Pre-Season - January 5

[CzechPunter]

An exciting season should be ahead of us, so let's start with some pre-season picks! Back Top Irish Player - Louk Sorensen for a 4/10 stake at 3.00 with Paddy Power A pretty off-beat market, but an interesting one nonetheless. Louk Sorensen is priced at 3.00 to be the best Irish player in the 2014, which just doesn't make sense given his qualities and his excellent run at the end of 2013. James McGee should be nowhere near 1.40 as far as I am concerned, he did next to nothing last year and just doesn't seem to be able to win at the challenger level constantly enough. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-louk-sorensen-can-be-the-best-irish-player-of-the-2014-season

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back The Big Four Specials - Most Aces in 2014 - Novak Djokovic for a 7/10 stake at 2.75 with BetVictor A truly good price I would say. Nadal isn't going to serve a lot of aces and Roger Federer isn't going to play a lot of matches, so it will come down to either Murray or Djokovic. Murray is the slightly better player of the two in terms of big serves, but he isn't guaranteed to stay fit through the entire season (neither is Djokovic, of course, but the chances are much lower in his case) and that is why I like Djokovic at this price. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-novak-djokovic-can-deliver-in-the-aces-department-in-2014

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back T. Haas - End of Season ATP Ranking 2014 - Over 18.5 for a 7/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes Tommy Haas had a tremendous season in 2013, but I don't exactly fancy his chances of repeating it in 2014, especially given his ever-present health and fitness worries. Any longer absence is likely to push his rating down by a lot - and finishing in the top 20 might remain out of his reach even if he stays relatively healthy for much of the season. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-it-s-hard-to-see-tommy-haas-repeating-his-last-year-s-results-in-2014

[Torque]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Didn't you do some of these last year CP? How did they go?

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5

Didn't you do some of these last year CP? How did they go?

Not too bad actually. Here's a (hopefully correct) rundown: Back Most Grand Slams Won in 2013 – Novak Djokovic (vs. Rafael Nadal) for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with BetVictor -4pts Back 2013 WTA End of Year Number 1 – A.Radwanska for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Ladbrokes -1pt Back M Raonic - End of Season ATP Ranking 2013 – Over 12.5 for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes -4pts Back Number of ATP Titles Won by Australian Players in 2013 – Under 1.5 for a 4/10 stake at 1.72 with BetVictor +2.88pts Back Heather Watson not to win a WTA singles title in 2013 for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Ladbrokes +4.4pts - This was a truly ridiculous price Back Laura Robson to end 2013 ranked 24th or worse for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes +3.32pts That equals to +1.6pts. And a side-note: remember to nominate and vote in the Oscars everyone, there are prizes to be won!

[Torque]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5

Not too bad actually. Here's a (hopefully correct) rundown: Back Most Grand Slams Won in 2013 – Novak Djokovic (vs. Rafael Nadal) for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with BetVictor -4pts Back 2013 WTA End of Year Number 1 – A.Radwanska for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Ladbrokes -1pt Back M Raonic - End of Season ATP Ranking 2013 – Over 12.5 for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes -4pts Back Number of ATP Titles Won by Australian Players in 2013 – Under 1.5 for a 4/10 stake at 1.72 with BetVictor +2.88pts Back Heather Watson not to win a WTA singles title in 2013 for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Ladbrokes +4.4pts - This was a truly ridiculous price Back Laura Robson to end 2013 ranked 24th or worse for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes +3.32pts That equals to +1.6pts.

