Tennis: Australian Open 2012

[ImLovinIt]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Pulling out of this year's tournament now, lost too much money in tight 5 setters. Just a dreadful last 2 days, all started from Bogolov. :@

[Danby]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Pulling out of this year's tournament now' date=' lost too much money in tight 5 setters. Just a dreadful last 2 days, all started from Bogolov. :@[/quote'] What happened with Bogolov? Don't think you mentioned that yet.

[ImLovinIt]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Put £122 on him and Raonic to win ... he was 2 sets down and I was just starring at a scoreboard for 3-4 hours and as every hour passed by, I became more and more optimistic, then the last set arrived, topsy turby, back and fourth, break, rebreak. Bogo broke for 4-3 and was 2 games, despite having been broken back again and again in that same set the bookmakers set Llodra's odds to 5/1 ... I had £65 available to cover ... and it would have given me a slight profit on the profit I could make from Bogo winning.. but I said to myself the momentum is with him and if he didn't hold serve and Llodra did draw it back to 4-4 I'd cover @ around 7/4, 6/4 or something. What do you know it he breaks back but Paddy Power suspend all betting ... so I wait and I wait and I wait .. praying Bogo breaks again and for the first time in that final set he doesn't and Llodra goes to within one break of victory. Still, Paddy Power had their in play market for the match suspended. So I prayed, the man had game point, threw that away and lost. I usually only bet what I can afford to lose, but out of frustration dipped into my wages and through a heap on Isner and Wawrinka as a double in addition to a bit on Isner, Wawrinka and Tomic as a treble. Almagro one day can be a top 5 player and the next he'll barely look top 50 .. you just can't predict those types of performances. It didn't matter though because the 5 setter vs Nalbandian, most people, somewhat also including myself suggested wouldn't effect John, did effect him in the end and was murdered in the 5th set. Oh well. Funny thing is I had almost a 100% record in the tournament prior to that Bogomolov choke. One match and I'm looking down the barrel. Can't be bothered with chokers anymore.

[amity]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

OK, I continue pushing my luck with another WTA Kuznetsova to bt Lisicki @2.20 Pinnacle I already went once against Lisicki in this AO, namely in her match with Peer, but Peer let me down by playing absolute crap. Lisicki plays tennis full of force, early hitten balls and winners, but her movement is not that good and she makes lot of errors. Not that Kuzzy does not makes errors - she does, but she is old veteran and more versatile player IMO. H2H is 1-0 for Lisicki: Wimbledon 2009, where Kuzzy lost as a big fav in R3 26 57. I think she will want revenge. Last week she did beat Zvonareva in two straight sets, so she's got the weapons. Also waiting for better odds in Gasquet-Tipsa. Looks like the whole world is jumping on Tipsa who has his leg and foot tapped all over. As soon as the odds on the Frenchmen cross 2.0, I jump on it.

I would be wary of lumping much money on Kuznetsova here Yes she did beat Zvonereva easily a couple of weeks back, but that was Vera's first game back and she was obviously still rusty so I wouldn't read too much into it Lisicki is notoriously hard to predict, on her day she can beat anyone, but she can also lose 6 games in a row from 5-1 up in a set like she did a couple of times last year My advise would be to steer well clear of this match!

[homunculus]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

I would be wary of lumping much money on Kuznetsova here Yes she did beat Zvonereva easily a couple of weeks back, but that was Vera's first game back and she was obviously still rusty so I wouldn't read too much into it Lisicki is notoriously hard to predict, on her day she can beat anyone, but she can also lose 6 games in a row from 5-1 up in a set like she did a couple of times last year My advise would be to steer well clear of this match!

Thank you for taking the time and contributing your opinion, really. For sure this match will be about whoever will have her serve better working. Basically a 50/50 match probably, so the price above 2.0 was quite inviting. I can see slight edge on Kuzzy's side also because Sabine had some health problems last week, for which she is also notoriously known. And yes, I only bet what I can afford to lose, which could easily be the case in this match again :-)

[bigson22]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

What happened with Bogolov? Don't think you mentioned that yet.

