Tag: Williams

The Fastest F1 Cars Ever Break Cover

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With Lewis Hamilton a short priced favourite to begin his assault on a fourth world title in Melbourne, punters looking to bet around the outright market are spoilt for choice if they are looking to find value investments.

The opening race of the season is always fascinating, and not just because it satiates the appetites of F1 fans left hungry for the four months of the off season.

Part of the intrigue is because there are invariably new rules and regulations, either to the way races are run or the technological changes which have been made to the cars to bring them into line with the new rules.

This year, for example, there will be a standing start if the heavens open at 4 pm on Sunday afternoon, rather than the traditional rolling start behind the safety car.

New Rules and Regulations Increase the Intrigue

The cars are wider and will have larger front wings and wider rear wings set at a lower level. The tyres will also be wider and ”fatter”, the end result that they will have much more aerodynamic downforce – a critical factor in allowing them to approach corners much quicker and make turns much faster as their grip will be even better.

Restrictions on teams developing their engines during the season have been removed, which in theory should assist Ferrari and Red Bull improve their cars to challenge Mercedes.

Many experts are touting them as potentially the fastest breed of F1 cars the sport will have ever seen. The increased speeds and faster cornering will, of course, make it far more physically demanding for drivers and ensure their concentration levels have to be greater than ever.

Those factors mean that there will be plenty of uncertainty about the opening couple of races, even though pre-season testing has delivered some clues, and that is where investors looking for some value might find something to interest them.

To Finish First, You Have to Finish

Inevitably there are retirements and breakdowns with some teams, including the best, suffering unexpected problems.

In those circumstances, it might be worth taking a punt on an experienced driver for an unfancied team to perhaps navigate his way into a top-six finish.

There are few more experienced in this field than Felipe Massa, who was going to retire but answered an SOS from his former team, Williams, to stay on for another year to replace Valtteri Bottas, who has gone to Mercedes.

Massa finished all but four races last season and was in the top six in three of the first four, including Australia. His odds of $1.83 with Sportsbet and Bet 365 to do so again could prove rewarding.

McLaren once used to be the dominant team in this sport, but they have fallen well behind now and anyone expecting them to have another poor weekend can take the odds of $1.14 (Bet 365) for one of their cars not to finish the race.

If you fancy Hamilton to get off to a horror start, he can be backed at $7 not to finish in Melbourne, something he failed to do twice last season.

Veterans Turning Back The Clock at 2017 Australian Open

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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).

Nadal Turns Back Clock To Prevail in Marathon Five-Setter

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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).

A Look Ahead at Melbourne Park: Australian Open Tennis

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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.