Hopefully you'll do as well this year. :ok

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Which Colombian will have the best ATP singles ranking at the end of the 2014 season? - Santiago Giraldo for a 8/10 stake at 1.80 with Skybet A good price on Giraldo here I would say, as I think that he's head and shoulders above both Alejandro Falla and Alejandro Gonzalez. He had a pretty poor season last year and still managed to finish pretty high, so fancy him to step up in 2014 and finish higher than his compatriots at the end of the year. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-santiago-giraldo-to-be-the-best-colombian-in-2014 Back J. Janowicz - End of Season ATP Ranking 2014 - Over 14.5 for a 7/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes Janowicz had some great runs last year and still finished 21st, so I don't exactly fancy his chances of finishing in the top 14 at the end of 2014. Moreover, he has apparently suffered a foot injury just a few days ago, which is something that can also seriously hamper his chances at the start of the season (which is when he would want to improve the most). Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-jerzy-janowicz-might-struggle-to-reach-new-heights-in-the-next-season

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Top Australian Player as of 3 November 2014 - Jarmila Gajdosova for a 4/10 stake at 3.00 with Unibet I liked what I saw from Gajdosova in Nanjing at the end of the last season and fancy her to bounce back at this price. Even one good tournament could be enough for her to finish higher than her opposition (which, of course, doesn't include Samantha Stosur), so health is likely the only thing that could possibly stop her from bouncing back in 2014. Lower stakes are recommended, however, as there are still some doubts about her current fitness. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/wta-2014-betting-jarmila-gajdosova-looks-value-to-bounce-back-in-2014 Back Best Singles Ranking - Angelique Kerber (vs. Caroline Wozniacki) for a 7/10 stake at 1.97 with Unibet Kerber should be the favourite in this match-up, not Wozniacki. The German was the better player of the two in 2013 and I think that she is much more likely to succeed in some of the Grand Slams than the former world's number one, so there is plenty of room for improvement ranking-wise. Wozniacki will need to improve by a lot in order to do better in the Grand Slams - and there are no guarantees that she will. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/wta-2014-betting-angelique-kerber-can-have-a-better-year-than-caroline-wozniacki

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Novak Djokovic to win ATP Abu Dhabi for a 5/10 stake at 2.25 with Bet365 Well, who else really? Djokovic can complete his hat-trick in Abu Dhabi this year and he is definitely in the right position to do so after finishing on a real high in 2013. Anything above evens looks value to me her really, as it should come down to either him or Nadal and he has a decent edge over the Spaniard right now in my opinion. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-abu-dhabi-betting-novak-djokovic-looks-value-to-capture-the-title-for-the-third-time-in-a-row Back Arantxa Rus - Singles Ranking as of 3 November 2014 - Under 117.5 for a 7/10 stake at 1.88 with Unibet Arantxa Rus had a disastrous season in 2013, but she must have gained some confidence in its second part and I think that she is more than good enough to bounce back in 2014. She even skipped the Dutch Masters in order to focus on the tour Down Under, so the desire to do so is clearly there as well. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/wta-2014-betting-arantxa-rus-has-what-it-takes-to-forget-about-her-2013-season

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back David Ferrer to beat Rafael Nadal for a 2/10 stake at 4.10 with Bwin Worth a small stake I would say. Not only is this an exhibition match that Nadal might not take overly seriously (and you could also speculate that he might want to avoid meeting Djokovic so early on in the season), but Ferrer played well against Wawrinka and will come out swinging. At 4.10, I am going to invest two units into David Ferrer. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/ferrer-vs-nadal-betting-david-ferrer-to-enjoy-a-good-match-against-the-world-s-number-one-on-friday Back ATP Season 2014 - Top player born 1993 or later as of 17 November 2014 - Jiri Vesely for a 6/10 stake at 2.35 with Unibet Final pre-season bet for me, but it is really hard to see past Jiri Vesely, who has already had his breakthrough year and who has all that is required to build on it in 2014. The others, including Kyrgios and Thiem, should still be more about challengers than ATP-level events, while it should be the other way around with the Czech. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-2014-betting-jiri-vesely-to-build-on-his-breakthrough-year-in-2014

