Category: Tennis

Book Far From Closed On Career Of Swiss Master Federer

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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.

Wildcard Sends Defending Champ Djokovic Packing In Second Round Shock

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Denis Istomin is coached by his mother and is one of the few players on Tour who needs glasses when he plays. Today, he’s celebrating the biggest win of his career after ensuring the earliest exit of a reigning Australian Open champion in 20 years. The Uzbek wildcard has blown the men’s draw wide open with a gruelling five-set win over second seed Novak Djokovic, which drastically boosts the title chances of No.1 seed and five-time runner-up Andy Murray and those of former champions Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal.

The 30-year-old thanked his mother Klaudiya, who’s always been beside him as coach. Istomin had only claimed one set in five previous matches against Djokovic. Making his win over four hours and 49 minutes more remarkable was the Uzbek’s past year. Injuries and a seven-match losing streak left him out of the top 100 for the first time in six years and battling for an Australian Open spot through December’s Asia-Pacific wildcard playoff. He warmed up for his 11th Australian Open in humbling conditions at the $70,000 Bangkok Challenger!

Gloomy day looms

When it comes to Grand Slam tennis and rain, it’s a combination more associated with south-west London than Melbourne. But a day of delays looms after the Australian Open site was drenched overnight, with showers expected to continue throughout the afternoon. On the men’s side, Roger Federer graces the court against Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych and enjoys a 16-6 record against the 10th seed, including the past five clashes. Four sets look the key number ($2.50 with William Hill).

World no. 27 Bernard Tomic faces off against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans. The pair shares a win apiece in their past meetings, however, it was the Australian who triumphed last time they met in the 2015 Davis Cup. The Aussie is quietly chipping away and looks nicely priced at the small start of -1.5 games ($1.91 on Luxbet). World no. 1 Andy Murray takes to Hisense Arena to battle American 31st seed Sam Querrey. The market doesn’t appear to be too concerned with Murray after he rolled his ankle in the previous round, installing him a $1.02 favourite to prevail. A nibble on Querry at the handicap might be the value here +7.5 at $2.10 with bet365).

Aussie making waves

In her first third round ever at a Grand Slam after a stirring win over Simona Halep’s conqueror Shelby Rogers, Ashleigh Barty is up against German qualifier Mona Barthel. Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard takes on American firebrand CoCo Vandeweghe, followed by World no. 1 Angelique Kerber battling Czech Kristyna Pliskova. Barty is continuing to prove that she made the right decision turning her back on a cricket career to focus on tennis. She created 13 break point chances in 11 return games against Annika Beck and eight in nine games on Shelby Rogers’ serve. If she can maintain such form, Barty will beat many better players than Barthel (take the Aussie straight-up to win at $1.80 on Unibet). Expect a fiercely competitive and highly entertaining encounter when Bouchard meets Vandeweghe. Bouchard, a Canadian, beat the American Vandeweghe, from California, in their only other encounter at Indian Wells in 2015 but they’ve each come a long way since that match-up. Genie wins this in three ($3.75 on Crownbet).

Another Day, Another Farce For Controversial Aussie Young Gun Kyrgios

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The 7.30pm timeslot on Australia’s Seven Network is normally home to one of the nation’s most loved soap operas, Home And Away. So it was only appropriate that last night’s Australian Open second round clash between Nick Kyrgios and Andreas Seppi was played at the same time on the free-to-air TV partner of the tournament. In a spectacular collapse, Kyrgios blew a two-set advantage to fall 1-6 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-1 10-8 to Italian Andreas Seppi. It featured the full gamut of drama that Aussie tennis fans have come to know, and mostly detest, about the 21-year-old.

Kyrgios, who carried a knee injury into the season’s first grand slam, appeared unhappy about apparently having to put in extra work on his day off on Tuesday and continued a verbal battle with his courtside box throughout the night. Kyrgios was then docked a penalty point after receiving a second code violation for angrily smashing his racquet into the court. Fellow former world No.1 Jim Courier described Kyrgios’s antics as “apathetic” while John McEnroe called Kyrgios’ apparent lack of effort mid-match as “black eye for the sport”.

Short shift looms for Djokovic

In the men’s draw, no. 2 seed Novak Djokovic continues his title defence against Denis Istomin, 2009 Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal faces beaten finalist Marcos Baghdatis and third seed Milos Raonic meets Gilles Muller on Margaret Court Arena. Emerging local Jordan Thompson will take on eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem. Djokovic is 5-0 against Istomin, taking 12 of the 13 sets they have contested – this one won’t last 27.5 games ($1.91 with Ladbrokes). Likewise, Grigor Dimitrov figures to have an easy time against South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, an emerging player on the verge of breaking into the top 100 thanks to some strong performances on the Challenger Tour. The Bulgarian will complete the job inside three sets ($1.80 on Luxbet). We can’t wait for the clash against big-serving duo Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) and Milos Raonic (Canada). Muller has been making quick work of opponents with his serve on-song and claim several big-name scalps on the road to the title in Sydney. Raonic is more accomplished from the back of the court but Muller has a superior game at the net. 41.5 games ($1.83 on Sportsbet) looks a given.

