australian open

Roger Federer 2012 Australian Open Tennis betting Preview. Well Federer may be the old head in the pack of the main contenders for the tennis Grand Slams this year, but he is far from done if you are listening to him. Federer came back into some prime form towards the end of last season, but with a patchy start to the new season, including a back problem in Doha, the sixteen time Grand Slam winner is still hungry for more. Probably the biggest motivation is to try and prove all of his critics wrong that he is not past it all. So Federer, for all of his class and experience is insisting that his back problem, which has kept him from practicing at 100% until this week. The Grand Slams are long and arduous affairs, so does that immediately put him at as disadvantage? Well the thing is, with Roger Federer you just never know, because he never gives anything away. He is still one of the top four players in the world, and one of the ones most likely to triumph in 2012 Australian Open tennis betting this time around. This is the 13th attempt Federer has had at the Australian Open, and he seems pretty fearless and confident. He is still capable of producing some of the most slick and powerful tennis out of the top four players, but the same old relentless consistency which took him to title after title is just not there. But the draw for the Australian Open seems pretty wide open this time around, inside the top four players in the world at least. Federer opens his account with a first round match against qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev and he has been handed a pretty good draw, it has to be said. The biggest potential upset in his quarter will be former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who Federer could meet in the quarter finals. Federer goes into the 2012 Australian Open tennis betting with a fantastic 228-34 match record in the Grand Slams. His match record on hard court stands at 495-102.

Federer is in the bottom half of the draw alongside world number two Rafael Nadal. So there is the possibility that their old rivalry, which has just been revamped ahead of Melbourne, will come to a fruition in the semi final. That would be a treat and if Federer is then going to go all of the way, then the most likely final opponent would be world number one Novak Djokovic, who is in the top half of the draw alongside Britain’s Andy Murray. It was against Djokovic which Federer produced one of his best matches, beating the Serbian in the French Open before failing to capitalise on a strong start in the final against Rafael Nadal. So it was a Grand Slam less year for Federer last time around and naturally will send a strong message to all the naysayers that he is well and truly done. But he is class personified and if he is fit, because there is never any problem with his mental approach, then we will expect to see him in the final four. Can Roger Federer win the 2012 Australian Open? Is Roger Federer 2012 Australian Open tennis betting a viable option? The bookies are cautious over his chances and they have him pencilled in as second favourite, largely because of the big question marks over Rafael Nadal’s fitness. It means that Federer is the favoured out of the two to win the bottom half of the draw, and then with his big match experience, who knows? It would be a fine sight to see Federer lift yet another Grand Slam, because it would raise the challenge for the other top three players for the rest of the season. Don’t count out the Fed Express yet!

Roger Federer to win 2012 Australian Open betting Odds: 4/1 at Totesport

Roger Federer to reach final: 2/1 at BetFred

Name the Finalists:
Roger Federer v Novak Djokovic: 5/2 at SkyBet
Roger Federer v Andy Murray: 9/1 at Bet365

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Novak Djokovic 2012 Australian Open Tennis betting Preview. Can the Serb match his three-peat Grand Slam title success of last year, and land his third Australian Open title? The World Number One started off the season with a triumph in the Australian Open before going on to lift the Wimbledon and US Open title. That was one of ten titles in total for Djokovic last season and he goes as favourite in defence of his title at Melbourne Park. Djokovic won an exhibition event as part of his warm up for the Australian Open, taken the exhibition even in Abu Dhabi. There was some injury problems starting to creep in ahead of Australian Open tennis betting, as the long season took its toll on the Serb, with niggles to his shoulder and his back. Will there be any new year hangover for Djokovic? Or is he just going to roll on forward and start off another remarkable season? There will of course be the extra chance of winning an Olympic Gold medal this year. He is sounding pretty confident ahead of the tournament and he will be the man to beat. Djokovic is in the same half of the draw as Britain’s Andy Murray, the man he crushed in the final of last year’s event. He has even been talking of improvement from the last season, working on his variety of serves and taking more risks in coming into the net with more frequency. Djokovic starts off with a first round match against Paolo Lorenzi of Italy and the challenges won’t really start coming until the quarter finals. The most likely opponent in Novak Djokovic 2012 Australian Open tennis betting at the quarter final stage will be against David Ferrer, while Andy Roddick and young Canadian star Milos Raonic is in his quarter of the draw.

