopefully Zakopalova can do just that.

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Considering Soderling vs Muller under 29.5 ' date=' but something smells here, because the price is climbing up to 2.300 at Pinnacle. Has anybody info about what can be going on here? I know Muller has taken a set from Robin in Wimbledon 2009, but is that all, or there might be any other reasons?[/quote'] honestly, I'd advise against this bet. Muller is a dangerous player. He's notoriously inconsistent and often goes thorough bad runs of form that can last years literally!! but when he hits a purple patch he's one to watch, especially if he's come through qualification. The last time muller qualified for a slam he reached the quarter finals of the Us open in 2009. He's beaten the likes of nadal, tommy haas, and davydenko in grand slams and taken sets off del potro and of course soderling himself. He seems to rise to the challenge against the big players! there's other reasons i like the overs bet... it's not a lot of games...all you need is for muller to take one set to a 7-6 type scoreline and a 6-3, 6-2 win for soderling in the other sets wouldnt be good enough to cover the bet. Muller is a big big server...and soderling is probably the poorest returner of the top players..still a good returner but not in murrays or feds league...so i think muller is more than capable of winning some comfortable games on serve. he's got a good temperment aswell when it comes to the big day so i don't expect him to collapse if things don't go his way! soderling, also , is by no means invincible to concentration lapses and far inferior players than him have managed to suck him into dog fights in the slams of late in the early rounds... for example haider-maurer in the us open last year... and granollers even beat him in this tournament last year. I think muller might catch him on the hop...he's confident, has qualified easily and won his first round easily and should be able to cover a 8.5 or 9.5 game handicap which is what i would recommend! but I am by no means always on these analysis so.. i respect your opinion if you choose to have faith in robin...he should still win but just thought I'D GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT OPINION ANYWAY. GOOD LUCK MATE!

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) I'm going against the grain today and will be taking Isner to beat Stepanek @2.1 I think Isner is a better player than people give him credit for. His serve is brilliant, but his movement and returning have both got a lot better in the last year or so. He's 20th seed and I think he should be getting a bit more respect than he is. Plus, Isner made it to the 4th round here last year, so will be looking to defend points. Stepanek's good, but not anywhere near as good as he used to be. I think he's the kind of player who could dip enough, often enough to let Isner break a few times, which should be enough to win. I'd also fancy Isner every time in a tie-break. Only bet of the night, a lot of the other bets I like involve favourites covering big handicaps, but I think it's maybe best to keep and eye on players to watch then pull the trigger when the handicaps come in a bit later in the tournament.

[smegmaniac]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Raonic +4 games AH over Llodra @ 1.935 (Pinnacle:4pts) Like Raonic here just because he has the big serve which should keep him competitive. Llodra has a pretty horrible record at the AO aswell and although he got a good win over Chela, the guy does have a powder puff serve.Llodra's experience could see him through here but Raonic has been serving well in nearly all his matches here through qualies and first round beating Phau in 3....needed 2 tie-breaks and not surprising as his ground game is not the best but he's barely been broken in his few matches here this year. If he can keep a couple of sets tight and nick one then handicap has a good shot. Also have taken Baghy with small stake as his price has gone up and I think it's winnable for him. YEAH, I HAVE TO SAY i'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT BACKING BAGGY ALL DAY! IT'S FAIRLY TYPICAL OF MARCOS TO FIND HIMSELF IN DOGFIGHTS EARLY ON IN TOURNAMENTS..TENDS TO FEEL HIS WAY INTO GRAND SLAMS. I LIKE THE BET... BECAUSE MARCOS IS A THINKER ON COURT! IF HE FEELS THAT DEL POTRO IS STRUGGLING WITH SOME ELEMENT OF HIS GAME... HE'LL LOOK TO EXPLOIT IT! IN FAIRNESS DEL POTRO SEEMED TO BE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH SHORT BALLS AND AT THE NET AGAINST SELA SO I EXPECT MARCOS TO THROW IN PLENTY OF VARIETY AND PLENTY OF DROP SHOTS... THOUGH DEL POTRO MIGHTN'T GIVE HIM TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES IF HE HITS WITH HIS TRADEMARK CONSISTENT DEPTH AND POWER...BUT THE 5 SET FACTOR ALSO SWAYS ME TO GO WITH BAGDATIS...BUT NO HUGE STAKES...AS U CAN NEVER WRITE DELBOY OFF. REGARDING THE RAONIC BET I PERSONALLY THINK LLODRA WILL WIN THIS! I READ A QUOTE FROM HIM AND HE SAID THAT HE'S TAKING THE GRAND SLAMS REALLY SERIOUSLY THIS YEAR AND IT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE NOW HE'S SEEDED AND THIS FACT OPENS UP FAR MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIM TO GO DEEP IN A SLAM (CANT DRAW A FEDERER IN THE FIRST ROUND SO HE HAS FAR MORE INCENTIVE TO PREPARE FOR THEM)...OR AT LEAST TO THE SECOND WEEK. HE HAD A COMFORTABLE WIN OVER CHELA IN THE FIRST ROUND TOO. I THINK THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON RAONIC...HE HAD A VERY EASY ROUTE IN QUALIFYING... AND HE ALMOST THREW IT AWAY AGAISNT THE VERY AVERAGE ANDREJ MARTIN...THEN HE COULDNT ASK FOR A BETTTER MAIN DRAW OPPONENT THAN BJORN PHAU. FOR ME HE'S UNTESTED AND AFTER ALL HE STILL LOST TO YOUR FAVOURITE TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME CARSTEN BALL IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE US OPEN! ON THE OTHER HAND HE DOES HAVE A BIG SERVE AND LLODRA ISN'T RENOWNED FOR HIS RETURN GAME SO IT COULD BE A TIGHT ONE...I HOPE YOU MAKE YOUR HANDICAP BET AND I WIN ON LLODRA OUTRIGHT AT 4-7...THEN WE'RE ALL HAPPY!