Konta can’t go wrong

Australian-born Brit Johanna Konta will be hoping to continue her red-hot run of form when she takes on Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday. Seeded ninth at the Australian Open, Konta defeated Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard and World no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska on her way to the Sydney International title in an impressive preparation for the season-opening grand slam. With Osaka carrying a wrist injury, Konta wins this in a canter (-5.5 games at $1.91 on Crownbet). In other women’s draw highlights on day four, no. 2 seed Serena Williams faces Lucie Safarova, fifth seed Karolina Pliskova takes on Ana Blinkova and no. 6 seed Dominika Cibulkova clashes with Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan. Blinkova is a player to watch – just 18, she’s a talented player who is regularly reaching the latter stages of the few events she’s contested. Pliskova has only covered a line of his magnitude seven times in 20 matches so the Russian looks nice value over her Czech opponent here (+6.5 games is priced at $1.83 with Unibet).

Big Data A Big Hit With Australian Open Followers

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The amount of statistical information that should be released to fans (and, by extension, punters) is vigorously debated in the boardrooms of the major sports. Tennis had lagged behind many of those who’d embraced the concept of empowering their followers with a taste of ‘big data’.

However, the trickle of information from past Australian Opens has turned into a drought-breaking flood thanks to Tennis Australia’s creation of the Game Insight Group (GIG). Among GIG’s findings, based on data collected from the seven primary courts at the past three Australian Opens, Andy Murray had the highest work rate per shot in the men’s game and Gilles Simon the highest work rate per point.

But the stat that shone above all others was that young American star Madison Keys’ average forehand speed ranked first among the women, and ahead of all men except Tomas Berdych. Keys’ average backhand speed was also higher than any of the men. The collection and availability of such data is a huge step in the right direction for the game.
Big guns loaded for second round

The top seeds Angelique Kerber and Andy Murray, as well as Australia’s leading men, return to play on day three of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios will close play with late second-round matches on Margaret Court Arena and Hisense Arena respectively. Tomic looks too strong for clay courter Victor Estrella Burgos, likewise Kyrgios in his match-up with Italian Andreas Seppi (a straight-sets win for Kyrgios is worth taking at $1.80 on William Hill).

Stan Wawrinka looked dead and buried down a break in the fifth set before prevailing over Martin Klizan and could face a similar grind against Steve Johnson today (take the +37.5-game total at $1.83 on Sportsbet). For our best of the day, American Ryan Harrison represents terrific value in his second-round showdown against Tomas Berdych. Berdych’s hold/break statistics have slumped dramatically over the past 12 months – today he faces a player who held serve more than 80 per cent in 2016. Harrison can keep this well inside the +5.5 game-line on offer ($1.83 with Luxbet).

Genie’s out of the bottle

The tour’s most experienced woman, Venus Williams, has been given the honour of opening play on centre court today. Williams, playing in her 73rd grand slam (an all-time record) will take on Swiss world no.112 Stefanie Voegele at Rod Laver Arena. This could turn into a real grind – Voegele has now played four successive three-set matches dating back to the qualifiers, winning all of them (take three sets at $2.75 on Ladbrokes). World no.1 Angelique Kerber’s meeting with Carina Witthoeft follows that match. Garbine Muguruza plays US hope Samantha Crawford in the night session on Melbourne Park’s main stadium court. It’s been a low-key start to the Australian Open for glamour girl Eugenie Bouchard. She made an ominous start to her tournament on Monday night with a crushing win over Louisa Chirico. Her opponent today, veteran Shuai Peng, has played little tennis on the main tour over the past two years. The Canadian should get this done fairly comfortably (a straight sets win is $2.10 with Crownbet).

Hot Afternoon Looms At Searing Melbourne Park On Day Two

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Players face reasonably comfortable conditions from Wednesday through to the weekend but those scheduled to hit the courts on Tuesday will be reminded why the Australian Open can be a sometimes-brutal test of endurance. The forecast temperature is 38°C although cloud cover may ease the impact of this extreme heat. In good news for those scheduled to play in the night session, a cool change is expected early in the evening which will drop the temperature back to the low 20s. That’s when fans will watch no. 2 seed Novak Djokovic take on Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and women’s no. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska face Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. But for the likes of Serena Williams (2), Karolina Pliskova (5), Dominika Cibulkova (6), Milos Raonic (3) and Rafael Nadal (9), there’ll be little respite from the boiler room conditions.