But with the big four stars expected to be contesting the semi finals, it will set Djokovic up for a semi final clash against Andy Murray. With two Australian Open titles under his belt, the Serbian is expected to be right there in the final. With question marks over the fitness and commitment of Rafael Nadal, and the aging legs of Roger Federer, who can stop Djokovic? Again the most likely scenario is that he will meet either Nadal or Federer in the final from the other half of the draw, and would you go against Djokovic against either of them in 2012 Australian Open. Probably not. Djokovic enters with a 110-24 match record in Grand Slams and a solid 247-65 match record on hard courts, where he has won twenty career titles. Djokovic is definitely a front runner, because he has won 342 and lost just 19 matches after he has taken the first set. After losing the first set of a match though, he has only gone on to win 52, losing 92 after going behind, so not a great strike rate there. But breaking the incredible Djokovic defence down is just something which opponents struggle to do, because his incredible defence and the ability to pull shots out of nowhere from the baseline. Strongest player in the men’s draw for 2012 Australian Open without a doubt and worth looking at for some good value and returns. He’s not the Djoker in the pack, he is the ace.

Novak Djokovic to win 2012 Australian Open betting Odds: 5/4 at Bet365

Novak Djokovic to reach final: 3/5 at Bwin

Name the Finalists:
Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer: 7/2 at Bet365
Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal: 7/2 at SkyBet

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The women’s final of the Australian Open is all about Chinese star Li Na, who has managed to go one better than her semi final appearance in Melbourne last year. In her defeat of world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the semi finals, she became the first Asian player to reach a Grand Slam tennis final. Even on the back of her strong performance here last year, she was always an outsider in the betting, and going up against Wozniacki, everyone expected the young Danish starlet to be heading to the Australian Open final. It is not to be though, as Li Na out punched her. It was a fascinating match between the two, with Wozniacki looking the calmer and more assured through the first set. Li Na had to fend of a match point for Wozniacki in the second set as well, but it was the Chinese player who really started gaining momentum as the match went on. As Wozniacki tired, looking a bit heavy in the legs, and her incredible anticipation deserting her, Li Na pounced. Li Na plays a very simple game, and it is not one with a lot of style and finesse, but it certainly packs a lot of power. In the first set, Na could not finish opportunities at all, with forehand smash after forehand smash going long or wide. She looked as if she was really feeling the pressure of the moment in the first set, and just couldn’t get herself going.

However, and this is one of the big pluses about Li Na, is that she digs in and really knows how to stage a comeback. She did the same against Kim Clijsters in the final of Sydney just a fortnight ago, when Clijsters was in cruise control, but Na fought back from the brink of defeat to steal the title. She has an incredible fortitude, can cause a lot of damage with her backhand shots, and when she pairs up the accuracy of her forehand with her power, then she is a big threat. Li Na punches hard with her shots and her game is about power, trying to bully her opponent off the court, and it leads to a very brave game from her. She has one of the highest winning shot counts in the women’s tournament, along with the highest break point conversion rate at the Australian Open. The downfall though, is that because she has an incredibly low clearance over the net through playing very hard, low, flat shots that she really shoots for the baseline, and while her winners are up, her unforced error count is really high also. It is finding that balance in between, but it works for Na, and now she proudly steps out in to her first Grand Slam final, and should be in good spirits. Na has dropped just one set in the tournament so far, beating Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka on the road to the final, where she will meet Kim Clijsters.

Kim Clijsters from Belgium has been guilty of being a streaky player in her career. While she is undoubtedly one of the class acts on the WTA, she also goes through patches where her game really lets her down. There have been small glimpses of it during the Australian Open, particularly in her match against, Alize Cornet in the second round. Still, Clijsters continues to punch her way through, and her strengths are in her footwork and beautiful control. She just never looks like she is going to hit a bad shot, and this is where the match could be won. She took firm control of the early exchanges against Li Na in the final of Sydney, but then couldn’t withstand the power of Li Na’s comeback, once the Chinese player had relaxed after looking down and out. Clijsters will have learned from that, she is too good of a player not too, and the three time US Open Champion is firm favourite to add the Australian Open title to her collection, a title which she has never won before. There will be a new name on the women’s trophy this year. Truthfully, Clijsters hasn’t been tested too much in the tournament so far, getting past Agnieszka Radwanska, Ekaterina Makarova and helped by Jelena Jankovic exiting early. Her biggest test came in the semi final where she met world number two Vera Zvonareva.

Despite exchanging breaks at the start of the match, Clijsters wasn’t long in exerting her control in the match, and ran out 6-3 6-3 winner over the Russian. A straight sets victory, just as she had done against Zvonareva at Flushing Meadows last year in the US Open final. If you are looking for experience to hedge your bet with, then Clijsters will win hands down. This is a Grand Slam final, and nerves do play their part. Ask Zvonareva at the US Open and Wimbledon finals. This is the eighth major final which Clijsters has been in, and hasn’t dropped a set through her progress to the final. Looking at the stats between the two players, there are some big factors at play. Clijsters has won 70% of points on her first serve, while Na has won just 64%. Perhaps more telling, is the 58% success on points that Clijsters has on her second serve, where Li Na’s second serve has yielded just a point win just 49% of the time during the tournament. Clijsters has spent a lot less time on court during the Australian Open than Li Na, the Belgium making rapid progress. Can Li Na punch above her ranking one more time, to make another piece of history? Li Na is something of an important figure in Chinese sport. She rebelled against the state, refusing to pay the 40% of her earnings that the state trained players were required to. She left the regime and went solo, paying her own way to tournaments around the world and making a name for herself. Both are very affable players, with Clijsters the cool, collected, consummate polite, respectful professional, while Na is the spunky passionate one with her heart on her sleeve.