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Saturday is going to see a massive batch of matches, but there aren't that many clear-cut bets as far as I am concerned, so going with just two smaller ones. Back Group B Winner - Czech Republic for a 2/10 stake at 3.20 with BetVictor With Tsonga still in Abu Dhabi, I think that Group B is going to come down to a contest between the Czechs and the Americans - and I would give a small edge to the Czechs really. Radek Stepanek and Petra Kvitova are both good and experienced enough to even win the entire thing, so not sure where this big price is coming from. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/hopman-cup-2014-betting-the-czechs-look-like-the-value-pick-over-in-perth Back Julia Glushko to beat Ashleigh Barty for a 4/10 stake at 2.18 with Pinnacle Ashleigh Barty might be the future of Australian tennis, but promises are worth next to nothing when it comes to the actual matches and I think that she is going to struggle against the world's number ninety-one, Julia Glushko. She had to fight really hard against Buyukakcay, after all, while Glushko recorded a fairly straightforward win against Yulia Putintseva. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/glushko-vs-barty-betting-julia-glushko-could-be-too-strong-for-ashleigh-barty-over-in-brisbane

[patyi]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Hello! My english is not perfect but I try to improve. Dustin Brown - Thomas Fabbiano Doha-qualification My bet: Brown 2-0 odds: 2.1 (betvictor) 5/10 The surface is very fast in Doha. Brown has a bigger serve and a more powerful game. Fabbiano is a fighter but his game not enough good in fast circumstances. They met twice in 2012, Brown won easily the first sets, but the little italian fought, Brown lost the momentum and sprayed errors. These meetings were in clay, but in very fast hardcourts, i think Brown will be able to finish the match in two. Milos Raonic - Bernard Tomic Hopman-cup My bet: Tomic +2.5 games odds: 2.01 (pinnacle) 10/10 I really don't understand this odds... In Australia Tomic always fights hard. Australia tries to win the Hopman-cup this year, Sam Stosur and Tomic are in team too. Raonic with Ljubo and Piatti looking for a big year, but this half-exhibition tournament is more important for the home boy. If Raonic will fight hard, this handicap will be good yet, because i'm sure that Bernard will win least one set. Good luck!

[matrixman]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Great shout on Brown. He is very capable on hard courts. Also, plenty of motivation as he is almost in the top 100 and 1-2 main draw wins can put him in for Melbourne.Draw looks good for the 4 qua-lies that make it in too.

[patyi]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5

Hello! Dustin Brown - Thomas Fabbiano Doha-qualification My bet: Brown 2-0 odds: 2.1 (betvictor) 5/10 Milos Raonic - Bernard Tomic Hopman-cup My bet: Tomic +2.5 games odds: 2.01 (pinnacle) 10/10 Good luck!

-0.45 unit Well done Mr. Tomic, without motivation, without fighting spirit, typical Bernard loss. Varvara Lepchenko - Elina Svitolina WTA Brisbane My bet: Svitolina +2.5 games odds: 1.77 (pinnacle) 7/10 Lepchenko is typical big hitter with unstable play. She has very good forehand, she plays very agressive, she attack the ball all day but she has weak serve and big consistency problem. Svitolina ex junior Roland Garros winner, this year he improved a lot. She stable on back, has serve, variety, powerful shots. She needs experience and improve her shot placement, sometimes she hits too short. This year they met in Paris, Lepchenko won 7-6 6-1 but that was a very competitive match, it was a miracle, that Varvara won the first set. Since RG Svitolina won WTA event in Baku and played semi-final in Bad Gastein. Now Svitolina is more experienced than she was in the summer, and this is the first tournament in 2014, i think Lepchenko won't find the rhythm yet, she will be a little bit rusty and the more stable Svitolina will cover this handicap... Ryan Harrison - Jimmy Wang ATP Brisbane-qualification My bet: Harrison Odds: 1.48 (pinnacle) 7/10 Both of them have a good serve and unstable grounstrokes. I saw Wang against Tommy Haas in Wimbledon, it seems he has weak return game and bad movement. Ryan Harrison can defend very well in best of 3 matches. When he attacks, he find all point of the stadiums with his shots, but he can run for every ball for two hours. He has a better serve, movement, defending play. I think he will win in 2 but he is such an idiot so i rather bet the money line. Florent Serra - Dustin Brown ATP Doha-qualification My bet: Dustin Brown odds: 1.61 (pinnacle) 7/10 I'm in Brown train again. Serra has weak return game, he won't be able to handle Brown serve. They met in Johannesburg in 2011, Brown won 6-4 6-4. He hit 15 aces and won 82 % of first serves. Serra has 2 bp (convert 1), Dustin 11 bp (convert 3). The German dominated that match on slower surface, now they will play on very fast surfaces. I think Dustin Brown will win again.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Ricardas Berankis to beat Tatsuma Ito for a 4/10 stake at 1.72 with BetVictor Berankis sometimes fades away for long periods of time, but he needs to defend his points early on this season and I think that he is in a good position to qualify for the main draw in Brisbane. He is a complete player, Tatsuma Ito isn't. He has what it takes to play on the ATP level, Ito doesn't. Decent price as well here I would say. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/berankis-vs-ito-betting-ricardas-berankis-to-confirm-his-qualities-against-tatsuma-ito Back Henri Laaksonen to beat Go Soeda for a 3/10 stake at 3.59 with Pinnacle Smaller stakes, but Laaksonen shouldn't be priced above 3.00 against someone like Soeda. He is an improving player and will want to attack the top 150 or so this year, so he needs to start pushing guys like Soeda. Neither did great in the first round, but, at this price, I simply have to go for the talented youngster from Switzerland. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/laaksonen-vs-soeda-betting-henri-laaksonen-looks-value-against-go-soeda-in-chennai

