Veterans Turning Back The Clock at 2017 Australian Open

The quarter-final line-ups in the Australian Open men’s and women’s draws have been decided, and they look nothing like the expectations that most pundits held a little over a week ago. On the men’s side, unseeded German Mischa Zverev faces the giant task of defeating Swiss great Roger Federer (17) to reach the semis while another former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka (4) takes on Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12). In the bottom half of the draw, Rafael Nadal (9) will meet the highest seed remaining in the tournament, Canada’s Milos Raonic (3) with the remaining semi-final berth going to the winner of the David Goffin (11) v Grigor Dimitrov (15) match-up.

In the women’s tournament, a Williams v Williams final is still in play but it’s Serena who faces a tougher path through the next two rounds. She plays in-form Brit Johanna Konta (9) in the quarters with Karolina Pliskova (5) taking on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the other quarter. In the top half, it’s CoCo Vandeweghe v Garbine Muguruza (7) while Venus Williams must defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the last four.

Swiss on a roll

Four of the eight quarter-finals will be played today, with Wawrinka v Tsonga the last game of the day session on Rod Laver Arena with Zverev v Federer first-up for the night session. There’s not much to take from the head-to-head history between Wawrinka and Tsonga as five of their seven match-ups have been on clay. Their only clash on a hard court was a decade ago! Statistically, Tsonga has slightly better numbers on hard courts – he holds serve 91 percent of the time compared to Wawrinka’s 85 per cent while their ability to break opponents is almost identical. A four-set contest is a reasonable expectation at $2.35 (thanks to bet365).

Federer is not surprisingly priced at $1.13 to defeat Zverev, although the quote would have been way shorter only days ago. Their previous two meetings are inconsequential (Halle on grass in 2013, Rome on clay in 2009) with Federer winning both. Zverev stunned Murray with his serve and volley game but the Swiss master will be wary should he attempt this strategy again. Credit to the German for his run here after a long run of injuries but Roger gets this done comfortably (3-0 at $1.67 with William Hill).

Venus rising

Venus Williams is first up on Rod Laver Arena today against the Russian 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the CoCo Vandeweghe-Garbine Muguruza quarter-final to follow immediately after. As Federer, Nadal and Lucic-Baroni have shown, age doesn’t seem to be a barrier at this year’s Open and the 36-year-old Williams is yet to drop a set against Kateryna Kozlova, Stefanie Voegele, Duan Ying-Ying and Mona Barthel. Pavlyuchenkova is an improved player compared to 12 months ago, but her return statistics are considerably inferior to those of Williams. We’re staggered to find Williams rated the underdog here, and will be taking a fair slice of the $2.00 available at Sportsbet. Vandeweghe ($2.60) will be on a high after her straight-sets upset of world No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber. Meanwhile, seventh seed Garbine Muguruza ($1.50) has progressed to her first Australian Open quarter-final without the loss of a set. They’ve played three times, Vandeweghe winning twice. The market looks about right for this one with a slight lean to the American at the game-total line (+3.5 at $1.80 with Crownbet).

NBA Western Conference teams are asserting their dominance

The Golden State Warriors have returned to the top of most pundits’ NBA power rankings after going on a seven-game winning streak. The odds on them winning the NBA Championship have gone into 4/5 on the back of this fine run of form, and they look unstoppable at present. The only teams enjoying similar winning runs are the San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz, both Western Conference teams. It makes it look increasingly like the winner of the NBA Championship will come from this conference.

Winning Conference

The Golden State Warriors are favourites to avenge last season’s Finals defeat to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and win another NBA Championship. It would be their second in three years and they really have been the dominant force in recent times. Over in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs lost their last game to leave them with a win ratio of .714. That does not compare at all favourably to the Warriors’ .864 or the Spurs .791. Even the third best team in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets, have a better record than Cleveland, with a win percentage of .723.

Below the Cavs in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors and Celtics are both on losing streaks, and none of the leading teams are playing all that well. In any power rankings, five of the top six teams right now would come from the Western Conference. The favourites, third favourites and fourth favourites to win the NBA Championship are all Western Conference teams, so it looks like the winner will come from this conference. Bet365 and Sky Bet are running books on which conference will produce the winner of the NBA Championship and both are offering 2/5 on it being the Western Conference, which looks a great bet right now.

