Sport is made for betting

It's Slam time again which means I've been busy with betting previews. I've been writing these for all the Slams since 2000 with some tasty winners along the way... Men's draw Changing of the guard with Djokovic holding the no.1 seed mantle for the first time at a Slam. If his shoulder ailment has gone, then the title is his to lose. But if he isn't full strength, it's wide open. Expect severe disruption to the schedule for the first couple of days until the after-effects of Hurricane Irene peter out completely. 1. Djokovic - his form this year makes him the most dominant man I have seen across all surfaces. 57-2 is incredible, particularly with the most recent defeat being a precautionary retirement due to an ailing shoulder (Cincinnati final). Early rounds should be a breeze, gets harder in week two - Gasquet, followed by Berdych or Monfils. 2.3 32. Dodig - first time seed facing former world #3 in R1. Tough initiation. Beat Nadal in Montreal so can pul...

Another site taking my rants, raves, expertise and tips - the sports blog for The Tote in Tasmania. Total Domination The WTA has been criticised over the years for being dominated by one or two players, and rightly so. Now it’s the men’s turn and it’s very difficult to fathom. Victory in Montreal left Novak Djokovic with a 53-1 win-loss run for the year and he became the first player to win five Masters Series events in a calendar year, remarkably with three still to play. Ponder that for a moment – one loss in over 50 matches in an era containing two rivals regularly mentioned in GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) discussions. Federer and Nadal haven’t been injured, there hasn’t been a disease epidemic weakening his opponents, players haven’t been on strike – this is a guy fed up with life at number three and laying it all on the line...... Read more at The Tote SportsHub

Stop playing tournaments in Russia - it's that simple. No respect for authority and importantly, no prosecutable laws for sporting corruption. The latest fix, which was actually a spoof manoeuvre, designed purely to gain better odds for the syndicate pulling all the strings. Tursunov was never going to lose this one but he's obviously been approached to tank the first set so the syndicate could get far better odds on the victory... From Tennisform again: 26 October 2010 17:14 Tursunov has been heavily opposed on Betfair from 1.23 to 1.9 (345K matched). 19:25 Tursunov came through in three sets against Michal Przysiezny in what appeared to be yet another predetermined outcome. The Russian rolled over for the first set before Przysiezny stopped trying in sets two and three. Tursunov won 82% of his service points but the stats are totally irrelevant. The Russian drifted hugely just prior to the off, to suggest that he wasn't going to win the first set, before the ...

Even if Federer comes back from 5-7 3-5, his backers at 1.01 will have been bricking it!

When Roger Federer leads 5-1 in the third set, up a double break, you are entitled to think he is home. But then Tsonga fights back, takes the lead at 6-5, and has Federer 0-40 on his serve - three match points A few of the money-buyers will have absolutely soiled themselves over this one. It's currently 3-3 in the final set tie-break, I doubt there'll be any more 1.01 traded! UPDATE - Tsonga wins the tie-break 7-3 and the match 7-6 1-6 7-6.

This was written yesterday for PuntingAce but due to timezones etc, they are yet to publish it. Please forgive what looks to be aftertiming on Bartoli.... AO Halfway Update WOMEN The women's draw has been the one most affected by upsets with the lines around Ivanovic and Venus Williams falling away significantly. In the top half, Jankovic hasn't hit top gear yet, she made hard work of beating an ailing Sugiyama and has tricky opponents from here on in. Versus Bartoli her record is 3-3, Zvonareva 6-4 and Petrova 6-2 - all players capable of beating her on any given day. The main threat in the quarter for me is Zvonareva. She has been in fantastic form since late last year, but needs to overcome a 1-5 record vs Petrova first. On top of her domination in the singles, her doubles form has been top notch as well (with Azarenka). Petrova is in her best form a while as well. Anyone can win that quarter. Safina looked very rusty in the opening rounds but returned to something like her ...

originally published Dec 7 2007 on betting.betfair.com Scott's Spot - Scott looks at Henin's unbelievable year in 2007 and why you're best off backing her for the Aussie Open now The Australian Open final is under two months away and recently we've been taking an early look at who is likely to be a contender in the Rod Laver Arena. I've taken a look at the women's lineup. Justine Henin landed every prize on her schedule in 2007 in an amazing performance. After the breakup of her marriage kept her away from Melbourne, she lost just FOUR times for the rest of the year - to Safarova in first event back in February, Serena in Miami, Kuznetsova in Berlin and Bartoli in that unbelievable semi at Wimbledon. Since Wimbledon, she has won 25 matches in a row and has dropped just three sets. This is as close to domination in the women's game since the best set of legs ever to grace a tennis court, Steffi Graf, reigned in the early 90s. While all the plaudits go to Fede...

Scott Ferguson looks at who the movers and shakers could be amongst the current Top 10 players on the ATP and WTA tours originally published on betting.betfair.com Instead of trawling through the 50-200 ranked players in order to find the big movers of the year, let's take a look at the top 10s and what I think they will look like come December 08. 1. Roger Federer. He lost nine times in 2007 and still had 1400pts to spare at the top of the rankings. And his main danger allegedly can't put in the legwork to make that step up. 2. Novak Djokovic. Getting ever closer to the top and still improving. Capable on all courts, leaving him more room to gather points. But is he now the hunted? 3. Rafael Nadal. Just three losses on clay in three years (107 wins), but the pack is getting closer. If Ferrer and Nalbandian can beat him indoors, then it's not impossible to see him being pressured on the clay. His chronic foot problems could be just an excuse in advance, or the ailment which...