[Alovenac]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Agree with Berankis here. More Talented player.

[patyi]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5

Varvara Lepchenko - Elina Svitolina WTA Brisbane My bet: Svitolina +2.5 games odds: 1.77 (pinnacle) 7/10 Ryan Harrison - Jimmy Wang ATP Brisbane-qualification My bet: Harrison Odds: 1.48 (pinnacle) 7/10 Florent Serra - Dustin Brown ATP Doha-qualification My bet: Dustin Brown odds: 1.61 (pinnacle) 7/10 +1.3 unit Good day!:ok Alexandra Panova - Kaia Kanepi WTA Brisbane My bet: over 20.5 odds: 1.96 (unibet) 6/10 Panova has big serve and powerful shots but she is really bad mover and she very unstable. She played three qualification matches, he catch the rythym. This will be Kaia first match in new season and she missed the half season in 2013, i think she needs more match, tomorrow she will be little bit rusty yet. In 2012 they already met in Brisbane in first round too and Kaia wins 7-5 3-6 6-2. I think this will be a competitive match, maybe three setter or one 7-5 /7-6 set. Ajla Tomljanovic - Annika Beck WTA Shenzhen My bet: Annika Beck to win odds: 2.01 (pinnacle) 6/10 Ajla Tomljanovic plays with big risk, 2013 was very good year for her but she played just one time with consistent player and she loss 2-6 2-6 (against Alize Cornet). She won against brainless ballbashers or unstable players. Annika can keep the ball in play well, she very fast. I think it will be a competitive match but Ajla isn't enough good yet that she win against good defenders. And Annika back has to defend the quarter finals point...

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Henri Laaksonen to beat Ilya Marchenko for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Pinnacle Laaksonen got the job done against Go Soeda, so I think there is some value in backing him once again, especially since we are getting a price above evens for him against Marchenko. The Ukrainian might be the slightly better player overall, but Laaksonen has a 2-0 H2H record against him, so there is something in his game that makes Marchenko feel uncomfortable when playing against the youngster from Switzerland. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/laaksonen-vs-marchenko-betting-henri-laaksonen-looks-value-to-qualify-for-the-main-draw-in-chennai Back Radek Stepanek (+4.5) to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Pinnacle Stepanek isn't going to win a lot of these high-profile contests, but he is still more than good enough for pushing Tsonga all the way on Monday. After all, the Frenchman is yet to play a match in Perth, as he's had to fly in from Abu Dhabi, while Stepanek looked in good nick on Sunday. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/stepanek-vs-tsonga-betting-the-in-form-czech-shouldn-t-be-underestimated-on-monday