ImLovingIt - I think Dylan might be pulling your leg m8!:loon

[owenclass]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Ivo Karlovic vs Roger Federer over 34.5 games 10/11 skybet a tough match for federer he has not been at his best but still winning but he should find it tough against the big serving opponent so maybe not many breaks of serve

so close to winning this bet i just needed one more game at least the ebden nishikori overs bet came through for me from a couple of days ago

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Copied over from my glory hunt thread...... Caroline Wozniacki v Monica Niculescu Over 18.5 Games - £50 @Evens Roger Federer v Ivo Karlovic Under 31.5 Games - £50 @11/8 Alejandro Falla v Philipp Kohlschreiber Over 37.5 Games - £50 @8/11 Tomas Berdych (-6.5 Games) v Kevin Anderson - £50 @11/10 Feliciano Lopez to beat John Isner - £50 @11/10 Stanislas Wawrinka v Nicolas Almagro Over 36.5 Games - £50 @10/11 Romina Oprandi to beat Julia Goerges - £50 @11/8 Christina McHale (+4.5 Games) v Jelena Jankovic - £50 @Evens

Awful stuff from me last night. Poor shows all round :puke

[owenclass]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Milos Raonic vs Lleyton Hewitt over 38.5 games 10/11 skybet raonic 3-1 11/4 skybet it could be over quickly or it could be a classic so i think it could be a long one these two can produce great tennis so it should be at least five sets which would win the overs bet

[danytz186]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Tip Detail

Sport	Tennis
Event	Sorana Carstea - Sara Errani
Selection	2
Strength	10/10
Date	21/01/2012
Bookmaker/Price	Paddy Power @ 1.72
Reasoning	In the 3rd round of the ladies side of the Australian Open we have an interesting encounter between the romanian Sorana Carstea and italian Sara Errani. Carstea who is now ranked 59th in the world has made good impression from the start by beating the nr. 6 seed in the first round Sam Stosur, most definitely the big cround favorite in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, followed by U. Radwanska, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. On the other side, Errani world number 48 and allready know in the circuit as a player who compensates for a week service with aggressiveness and frequent changes in pace and height of the ball. The little italian went through the over top100 player Savinykh followed by the "veteran" Petrova, both in straight sets (never giving up more then 2 game per set). They will be meeting for the 4th time with the italian leading 2-1 in head-to-head, winning the last 2 in a row. I think that will be an even more challenge then the players the romanian met so far because now she has to confirm this surprising form that wasn`t with her in the last year. My guess that the Errani will once again dictate the terms and has a chance of beating Carstea for the 3rd straight time in her career. Win Sara Errani.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Well, here we go. Might go for something in the evening session, but not sure yet. Hopefully these five do well enough :hope Ekaterina Makarova (+1.5 sets) to beat Vera Zvonareva @ 2.15 Surprised by getting more than evens on this, considering that Zvonareva has been utter crap so far and Makarova beat Kanepi in straight sets. I do not know what is wrong with Vera, but her game just is not working at the momen. Bad shot selection, too many UEs, etc. etc. Hradecka beat herself (once again) through UEs, Makarova should not. Angelique Kerber (+1.5 sets) to beat Maria Sharapova @ 2.38 with Pinnacle This should be a good match with lots of big hitting and UEs, no messing around. First real test for Sharapova and she will be up against the in-form player on the tour in Kerber. 8/2 this season and played well, so she is good to take a set here unless she crumbles under the pressure that comes with the big occasion. Kei Nishikori (-1.5 sets) to beat Julien Benneteau @ 2.50 with Paddy Power Nishikori should be too good here. Improving player, seems up for it, nice attitutude against Ebden even after going 2-0 down early. Benneteau had and epic five setter with Simon and I just feel that everything might catch up with him. He was not playing THAT well either and I expect Nishikori to be too good from the baseline. Mikhail Kukushkin (+2.5 sets) to beat Gael Monfils @ 2.15 with Pinnacle The struggles of Monfils are well documented, no need to elaborate furthere. So what about Kukushkin? Well, he was good against Troicki and GGL, while he also took a set off Muray early in the year. Seems to be improving and I think he can take one set here, especially if Monfils goes into his funny mode somewhere in the match. Would not have this above evens to be honest. Grandin/Uhlirova to beat Begu/Niculescu @ 1.85 with Gamebookers Experienced vs unexperienced here and the experienced usually win these matches. The Romanians had a huge run last week and they have not been beaten yet, but - to be fair - they have not played against anyone solid yet. First hard test and I wonder whether they can still keep that level against two very, very experienced players.