[one_love_mufc]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

One of those days when loads has stood out. Early make or break day for me in this tournament with lots of bets... - Alexandr Dolgopolovv -3.5 games AH (vs Benjamin Becker) @ 1.95 with 188bet (8/10) I think the Dolgopolov bandwagon will continue in this one. He is playing very well and is enjoying the slower hard court surface. Becker caused a shock by beating Gulbis in the last round but the Latvian blows hot and cold. Becker has got the serve to keep himself ticking over but he's going to not enjoy Dolgopolov's spinny shots and variation. The Ukrainian won't give the German any rhythm and that will get to him. As fishy25 mentioned earlier, Dolgopolov took a set off him two years ago when he was a far inferior player to what he is now. I feel he's matured and is a level above Becker when at his best. I expect him to take care of Becker and cover the handicap too, which is modest. :hope

188bet are now 2.04 at a 1.5AH line, seems too good to be true. I had a large slice at 2.08

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

188bet are now 2.04 at a 1.5AH line' date=' seems too good to be true. I had a large slice at 2.08[/quote'] Perhaps it is a set handicap? I do not know much about 188bet, but as they offer Marin Cilic to win at 1.38 and at 1.70 at -1.5, I am pretty sure it is a set handicap.

[red_impact]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Robin Soderling v Gilles Muller Gilles Muller to win 3-1 41.00 I though I'd give some insight of this one. Muller is as mentioned a very dangerous player and he's beaten Andy Roddick in US open first round in 3 tie-breaks to win in straight sets a few years ago. He beat Nadal in Wimbledon. I can go on and say all he's done in his career but the guy is impressive to be from Luxembourg. He's a giant slayer. One of those who should be ranked top 20 but injuries stop him. Once he's on a roll he can beat anyone that nobody expect him to beat. Robin Soderling have played Australian open five times and never got past the second round. It's a warning signal that Granollers beat him last year and it could be an upset again. He lost to Baghdatis in second round the year before in AO. I think Soda has some curse over him down under. Don't take this to serious though but I feel tempted to go for Muller.

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) Wow loads of bets going about today, still only taking the two I posted thoughh but looks like there's some value to be had in most bets. Anyone else interested in taking a 5.5 handicap on Peer, feel it would be wrong to not back her at least once in a slam :tongue2

[one_love_mufc]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

Perhaps it is a set handicap? I do not know much about 188bet' date=' but as they offer Marin Cilic to win at 1.38 and at 1.70 at -1.5, I am pretty sure it is a set handicap.[/quote'] you're right, it is sets, it was too good to be true! :lol

[HeresTheKey]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January) guys i m quite new to tennis so apologize any bs thoughts my thoughts are 1)there are no big upsets so far in AO 2)Alisia Kleybanova is a great but unstable player.She lost to Sally Peers recently 3)So AH+6games for Halep @ 2,16 pinnacle is great value is it ? opinions?:unsure

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis - The Australian Open (17-30 January)

guys i m quite new to tennis so apologize any bs thoughts my thoughts are 1)there are no big upsets so far in AO 2)Alisia Kleybanova is a great but unstable player.She lost to Sally Peers recently 3)So AH+6games for Halep @ 2,16 pinnacle is great value is it ? opinions?:unsure

Did a write up on this one earlier. I'm on Kleybanova with a (-5.5) handicap. You're right, at times she can be erratic and unpredictable, shown through her defeat to Peers. But since then, she beat Schiavone and Cibulkova, and almost Clijsters. I think she'll cover it but if you think not then go with your heart. :ok