[patyi]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Tomas Berdych - Ivo Karlovic ATP Doha over 22.5 1.74 (unibet) 4/10 Tomas has very good serve, Karlovic has monster serve. Doha is one of the fastest surface in ATP Tour. I think Berdych's return of serve won't be enough sharp today, so they will play a tight and long match.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Mousa Shanan Zayed (+11.5) to beat Andy Murray for a 4/10 stake at 2.13 with Pinnacle I might be crazy, but come on. Mousa Shanan Zayed won three games against Monfils in Doha last year, so a game here doesn't look too far-fetched really. Murray can win this 6-0 6-0, but, given the occasion, there is every chance that he won't. There really isn't any real reason for him to do so. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/zayed-vs-murray-betting-andy-murray-can-drop-a-game-or-two-in-doha-on-tuesday Back Marcel Granollers (-3.5) to beat Radu Albot for a 4/10 stake at 1.81 with Pinnacle Granollers should be too good for Albot, he really should. He has a decent variety of shots at his disposal, which is something that Albot won't enjoy seeing, so this could turn into a really straightforward match really quickly. I would have the handicap at 4.5 games here, so I am more than happy to take this particular line at a decent enough price. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/granollers-vs-albot-betting-marcel-granollers-to-enjoy-a-fine-start-to-the-season-in-chennai

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back David Ferrer to win ATP Doha (E-W, 1/3 1-2) for a 2/10 stake at 10.00 with Bet365 Just one outright for me this week in the form of David Ferrer. He might not be the greatest hard court player around, but he is still up there with the very best and I don't think that he deserves to be priced as high as 10.00 here. Gasquet can be beaten and so can Murray right now, so why shouldn't one have a punt on Ferrer winning in Doha this year? Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/atp-doha-betting-david-ferrer-could-be-the-man-to-beat-in-doha-this-week

[Torque]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 I'm going to spend the majority of the season trying to find some value by opposing the big favourites, as I had some success with this last year. I'll continue to focus on the ATP Tour and I'll be backing or laying on Betfair, whichever is the best price. Although I'll be concentrating on the match line, I think it could also be worth opposing these big favourites on the game and set handicaps, particularly as losing runs on the match line are likely to be long. Alexandr Dolgopolov to beat David Ferrer I've laid Ferrer at 1.19, as even though he is far more consistent than Dolgopolov and has beaten him on numerous occasions, Dolgopolov remains a talented player. Last year was one to forget for the Russian, but if he plays to his potential then he certainly should be able to improve on his ranking this time around. Ferrer got a good win against Nadal last week, but this early in the season and with the Australian Open not too far away I wouldn't want to back him here. Lukas Rosol to beat Rafael Nadal I've laid Nadal at 1.06 as I think this is too short for what is his first competitive match of the season, especially when you also consider that Rosol isn't saddled with the kind of losing record that a lot of players have against the Spaniard. He should have no trouble believing that he can win this match as he beat Nadal at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, and even though Nadal wasn't completely fit it was still some achievement. Realistically, a repeat of that win is unlikely, but you never know and I think Rosol has a better chance than this price suggests.

[Fader]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 1pt E/W F.Fognini to win ATP Chennai 13.00 BetVictor I like the look of Fogs draw here. He has a BYE in round 1 and then would have Busta in Round 2 in which. Round 3 Id imagine him playing Pospisil who he beat on the hard last year in straight sets or Hsun-lu who he also beat on the hard last year. He would then face Wawrinka in the semi's whom he beat on the clay this year and won't be a 12/1 dog in that tie. Little interest bet here.

[Fader]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 4pts Carreno-Busta [-1.5 games] to beat Yuki Bhambri 1.80 Bet365 2pts Carreno-Busta to win 2-0 2.62 PaddyPower Bhambri on his home patch will want to do well but I think the serve of Busta will cause him problems here. It's going to be very hard for Bhambri to break him and Busta is a better player then Bhambri. I think Bhambri being at home is probably why this matches odds are so close. Both are young and hungry but Busta has had the better season winning many challenger titles. I see this potentially being a straight sets win for Busta.