[Alovenac]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 I'm sorry, don't have time enough to write long write ups, now i gonna give a short reason. 3/10 Djokovic - Mahut under 26 games @ 1.87 SBO Djokovic playing very good this tournament. Mahut is not good enough to win 8 or more games in this match. 5/10 Ferrer - Chela CS: 3-0 @ 1.80 Interwetten I don't see Chela win a set here. Playing not steady enough against Andujar. Ferrer had a offday against Sweeting, but shall win here easy. 2/10 Benneteau tb. Nishikori @ 2.07 Betsson Why is the Frenchmen dog here? Playing good the first two sets against Simon. See this match as 50/50, little value here :). 2/10 Raonic - Hewitt CS: 3-1 @ 3.80 Titanbet Shot, Hewitt will fight for every point and maybe he can win one set from Raonic with a good serve. 3/10 Tipsarevic tb. Gasquet @ 2.00 StanJames 50/50 again, but i think Tipsa is a little bit better than the Frenchmen here. 4/10 Tsonga - Gil Under 29.5 games @ 1.85 Titanbet I don't see Gil win more than 11 games. Maybe Tsonga will play one set easy as 6-4 or 7-5. But two sets he will win easy. 6/10 Raonic - Hewitt over 3.5 sets @ 1.70 Tipico To much value. Why will Hewitt not to win at least one set? He go fight for every point. Raonic lost one set last match against the German. 3/10 Raonic -5 games tb. Hewitt @ 1.84 Betsson Little cover for the two other buts, if Hewitt don't win a set. But this can complete three but i don't see Hewitt to win a set easy.

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Copied again from my glory hunt thread. Hoping for a better outcome tonight :hope Okay, here we go again. Hopefully tonight will be better, if not then I guess this could be the end of this glory hunt :$ Gael Monfils (-7.5) v Mikhail Kukushkin - £40 @10/11 I watched Monfils against Bellucci and although he gave up a set the Frenchman played very well and he took the last 3 sets 6-0, 6-4, 6-2. Kukushkin, who is ranked just inside the top 100, came through a tough five setter with Viktor Troicki but Monfils crushed the Serb in Doha recently. I think he gets the job done in 3 with a few breaks. David Ferrer (-8) v Juan Ignacio Chela - £40 @8/11 Chela surprised a lot of people with his win over Andujar but the Spaniard is only really good on the dirt and I'm not taking much notice of that win. Ferrer needed five to beat Sweeting but I don't think he'll have the same problems against Chela who doesn't really have much of a serve. They haven't played in five years so the head-head (1-2) is a bit irrelevant. I see Ferrer getting back on track with a comfortable win over a player he, in theory, matches up well with. Milos Raonic (-5.5) v Lleyton Hewitt - £40 @10/11 My most confident pick but I've decided to keep stakes level at the moment. I'll change that after tonight (might have to be all in on just one bet!) but anyway, Hewitt was rubbish against a half fit Roddick and I just don't see him coping against Raonic whose serve is monstrous. The Canadian will thrive in the atmosphere on Rod Laver almost as much as the Australian and I think he'll get the job pretty quickly. Could take four but the line allows for that. Kei Nishikori to beat Julien Benneteau - £40 @4/5 Benneteau is 30 years old and has been a journeyman all his career. He's good enough to slog through some matches but lacks a bit of spark and I think he'll come unstuck tonight. Nishikori came back from 2-0 down against Ebden and closed out in style taking the last 3 sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. He might have to dig deep and I was very tempted by the Over 38.5 game line but I'm keeping it simple and going with who I think will win. Richard Gasquet to beat Janko Tipsarevic - £40 @17/20 The match of the night. Gasquet is one of my favourite players as he is great to watch. His backhand is a thing of beauty and he's a very good player over five sets. Tipsarevic has looked shaky in Oz and needed four sets to beat both Tursunov and Duckworth. He's 0-2 against Gasquet and I think the Frenchman can make it 0-3 tonight. This is another that I thought about the overs in but I'm not biting. Ana Ivanovic (-5.5) v Vania King - £40 @4/5 King beat Pavlyuchenkova in the last round but the Russian has been way out of sorts for a while now. Ivanovic looked pretty ruthless against Karjicek and Dominguez-Lino and she will be confident against King due to a 3-0 head to head. She's covered this line in all three and I hope she can again tonight. Petra Kvitova (-5.5) v Maria Kirilenko - £40 @4/6 Almost didn't take this as the price is a little slim but I think Kvitova is a few levels above Kirilenko who I don't rate too highly. Petra beat her 6-2, 6-2 when they met in the Fed Cup but the result I'm focusing on is Maria's 6-3, 6-0 loss to Arvidsson in Sydney last week. The Swede is utter garbage and if Kirilenko can be crushed by her then she can be crushed by Kvitova. Marion Bartoli (-3.5) v Jie Zheng - £40 @10/11 Zheng won when the two met in Melbourne 2 years ago but if memory serves me right Bartoli was injured after the first set (which she won) and then gave up. The Frechwoman is fit just now and is playing very well. She sailed through the first two rounds and I think she can win without too much fuss tonight. Jie won Auckland but she was awful against Kuznetsova in the semi final and should have lost before Pennetta retired in the final. Straight sets or three with Bartoli winning one very easily. Ekatarina Makarova (+4.5) v Vera Zvonareva - £40 @5/6 Zvonareva's been on a downslope for quite a while and I don't think she'll be in the top 10 for too much longer. She gives up too many points on serve and is broken all the time. She narrowly beat Dulgheru in round one and made hard work of Hradecka in round two. Makarova beat two good players in Tanasugarn and Kanepi, the win over the Estonian particularly impressive. The Russians are 2-2 in head-to-heads and I think Makarova has a good chance of actually winning tonight. Playing the handicap to be a bit safer and will be disappointed if this bet doesn't win.