Northwest Division

Most of the divisions look sewn up and are dominated by clear frontrunners, but one that looks interesting still is the Northwest, where the Utah Jazz are in front on 29-16, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder on 25-19. The Thunder have MVP candidate Russell Westbrook, but that has not been enough to stop them losing their past two games. The Jazz, meanwhile, are on a remarkable six-game winning run, a streak bettered only by the Warriors, and Rudy Gobert is in fantastic form for them. They already have a healthy advantage and the gap should widen, so the 5/12 available at Ladbrokes on the Jazz winning this division looks a great bet.

Upcoming games

On Tuesday the Warriors play the Miami Heat and should win comfortably, so much so that they are just 1/8 with Betfred and Paddy Power. These teams played on January 11 and the Warriors ran out 12-point winners. Since then their form has been immense: they have won their last five games by 20 points, 35 points (against the Cavaliers, no less), 21 points, 17 points and 20 points. The Heat are on a three-game winning run but are likely to come unstuck against the Warriors, who can cover an 11-points spread at 10/11 with Betfred and Paddy Power. Wednesday sees leading lights from the Western and Eastern Conferences face off as the Spurs, second in the Western Conference, play the Toronto Raptors, second in the Eastern Conference. Expect the supremacy of the Western Conference to be asserted here with a narrow win for the Spurs, who are in excellent form while the Raptors have lost two in a row. On Friday the Jazz plays the LA Lakers and should cover a generous spread.

Angelique Sent To The Kerb As CoCo Pops Major Surprise

CoCo Vandeweghe is the WTA’s version of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Her on-court demeanour and blistering serve is in stark contrast to the self-deprecating 25-year-old that greeted the media late last night. That was after she’d made a mockery of the rankings and wiped the court with world No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber, storming into the quarter-finals 6-2, 6-3. Kerber’s shock loss comes on the same day that men’s top seed Andy Murray was also sent packing, beaten by unheralded German Mischa Zverev.

It’s the first time in Australian Open history that both no.1s have failed to reach the quarter-finals. Five of the past seven newly installed world no. 1 female players have been dumped from their first major as top seed earlier than the quarter-finals. Earlier, Mischa Zverev (older brother of Alexander, who pushed Rafael Nadal to the wire in the third round) prevailed over Murray after three and a half hours to win 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-4. Heading into week 2 of the tournament, Serena Williams heads the market for the women’s title at $2.50 while Roger Federer leads a very tight field in the men’s competition.

Men’s market split wide open

Rafael Nadal (now a $6 hope for the title behind Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic) continue his charge toward a second Australian Open title against Gael Monfils in the second match at Rod Laver Arena tonight. The Spanish ninth seed faces another stern test against the sixth-seeded Frenchman. Giant-killer Denis Istomin will be hoping to cause another upset when he takes on 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov later in the day while ground pass holders are in for a treat with big-serving Canadian Raonic taking on Spanish 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Raonic has won all four head to head matches but five of the nine head-to-head sets were 7-5 or 7-6 scorelines, including four tiebreaks. Bautista-Agut has broken opponents in almost 30 percent of his games played on hard court in the past 12 months so the Spaniard is worth a punt at the +5.5 game- total line at $1.73 on Centrebet. Dominic Thiem and David Goffin not only share a close friendship but close contests too. Goffin has the 4-3 edge in their head-to-head record but Thiem won their last match at the 2015 French Open. The +40.5 match total line appeals at $1.83 (Ladbrokes).

Hopes dashed for Gavrilova?

Australia’s last remaining hope Daria “Dasha” Gavrilova will again take centre stage when she opens tonight’s session against fifth seed Karolina Pliskova. Serena Williams headlines the day session against 16th seed Barbora Strycova, At Margaret Court Arena, ninth seed Johanna Konta is in action against Russian Ekaterina Makarova, followed by the only remaining match that doesn’t feature a seed with American qualifier Jennifer Brady and Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni battling it out. Pliskova looked gone a double break 2-5 down against Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, but the Czech (now second favourite behind Williams) ground out a 10-8 win. She now faces the pressure cooker of a Rod Laver Arena packed with Aussies cheering on their final hope in the tournament. Gavrilova has been riding her luck and it’s likely to run out tonight despite the massive support – take Pliskova 2-0 sets at $1.80 (Crownbet). In two matches, Strycova hasn’t claimed a set over the world No.2 – it’s a trend that will likely continue when they meet today. There’s a little more value in the -19.5-game match total, which $1.83 on Luxbet.