[patyi]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5

Alexandra Panova - Kaia Kanepi WTA Brisbane My bet: over 20.5 odds: 1.96 (unibet) 6/10 Ajla Tomljanovic - Annika Beck WTA Shenzhen My bet: Annika Beck to win odds: 2.01 (pinnacle) 6/10 Tomas Berdych - Ivo Karlovic ATP Doha over 22.5 1.74 (>unibet) 4/10

+1.478 unit Klara Zakopalova - Patricia Mayr-Achleitner WTA Shenzhen Zakopalova -1.5 sets 2.27 (pinnacle) 6/10 Klara Zakopalova has very nice game, she is fantastic shotmaker with good power and angles but she has problems with consistency and her serve. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner usually plays on clay, she is hard-working girl, she can keep the ball in play and sometimes she has some good shots but on hard court this isn't enough against better players. They met on hard court in 2010, Zakopalova won 6-4 6-3 and she broke Mayr-Achleitner serve 7 times. Last year Zakopalova played some very good match in Shenzhen, finally lost the final against Na Li (5-7 in decider). Now she has to defend her final points, and she was ok against Donna Vekic. Mayr-Achleitner has a little bit better serve but Zakopalova has more powerful shots, and better return of serve. Movement is egal. I think Klara is in good mood now, she is a better player and she will win this match, probably in 2. Sabine Lisicki - Stefanie Voegele WTA Brisbane +1.5 sets Voegele 2.04 (pinnacle) 6/10 Both player are agressive ballbasher with great net skills. Sabine Lisicki has more powerfuls shots, better serve and better defensive movement, but she is very inconsistent. When both of them play good, Sabine is better. Last year they met in AO, Sabine won 6-2 4-6 6-4. That was a good tournament for Lisicki, she won against Kuznetsova and Peer too and lost against Sharapova in 3. In first round Sabine(27 winners, 35 unforced) was mediocre against the very weak Rybarikova (3 winners, 24 unforced). She sometimes had problem with her serve and consistency. Voegele played well, she was very good in the end of the last season too, she is in good mood and she has a lot of confidence. Lisicki is a better player, but she isn't unplayable now, I think she will have to fight against good Voegele and it will be a tight match. Fernando Verdasco - Victor Hanescu ATP Doha Verdasco -1.5 sets 1.67 (paddy power) 3/10 Fernando Verdasco played very well against Filippo Volandri. His serve was amazing and hit some fantastic winner. Volandri ran side by side but he had no chance against Fernando. Since wimbledon this was the best performance by him. Hanescu has good serve, soft hands and some powerful shots but his movement is bad. He doesn't like the fast surfaces, he doesn't have time to prepare to his big shots. If Hanescu serves well, it will be a tight match, maybe one 7-5 or tie break but Verdasco seems to good now so I think he will win this match in 2. Wishing you all the best in the coming New Year.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Yvonne Meusburger to beat Venus Williams for a 3/10 stake at 4.22 with Pinnacle Venus Williams was not great against Hlavackova and, generally, I think that she is going to face some very tough times in 2014. Yvonne Meusburger, on the other hand, is rising through the ranks rather swiftly and, unless she gets hindered by nerves, she should have every chance of beating the American legend in Auckland. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/meusburger-vs-williams-betting-yvonne-meusburger-looks-value-against-venus-williams-in-auckland Happy New Year! :ok

[Torque]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 There are a couple of matches that are close to where I want them to be in terms of price, but so far I only have one for today. Daniel Brands to beat David Ferrer I've laid Ferrer at 1.21 here, as I wasn't convinced by his performance against Dolgopolov in his last match where he dropped a set. Brands is a player that I like - he is limited in some respects but he makes the most of what he has and he did well last season. He is established in and around the top 50 in the rankings, and in my opinion he is more than capable of beating Ferrer if he has a good day.