In a Nic of time

The big story on day one was the swift demise of Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. With match-fixing firmly in the spotlight at this year’s Open, Almagro was forced to deflect claims of a money-grab after he lasted just 23 minutes before retiring. Almagro threw in the towel with a calf injury at 4-0 down in the first set against France’s Jeremy Chardy but walked away with an AUD $50,000 cheque as a first-round loser. Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge, a TV commentator, ignited a debate when he said: “Questions to be asked. Did (Almagro) just turn up to take money?” Almagro later insisted: “I went to court because I think I can play. I was top 10, I have more than 10 million dollars. I’m not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason.”

Boys to men

On the men’s side, the big guns all prevailed yesterday but, for our best of the day, we like the look of a former Australian Open boys’ champion. Alexander Zverev is on the cusp of the top 20 and looks to improve his ranking with a win over veteran Dutchman Robin Haase. The 19-year-old German should get this done in three sets, priced at $1.70 with Ladbrokes. Two more players entering the latter stages of their career are also in action today. Marcos Baghdatis is a favourite with the Melbourne Park fans but looks unders as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. It’s been almost a decade since the 34-year-old Russian reached the quarterfinals in this event but looks good value ($2.60 with William Hill) to cause the upset here.

Early tram for Sam

For one reason or another, Aussie Sam Stosur has a horrible record on home soil. She has won just 21 of her past 50 matches in Australia and has cost punters a packet with a 24-22 career record as favourite in front of home fans. The books have made Stosur a $1.80 favourite but we’ll be taking the Brit Heather Watson, who showed some decent touch in the Hopman Cup ($2.00 with Paddy Power). Likewise, Lucie Safarova’s career is in decline through a combination of injury and illness. The Czech player has managed just four wins from 15 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months. We’ll be taking her Belgian opponent Yanina Wickmayer at the +3.5-game handicap, available at $1.83 on Luxbet.

A Look Ahead at Melbourne Park: Australian Open Tennis

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The sporting compass of Australia quivers in many different directions across the calendar year. But once the New Year is welcomed, true north points to the massive Melbourne Park tennis complex for the first Grand Slam event of the season – the Australian Open. The tournament dates to 1905 and earned Grand Slam status (along with the French, British and US national championships) in the mid-1920s.

However, the tyranny of distance meant that the world’s best players were often reluctant to make the long trip Down Under and, by the late 1970s, the event’s relevance had sunk to an all-time low. Steadily, the game’s elite returned to the grass courts of the suburban Kooyong complex, but that trickle became a flood once the tournament was shifted to the new Melbourne Park complex – firstly on Rebound Ace and since on Plexicushion Prestige. Injury aside, the world’s best players now converge on mid-summer Melbourne to chase a slice of Grand Slam glory.

Arise Sir Andy

Novak Djokovic secured his sixth Australian Open title last year, highlighted by his wins over Roger Federer and Andy Murray, that confirming his status as the world’s pre-eminent player. Victory drew him level with Australia’s Roy Emerson as the most decorated men’s singles champion in tournament history – and in 2017, he goes in search of a seventh triumph.

It’s a two-horse race according to the markets with Djokovic ($2.65 with William Hill) a narrow favourite ahead of Murray ($2.75). Only Stan Wawrinka ($13), Rafael Nadal ($15) and Milos Raonic ($19) are also rated better than 20-1 chances. Djokovic and Murray (who faces a likely quarter-final match-up with Roger Federer) should prevail from their quarters, while Raonic should join them in the semis. The second quarter is a lottery where Wawrinka looks well under the odds. The main local hope Nick Kyrgios is yet to show he has the temperament to prevail on home soil, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jack Sock will also make their presence felt in this quarter of the draw. Take Murray to go all the way, with Raonic the value pick.

Angelique set to click

Serena Williams says she will not be distracted by the thought of moving ahead of Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam record at the Australian Open. The American world number two needs one major triumph to go clear of the German’s 22 Open-era titles. She’s played this event on 16 occasions for a staggering return of six titles. Williams is generously priced a $4.00 favourite (on Paddy Power) with defending champion Angelique Kerber a $4.50 chance to go back-to-back. Karolina Pliskova ($8), Garbine Muguruza ($11) and Simona Halep ($12) are also rated realistic chances.

But the value reaches well beyond those five players with Kerber and Williams bowing out early in their respective lead-up tournaments. It may pay to play a little wider here with Agnieszka Radwanska ($26), Dominika Cibulkova ($29) and Elina Svitolina ($34) every chance of upsetting the apple cart in their respective quarters. That trio looks terrific value, while Kerber looks set to go all the way once again.