Nadal Turns Back Clock To Prevail in Marathon Five-Setter

The 2009 Australian Open will always hold a special place in the scrapbook of Rafael Nadal. Already anointed the “King of Clay”, Nadal defeated Roger Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title. He was the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open title and became just the fourth male tennis player (with Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, and Andre Agassi) to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. Nadal also became the first to hold Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time. Pickings have been slim for the Spaniard on his past eight visits to Melbourne but he turned back the clock yesterday, staging an incredible comeback after teen sensation Alexander Zverev looked odds-on to send the world no. 9 packing. The ninth-seeded Nadal came from two sets to one down to win 4-6 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 in an epic third-round encounter which lasted four hours and six minutes. Coincidentally, Zverev had butchered a match point before losing his only previous encounter against Nadal last year at Indian Wells.

Sir Andy to barely raise a sweat

Fresh from his dominant win over Tomas Berdych on Friday night, Roger Federer returns to Rod Laver Arena tonight to take on fifth seed Kei Nishikori. Federer holds a 4-2 head-to-head record over Nishikori, but the pair has never met in a Grand Slam. The 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka faces Andreas Seppi at Margaret Court Arena while ground pass holders will be able to see French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Brit Dan Evans in the fourth match at Hisense Arena. Men’s top seed Andy Murray highlights the day session as he meets Mischa Zverev, the older brother of Alexander. Zverev has maintained a spot just inside the top 50 for several years but has never risen to the ranks of Murray, who presents a poor match-up for the Russian-born German. The Scot is a prohibitive $1.25 to win this in straight sets but backable at the -9.5-game handicap ($2.00 with William Hill). Having endured that circus that comes with Nick Kyrgios, Seppi enters his match-up against Wawrinka full of confidence. He has enough game to frustrate the Swiss from the baseline and should force this to a minimum of four sets +34.5 games is $1.80 with Unibet).

Sun hasn’t yet set on Venus

Women’s top seed Angelique Kerber takes on big-hitting American CoCo Vandeweghe after she dispatched Eugenie Bouchard in the previous round. Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova opens the day session against compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, followed by Venus Williams against qualifier Mona Barthel. Seventh seed Garbine Muguruza will also be in action against Sorana Cirstea. It’s incredible to think the 36-year-old Williams first played this tournament in 1998, and she’s still knocking opponents off the court with some blistering groundstrokes. Barthel, who silenced the local crowds with her win over Ashleigh Barty, has already played and won six matches at Melbourne Park after coming through the qualifiers. Let’s ride this Williams bandwagon for at least one more round (2-0 sets at $2.10 on Crownbet). Vandeweghe is a dominant player when her serve is on song but not so hot when her opponent fires serves back with similar enthusiasm. That’s the case as the American takes on defending champ Kerber today. The German should have this decided inside 20.5 games ($1.83 with Ladbrokes).

Book Far From Closed On Career Of Swiss Master Federer

The bookies didn’t have much love for Roger Federer when the markets opened on the 2017 Australian Open men’s singles title. To make the final he would most likely need to top Tomas Berdych, Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka. And if he could win through all those matches, Novak Djokovic would await in the final. Good luck Roger. Suddenly, Novak’s gone, Federer has dismantled Berdych and he’s been slashed from $21 to $13 to go all the way. What was supposed to be the real test of Federer’s first official tournament since last year’s Wimbledon and his recovery from knee surgery more closely resembled a walkover. The world No.10 Berdych was completely wiped off the court by a vintage Federer display, Roger winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in 90 minutes. Berdych found himself laughing at some of Federer’s groundstrokes as they sailed past. Federer was two sets up inside the hour mark without facing a break point on his dominant serve. He wouldn’t all night, winning 39 of 41 points when his first serve landed.

Will Denis menace Spanish opponent?

On the other side of the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal has looked solid in his return to Grand Slam play, but rising German Alexander Zverev will offer a stern examination of his progress in the final game of the day session. Grigor Dimitrov and Richard Gasquet are scheduled to meet tonight with other action featuring Gael Monfils and Philipp Kohlschreiber while eighth seed Dominic Thiem takes on Frenchman Benoit Paire. The match that really catches the eye today is the battle of Denis Istomin and Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta. Backing up from a career-defining victory, as was the case with Istomin’s upset of no. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, is generally a tough ask in Grand Slam tennis. Remember that Istomin needed four hours and 48 minutes to dispatch Djokovic. Lower ranked players have a lousy record backing up after a long five-setter, and there is little reason to expect that Istomin won’t struggle today. Take the Spaniard at the handicap (4.5 games) at $1.73 on Sportsbet. We’ll also be taking the Canadian Milos Raonic to claim victory in straight sets over Gilles Simon – it’s available at $2.10 with bet365.