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Grzegorz Panfil (+4) to beat Bernard Tomic for a 4/10 stake at 1.96 with Pinnacle Tomic isn't a guy you could trust to cover big handicap lines and I am not sure that he will be able to cover this line here in all fairness. Panfil is on fire and this is a huge opportunity for him, while Tomic doesn't really have that much to play for anyway, so he might not be fully focused. Big serves and big hitting can lead Panfil to yet another big victory - and this line should get covered even if Tomic plays well. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/panfil-vs-tomic-betting-the-confident-pole-has-what-it-takes-to-trouble-bernard-tomic Back Dominika Cibulkova Total Games - Over 5 for a 4/10 stake at 1.97 with Pinnacle It is never easy to win five games against Serena Williams, but she looked a bit off against Petkovic, so I fancy Cibulkova to get five or even more games on the board against her in Brisbane. Hopefully, the world's number one won't be able to find her destructive best once again. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/cibulkova-vs-williams-betting-dominika-cibulkova-can-win-a-few-games-against-the-world-s-number-one Back Kaia Kanepi Total Games - Over 7 for a 4/10 stake at 2.02 with Pinnacle Sharapova is still a big unknown as far as I am concerned, so I fancy Kanepi, who looks to be in good nick, to run her fairly close in Brisbane on Thursday. She had no problems against Suarez-Navarro and has the right game for doing well against the big names, so seven games should be an achievable target. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/kanepi-vs-sharapova-betting-maria-sharapova-looks-overrated-in-her-second-match-of-the-season

[Father Ted]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Gabrine Muguruza to beat Venus williams in 2 sets @ 6/1 To win a set @ evens I have been following Garbine for quite a while now and even though she had an ankle injury late last year she still managed to continue climbing the rankings and now has reached the lofty heights of world number 63, not bad for a 20 year old kid. If you haven't seen her play then I could describe her as a tall powerful flat hitting canny player who has a great temperament for the big matches, for all the world she reminds me of a female Del Potro! Anyway she has taken out some big names in the past year including Cibulkova Barthel Pavlychenkova and Wozniacki amongst others. I watched her match last night against Fichman and even though she had a horrendous first set spraying errors everywhere and missing some awful overheads I never felt she was panicked and she coolly turned it around and won cosily in the end. I also watched both Williams matches and I feel she has been riding her luck somewhat, she grinded out the results but at what cost? Two long hard 3 setters in the heat has bound to have drained her,and with her form patchy at best and her advancing years (she is now almost 33) I simply cannot entertain her at 3/10 odds. I think Gabrine really relishes these matches against big name players which is why I also think she is destined for the top 10 in the WTA in a couple of years, I just feel she has what it takes to get there. My one worry is that her ankle injury may trouble her a little as she wasn't moving very freely at times in her match last night but hey at the odds I am gonna take a chance on her ! At the very least she should manage to nick a set but honestly feel she will win perhaps even in two. Muguruza to win a set @evens 5pts Muguruza to beat Venus 2-0 @ 6/1 2 pts Betfair prices Incidentally I also have her at 50/1 to win her first WTA title here and I am quite confident!

[CzechPunter]

Re: Pre-Season - January 5 Back Benoit Paire to beat Marcel Granollers for a 4/10 stake at 1.69 with Pinnacle Benoit Paire looked quite impressive against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while Marcel Granollers had some problems in his own matches. The Frenchman should like the surface more and is clearly the better player of the two, so going with him here at a decent enough price. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/paire-vs-granollers-betting-benoit-paire-should-have-no-problems-against-marcel-granollers Back Kirsten Flipkens to beat Ana Ivanovic for a 3/10 stake at 4.00 with Bet365 Worth a punt at these odds. Flipkens has beaten Ivanovic before and seems to be playing decent tennis, so she should stand a chance against the Serbian, who tends to throw in a bad performance here and there. This could be the moment - and Flipkens could prove to be a very tricky match-up for the Serbian. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/flipkens-vs-ivanovic-betting-kirsten-flipkens-can-impress-against-ana-ivanovic-in-auckland