[bigson22]

Milos Raonic (-5.5) v Lleyton Hewitt - £40 @10/11 My most confident pick but I've decided to keep stakes level at the moment. I'll change that after tonight (might have to be all in on just one bet!) but anyway, Hewitt was rubbish against a half fit Roddick and I just don't see him coping against Raonic whose serve is monstrous. The Canadian will thrive in the atmosphere on Rod Laver almost as much as the Australian and I think he'll get the job pretty quickly. Could take four but the line allows for that.

Captain, nice write up just a note on the Hewitt-Raonic match, you can get the 5.5 handicap with Pinnacle @ 2.05 at the moment compared to 1.91 you have mentioned.

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Captain' date=' nice write up just a note on the Hewitt-Raonic match, you can get the 5.5 handicap at 2.05 at the moment compared to 1.91 you have mentioned.[/quote'] Hi bigson22. Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I've committed myself to bet365 for my Australian Open glory hunt as that's where my money was. I might split the funds up over the next few days but that'll depend on how things go tonight :unsure

[bigson22]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Hi bigson22. Thanks for the info. Unfortunately' date=' I've committed myself to bet365 for my Australian Open glory hunt as that's where my money was. I might split the funds up over the next few days but that'll depend on how things go tonight :unsure[/quote'] No problem m8, I had even forgot to tell you what bookie it was with lol, had to add it was pinnacle!! That's what happens when you have a few shandies on a Friday nite! GL with your bets! :ok

