Uh-oh Ladies Tennis, What Else Is on Tele?!

Seriously, the above topic heading has been the conversation theme in our household when the Tennis is on. What's with the ladies side of the draw, I ask?! Or better what's with women's Tennis in general?! I hope I don't sound sexist, but truth be told, the women have sucked so far in the Open. In one of the biggest upsets in Tennis history, Ivanovic was shown the exit sign by the number 188 player in the world!! Not since the beginning of the Open era in 1968 has the Number 1 seed exited faster than she entered the tournament! Number 3 seed Kuznestova followed suit also, playing as though she was pulling a semitrailer behind her. Number 2 seed, Jankovic has been labouring in the first three rounds so far, clunking and rattling her way through worse than a reconstructed engine of a 1978 beat up Mitsubishi Sigma. You look at the men's side and it's been jaw dropping tennis and shot selection by them. Then you take a look at the girls and you find more stars in a rating of an Adam Sandler movie than in the ladies side of the draw.   We just saw the Djoker and Fedex slug it out for hours thrilling the Arthur Ashes' stands, with their five set - edge of your seat kinda' Tennis. For those of us who love Tennis, I would make the bold statement and say that those guys are worth every single cent they earn. I don't care if they make millions or billions, t... [More]

Where to from here Roger?!

When he woke up this morning, the ex Number 1 player in men's Tennis would have realised that what actually happened was not a bad dream but rather a grim reality. How awful it must have been for him not having his mandatory digit in front of his name, as it was "stolen" by the Spanish Olympic Champion.  Without over dramatising it, I actually felt sad for Fedexpress, because it really marked the end of an era in men's Tennis. It wasn't just that Roger had lost his number 1 ranking, but that he will never again dominate the ATP circuit as he has done over the last 4 years. That was then, this is now!   Back in January, you could only get a mere $2.5 return on your dollar if you backed Roger to win all 4 majors in 2008! Now the question is 'Will Roger ever win another major?' Many people's  answer to that question now would be 'Not bloody likely!"   Here's a little break down of Federer's demise, and why the punters should lose confidence in the ex number 1 player. He could not beat Nadal on grass, he could not win a hard court title in 7 attempts, he has lost to Stepanek, Karlovic, Simon and Fish, he looked like a lost little boy last week in Bejing against Blake making so many unforced errors and being more erratic than a DUI driver. It's not just his losses but the manner in which he lost those matches. He played those matches as... [More]

To fade or not to fade

Tennis lovers around the globe rejoice - A changing of the guards has just taken place!  The unfathomable happend today when Rafa 'the Bull' Nadal held off a quarterfinal challenge by the Ecuadorian Lapentti downing him in straight sets 7-6; 6-1 to reach the Cincy semis. Thereupon, after 235 weeks as World number 1 in Men's tennis, Roger Federer known as the Swiss Master, is no longer on top of the tennis world! Roger must have looked one too many times out of that window and he gave in (think how Kramer lost the Contest!!)......leaving him no longer to be The Master of his Domain, no longer King of the County, no longer lord of the Manor....

With Fedex not being able to reach the semis here, The Bull from Mallorca, who even had an asteroid named after him a month ago, becomes the 24th player in the history of the ATP to hold the number one spot and the third Spanish player to achieve such an accomplishment (Carlos Moya 1999) and (Juan Carlos Ferrero 2003).  Nadal (at $1.40) now faces the Djoker in the Cincy semis, and if he cruises past him (which I have no doubt that he will), he will be the new World number 1 on Monday, when the new ATP ranking is released.  However, if the bizarre takes place and Nadal loses to the Djoker tomorrow, then he'll have to wait until after the Olympics to be crowned the new number 1.

This is all good and intere... [More]

Aussie's Cincinnati TMS Pick r.3

Tursunov - Murray The odds are stacked against the Russian here, in more ways that one.  Except  from not having lost to him on a mine-field, Tursunov has lost to the Scot on pretty much every other surface; 4 outta' 4 on clay, hard, grass and carpet, to be precise. We'll see how he fares against him in the Iraq Open next month ....   Nah, all jokes aside, there's so much value with Dmitry today. I wouldn't dare take him for the whole match, although that wouldn't be a bad one either, but First Set Win has alot of value.  Tursunov's serve has been brilliant thus far in this tournament, being helped also by the speed of the court.  Murray isn't the best returner in the world either, so if this goes deep in the first, then I really like Tursunov to get over the line there. In both previous matches against Safin and Gasquet, the Russian has looked as solid as you can get on serve. Both Gasquet and Safin are great returners and both take the ball early on the rise. I expect this to go the distance and Dmitry should be able to pocket for himself as well as for the rest of us, that First Set W.  At $3.10, it's a bloody ripper of a dog play. Pick: Tursunov to Win First Set 3 Unit play to win 6.3 Units profit     AUSSIE... [More]