Aussie ‘Dasha’ to again prevail

Serena Williams will continue her charge for a record-breaking 23 Grand Slam titles when she takes on Nicole Gibbs on Day 6 of Australian Open 27. Williams’ clash with compatriot Gibbs is the second match at Rod Laver Arena with sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova opening the day session against 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova. Aussie hope Daria Gavrilova is first up at night against Timea Bacsinszky, Barbora Strycova will take on Caroline Garcia, former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki faces ninth seed Johanna Konta, with Karolina Pliskova and Jelena Ostapenko in action tonight. Some reporter was silly enough to accuse Williams of a scrappy performance in her previous outing (and was duly delivered short shrift). Serena may flex a little muscle today, and it’s worth a play at the handicap (-6.5 games at $1.83 on Luxbet). The final Aussie in either singles’ draw is the Russian-born 22-year-old Gavrilova. She’s a scrapper and a fighter in the Lleyton Hewitt mould so had quickly become a fan favourite. She’s beaten Bacsinszky in both of their prior meetings, including their most recent in Beijing. Take ‘Dasha’ at $3.75 to win in three sets with William Hill.

Series at Stake for Pesky Pakistanis

Steven Smith led his side impressively in game three of the ODI series between Australia and Pakistan in Perth. The Australian captain was commanding in the field, when calling the shots and keeping Pakistan to a below-par 267, and was even better with bat in hand as he finessed his way to a not out hundred.

The captaincy and the batting illustrates a maturity that holds Australia in good stead ahead of their trip to India and the Champions Trophy later this year. But first is a series against Pakistan to finish off. The home side will be hoping to close Pakistan out in game 4 in Sydney.

The Series So Far

A surprisingly competitive series has Australia with a narrow 2-1 lead after wins sandwiched between a surprise loss in Melbourne. In game one, Australia was under immense pressure at 78/5 before recovering and having their bowlers lead them to an easy win. That result was reversed at the MCG where the Australian batsman struggled again and Pakistan chased down 217 comfortably. The most recent match of the series again saw Australia recover from batting wobbles to chase down 268. Thanks mostly to Steve Smith’s beautifully timed run chase. Smith scored a well made hundred while getting support from debutant Peter Handscomb.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mitchell Starc

Starc could return to the side instead of Billy Stanlake after being rested at the WACA. The returning Starc will form a formidable trio of strike bowlers with fellow quickies Hazlewood (who was awesome in game three) and Cummins (if he’s not rested in Sydney where it traditionally turns a bit and could favour Adam Zamora).

Pakistan (probable)

1 Sharjeel Khan, 2 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik 5 Assad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Hasan Ali.

Assad Shafiq and Umar Akumal are under pressure to perform but may keep their places in the side due to a lack of quality replacements. That is unless Azhar Ali is fit to return.

The Key Players

Australia

Despite not taking a wicket in game three James Faulkner still leads the Australian wicket-takers in the series with 6. The canny left armer expertly mixes his cutters, off pace slower balls, and stock back of a length to trouble batsman and keep his economy rate down. Faulkner hasn’t been rested and plays an important wicket-taking role when Starc and Hazlewood are being rotated. Keep an eye on Faulkner’s immense skill as he attacks the middle overs again in Sydney.

Pakistan

Junaid Kahn and Mohammad Amir have both been incredibly dangerous with the ball in the series so far. So much so that they are more of a threat in tandem than they are as individuals. If they’re not rested in game four (Amir is a chance after spending some time off the field in the last match) their combination could be what Pakistan need to even up the series. To do so they must take early wickets and these two are the ones responsible for doing so.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.25

Pakistan – $3.75

*All odds from Unibet.

The Prediction

The loss at Melbourne was officially a blip and not the result of two evenly matched teams. Australia has always been dominant in one day cricket at home and this series is no different (game two aside). Normal transmission should continue in Sydney, with another comfortable win for the home side.

The Best Bets

All summer Peter Handscomb has enjoyed unbelievable fortune (he’s also played some great cricket mind you). And when it’s running your way, sometimes as punters it’s best to go with it. Handscomb was out off a no-ball early in his debut innings and went on to score. He’s at $6 to top score again on Sunday.

Shoaib Malik to score fifty is priced nicely at $3.50. Given Malik’s impact on the series so far after missing game one, this could be one Pakistan player worth showing some trust in.