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Still for the life of me can't get one of those over bets right. Been so off the mark for all of those in the tournament so far it's laughable really. Thankfully Federer brought the main bet home but those last 16 bets are starting to frustrate me. Both Isner and Dolgopolov losing in the final set of their matches is not what I had hoped from them. With those 2 outrights settled, I'm currently sitting on +13.99 after a slight profit yesterday. Onto tonight then and not going to do massive writeups as I'm knackered after traveling back to uni today so will make them brief. Hopefully I can finally get one over on Sportingbet with regards to these last 16 bets, as I'm on Tipsarevic to beat Gasquet at 5/4 and Raonic to beat Hewitt at 5/6 in which I'm quietly confident about both. A few others appeal to me as well though. Andy Murray (-7.5 games) to beat Michael Llodra- 4/6 Coral- (7/10) It's never the wisest thing to be backing Murray on the handicap with such a big stake but feel he should be all over the Frenchman in this one. There's been quite a bit of talk from both players about the match, with Llodra fancying his chances and hoping his serve and volley tactics will get him past Murray. I'm not so sure however. The Scot saw off Roger-Vasselin pretty easily in truth and had few problems on return against the Frenchman who hasn't got the worst serve in the world. Llodra however was almost guilty of throwing away a 2 sets lead against Bogomolov and was a break down on a number of occasions in that final set. He was getting broken regularly from the 3rd set onwards really, and given how he isn't the most fitness friendly guy on the tour, there's no guarantees that he'll be as fresh as he could possibly be. Murray should be looking to exploit that, and whether serve and volley will work against one of the best returners in the game, is questionable. Llodra could well keep the first set tight and perhaps pinch it, but in the end I'd expect Murray to get his eye in and cope with the serve and volley and motor in a set or two. He'll be extremely dominant in the rallies and I think he'll be far too good for Llodra in the end in truth. Juan Ignacio Chela vs David Ferrer- Under 31.5 games- 4/5 Ladbrokes- (5/10) Would be surprised if Chela really troubled Ferrer in this one. The Argentinian was a break down against Andujar in the previous round I think in all 3 sets at one point or another. He definitely was in at least 2 of them before Andujar just couldn't build on it, whereas a better player probably would have beaten him in 3. Ferrer himself didn't have the greatest game at all against Sweeting but I'm putting that down to the Spaniard just having one of those off days. I don't expect him to be anywhere near as bad today though and Chela really doesn't have anything at his disposal to dominate Ferrer. Sweeting had the big serve but Chela certainly doesn't have that, and Ferrer will dictate virtually all of the rallies. On clay it could be a closer thing, but on the hard courts, I don't expect Ferrer to drop a set in all honesty. Novak Djokovic (-10.5 games) to beat Nicolas Mahut- 5/6 Sportingbet- (4/10) A game lower on the handicap and I'd be all over this but I'm just remaining a touch cautious with this line. I fully expect it to come through but never the biggest fan of taking handicaps above the (9.5) line in truth. However if Mahut plays how he did against Ito, he'll struggle to win more than 5 games in the match I'd say. The one thing he needs to play well, is his serve and so far in the tournament it just hasn't really been there and that's the only thing that will get him out of trouble against Djokovic. Not much point in talking about the Serb really as we all know how he's been playing which is superb and he should have way too much for Mahut in every department here. Gael Monfils (-6.5 games) to beat Mikhail Kukushkin- 5/6 Sportingbet- (4/10) I do actually think Monfils will win well today can you believe. I certainly can't believe I'm saying that. Barring that first set against Bellucci, he was in complete control and actually played some nice stuff and it's not often you see Monfils only dropping 1 set in his first 2 matches of a slam, despite his quality. Kukushkin has had 2 fine wins so far, easily beating Garcia-Lopez and then taking Troicki out in 5 but feel this is the end of the road for him here. Monfils has always been in control in his matches this week and looks pretty good to me, and his antics haven't been too bad which is only a positive thing for the Frenchman so happy to back him here. I'll just do one of the women's matches because it starts soon and then I'll do the rest in a separate post. Sara Errani to beat Sorana Cirstea- 5/6 Coral- (3/10) Little surprised to not see the Italian as the favourite in this one. She's easily beaten Savinykh and Nadia Petrova, losing just 7 games in the tournament and her only 2 losses this year have been to Kuznetsova and Kerber, both of whom have started the season with a bang. Cirstea is being overrated in my opinion because of that win over Stosur but the Australian has never really done it in her home tournament and only won 1 match this season before the slam started so it's not that much of a huge upset in my books. The more notable thing with regards to Cirstea I feel is that she dropped the first set to Radwanska in the second round 1-6 which really doesn't look good to me. Bear in mind that's Urszula, not Agy and although the Pole isn't a terrible player, she is far from being a world beater who would cream any of the top players 6-1 in a set. Errani has won the last 2 meetings between these two women and given how impressive she has looked so far this week, I'd make her a bigger favourite to make it 3 in a row.

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Frederico Gil (+9.5 games) to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga- 8/11 Bet365- (4/10) Forgot to include this in the last post. Tsonga could well cream Gil but from what I've seen from the Frenchman, Gil should be able to keep this pretty tight. Tsonga's played quite defensive in truth, not usually what we see from him and certainly not what he does when he is playing at his best. Mello kept close to Tsonga for the majority and Istomin took a set off him in the first round so clear to see that the brute hasn't been quite at his best. Gil has picked up a couple of good wins over Dodig and Granollers and he has been competitive in both matches he's played against Tsonga, losing 6-3 6-4 in both and any repeat of those performances should see him cover the large looking handicap today.

[Dylan]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Took these 3 in the womens earlier; Vera Zvonareva vs Ekaterina Makarova – under 20.5 games 1.90 at bwin It’s hard to look past this line when the previous result between the two just a few months ago on the hard courts of Cincinnati was 6-3 6-0 in Zvonareva’s favour. I know that Makarova beat the supposedly dark horse Kanepi in the last round and does have a decent record at this slam, especially last year where she made the last 16 but other than that her record on this surface over the last couple of years is average at best and it’s clear that Zvonereva should be considered the much stronger player. Vera is lacking in practice a little bit having fallen at the first hurdle in Sydney last week, but she’s had a couple of games where she has been tested well to get up to speed with fitness and the courts and I expect her to push on from here. She doesn’t need anything particularly emphatic to beat this games line anyway. Sabine Lisicki vs Svetlana Kuznetsova – over 21.5 games 1.91 at skybet Both ladies came into this event with fitness worries and both have toiled a little in the opening couple of rounds. Kuznetsova needed 3 sets to beat Scheepers and was taken very close in both sets by Sloane Stephens in the last round. Lisicki was a little better against Peer but needed 3 sets against the qualifier Voegle. Basically I don’t think either are at their best and I think we could see a long match tonight. Kuzentsova might not be able to win it as she no longer has enough quality against the better players but in the last year she has gone over this line against the likes of Kvitova, Wozniaki, Bartoli, Radwanksa, Henin, Stosur & Li Na so is clearly still capable of being competitive in the big matches. Jie Zheng vs Marion Bartoli – over 20.5 games 1.91 at skybet There is very little to choose between these two both in the H2H and in their recent form (both playing well) which would suggest a close game. Both the H2H have gone over this game line, with 21 and 27 and with these two winning one each. So far in this slam both have carried on their decent early season form and won their opening rounds with relative ease, so something could have to give here. At the worst case scenario I can see two tight sets . One unit on them all. Good luck tonight everyone :hope

[Zagi]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Raonic - Hewitt A match between two guys not in the best of form. Raonic is 6-1 this year but the results are better than than the game he's showing. He did beat Volandri and Pretzner here but struggled, as I sais before. Hewit, who beat Stebe and Roddick retired, is not on the top of his game for some time but I think this could be his last dance and an over confident Raonic could find himself in some problems here. Pick: Hewitt +1.5 sets @ 2.50 bet188

[fishy25]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Now I can do the rest in one post. Heads all over the place at the minute :lol Kei Nishikori to beat Julien Benneteau- 10/11 Coral- (5/10) Yeah agree with what's been said about this match and feel this is the end of the road for Benny. He's played quite a bit of tennis over the past couple of weeks and we saw with Nieminen that all of those matches can catch up with you. Benneteau made the final last week in Sydney and is coming off the back of a grueling 5 setter against Simon. You'd have to say though that it was more Simon losing the match than Benneteau winning it and the 2 sets he lost, 1-6 3-6 suggest that whilst he only narrowly took the opening couple of sets. Really liked what I saw of Nishikori against Ebden though. To come back from 2 sets down against an Aussie down under at a slam is a fine effort and the way in which he did it was really impressive. He's already beaten Roddick and Tsonga this season whilst he hammered Robert in the opening round which shows how well he is playing early doors this year. He should be much the fresher of the two guys and if this goes into a fourth or fifth set, I'd fancy Nishikori a whole lot more than the odds suggest. Final couple for the women as well then. Vera Zvonareva vs Ekaterina Makarova- Over 19.5 games- 8/11 Ladbrokes- (4/10) This line looks too low to me given the way the Russian has been playing. The scoreline from her match against Hradecka really doesn't tell the whole story as she should have lost that second set comfortably but she managed to recover. She just hasn't looked anywhere near her best this season so it's hard to see her playing Makarova off the court here, especially given the fact she'll be sky high on confidence after beating Kanepi. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't back against the left handed Russian making it two upsets in a row here, but even a couple of tight sets would bring this line in and that's the least I expect from these two. Ana Ivanovic (-5.5 games) to beat Vania King- 5/6 Ladbrokes- (4/10) Been wanting to back Ivanovic in her previous two matches but have been priced out even though she has sailed through comfortably and think she should do the same against King. Ivanovic really loves it over in Melbourne, and plays some really good stuff down under traditionally. She's looked very impressive so far in her two matches and I'd expect her to be a good winner again in the third round. Vania King did well to get past Pavlyuchenkova but the Russian has been pretty rotten at the start of the season so that was no big surprise. Ivanovic will be a huge step up for the American though as she'll be far more confident in her game and with the matchup. The Serb has covered this handicap in 2 out of the 3 meetings the two girls have played, including a win here in 2007 in which she won 6-2 6-0 and she should be able to win this with plenty to spare as well if her performances so far are anything to go by.

[Zagi]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Chela - Ferrer Chela is a clay court player and it will show today. He played just a couple matcjes this season and he could struggle not bbeing on the top of his form. Ferrer dropped just one set in the whole Auckland tournament last week and has had some really good results on hard in the past. Better form and physicall condition will make the difference today and Ferrer will cruise despite the problems he had in the mathc with Sweeting in the last round. Pick: Ferrer -8.5 games @ 2.03 pinnacle

[IAmGooner]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Took one this morning when the prices were out, lines have changed since. Djokovic vs Mahut UNDER 26.5 games @ 8/11 (Paddy Power:4pts) Fancy Novak to take this down relatively comfortably. He's been good so far, beat Lorenzi and Giraldo easily. Mahut has been a decent player but his challenge ends here, he's a serve&volleyer but facing one of the best returners on a medium-slow hard-court will be very tough, he'll be outclassed from the baseline.

[Zagi]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Cirstea - Errani A match between 2 girls in similar form. Both are caly court players and showed simikar results to open the year. The H2H 2-1 in favor of Errani but each has one one clear win and the third match could've went either way. A 50-50 match IMO, so some nice value on Cirstea here. Pick: Cirstea ml @ 2.58 sportingbet

[Torque]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Just missed out with the Dolgopolov bet :\ Jie Zheng to beat Marion Bartoli - 3.05 Betfair I think its worth siding with Jie Zheng at these odds. She has had a good start to the season, and has played well at this tournament in the past - indeed she met Bartoli a couple of years ago and beat her handily. Bartoli has made a reasonable start to the season as far as I can see, and there is no doubt she is more than capable of winning this match. Equally though, she can go walkabout and has had plenty of off days in her time. I certainly think Zheng has more chance of winning this than the odds suggest.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

Cirstea - Errani A match between 2 girls in similar form. Both are caly court players and showed simikar results to open the year. The H2H 2-1 in favor of Errani but each has one one clear win and the third match could've went either way. A 50-50 match IMO, so some nice value on Cirstea here. Pick: Cirstea ml @ 2.58 sportingbet

No criticism mate, but the match has started half an hour ago!

[captaincool]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Pretty certain that Kirilenko is going to retire. There isn't any way to cover handicap bets in this situation are there? Edit - retired after the first game in the second set. It was 6-0, 1-0 :wall

[CzechPunter]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 A lot went wrong today, but that was to be expected after so many good days. Ah well. Three more for the evening session. Greta Arn (+1.5 sets) to beat Serena Williams @ 6.39 with Pinnacle Yep, once again. Finally someone experienced against Williams and I do not see her being 1.15 for a 2-0 victory, that is crazy. Arn has beaten the likes of Sharapova in Australia before, so why should not she be able to take a set off Williams? Played well against Cibulkova too. Lleyton Hewitt to beat Milos Raonic @ 3.97 with Pinnacle Look - Raonic was awful against Petzschner and should have lost. Yes, I am going to stand by that opinion. Lleyton Hewitt is a bit better than Petzschner in my opinion and his attitude and determination can take him through. Raonic will be under pressure on the centre court and Hewitt can pounce. Michael Llodra (+2.5 sets) to beat Andy Murray @ 3.10 with Pinnacle Is Llodra really that bad and Murray really so consistent? My answer is no and this is exactly the frustrating match-up that Murray can have problems with. He is usually crushing Lopez in what is a similar match-up, but I rate Llodra higher against better players and he has given me some nice profits in the last few years.

[sportxtipster]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Arn tb Williams +1.5 sets @ 5.00 with betsson I think we can see here a surprise. Arn has been brilliant this tournament here and offered great matches: with Marino left her no chance and with Cibulkova suprise everybody and confirmed that she is one of the most experienced tennis player in this Grand Slam. The force of Serena is something more valuable than Greta's experience, but I really think that the Hungarian lady can win a set here. And the price is great!

[sportxtipster]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 Raonic vs Hewitt Hewitt has also a great experience and plays home! He played pretty good so far and he serves a chance from me. Raonic wasn't the best with Petzschner and it is not just my opinion. In a match with two bombers he was the worst and was lucky to win. Now he will meet someone that knows much more than just serving like a bomb. Raonic will have huge problems with the Australian ambition and he knows it! Hewitt @ 3.75 with 5dimes