The Head to Head record between the two stands in favour of Clijsters, winning 4 to Na’s 2. Clijsters is ranked 3rd in the world (will be up to number two after this tournament), while Na is ranked 11th. Clijsters has 40 career titles, to Na’s 4. This should be a great match, with plenty of big shots going to the wire, you have to look at the much better control that Clijsters has though, along with the big match experience. When Na beat Clijsters in Sydney, it was Clijster’s failure to put the first set to bed on the tie break after being up in the set. It handed all the momentum and power to Na to stage a comeback. She did, but can she do it on the big stage, under the heat and pressure of a Grand Slam final? Even with that victory, it is tough to back against Clijsters, she is probably going to be too much of a class act on the day, and looks for her fourteenth straight Grand Slam match victory in a row.

Kim Clijsters to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Na Li to win: 5/2 at SkyBet

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Day Eight of the Australian Open, and the action really is begging to wind up. We’ve lost Sharapova and Azarenka, while Francesca Schiavone fought out and epic with Svetlana Kuznetsova yesterday. That was all for places in the quarter finals, and the second half of the draw battles it out today to try and join the likes of Schiavone and Wozniacki there. This means that we have some interesting battles about to resume in Melbourne, starting with tournament favourite Kim Clijsters. She is going so strongly, even though she found her third round match a bit trying, as she had to dig a little deeper to get past Alize Cornet, in match which was a bit tighter than expected. That’s nothing much to worry about really, because players are going to have their off days, and no-one is perfect all of the time, unless your name is Rafael Nadal. Next up for Clijsters on her quest to win her first Australian Open, is Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova is a player who will run down every point and make Clijsters work hard, but she will be a strong underdog. Makarova knocked out 13th seed Nadia Petrova in the third round, and after winning her first tour tournament last year, is on the rise. However, was watching her against Petrova, and really doesn’t look as if she has the all round game to out punch Clijsters over the course of a match. Clijsters is just to quick and powerful around the court, and as long as she has that bounce in her step, then the Belgian star will win through to the quarter finals as expected .

Petra Kvitova v Flavia Pennetta makes for an interesting match. Ever since her arrival in the semi finals of Wimbledon last year, there has been a rising interest in Kvitova. The 28th ranked left hander from the Czech Republic, who has only been a pro for just over four years, is really coming along nicely. As hinted, previously on these pages, was the likely player to cause a big upset in the third round, and she did, silencing the home fans by knocking out Aussie star Sam Stosur in straight sets. Is she going to win the tournament? No, but she has every chance of making it to the quarter finals here against Pennetta. The Italian is a bit of surprise contestant in the fourth round, and that is because she looked down and out in the third round against the future potential star of Israel’s Shahar Peer. Pennetta looked to be fighting a lost cause in the first set, losing it 6-3 with Peer looking to be motoring. She held on through a tie break in the second and then ran out 6-4 winner in the third set. It really was a commendable effort from the Italian, which wasn’t watched here as Peer looked so much in control after the first set, that the doubles pairing of Azarenka & Kirilenko looked much more interesting.

Agnieszka Radwanska v Shuai Peng is a bit of an unpredictable one to call. Radwanska looks a mixed bag of talent and poor shot selection at times, but is an enjoyable player to watch. With the demise of Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka, the dark horse label must fall on the shoulders of Radwanska. She is progressing really without any fuss or bother or hype surrounding her, that’s because no-one is expecting her to win the tournament. Here’s the thing with her, she has looked as if she has lacked a bit of belief in her game, especially in the two opening rounds, but she really looked to have grown in stature in the third when she thumped Simona Halep (in a match which was presumed to be going to play out as a close one), dropping only three games along the way. What of her opponent Shuai Peng? Don’t know a great deal about her to be honest, but the Asian players seeming to be getting a stronger foothold in the game, with the likes of Na Li and Jie Zheng reaching the semi’s here last year. Peng did knock out Jelena Jankovic (7th seed) in a previous round and that is why she is here. If Radwanska is on top her game and on top of herself, then the Polish star will win. Peng looks like one of those dogged players who will just not give up, but Radwanska (ranked 12th) should win here and set up a tasty quarter final against Kim Clijsters.

In the fourth women’s singles of the day, we get to see number two seed Vera Zvonareva take on Iveta Benesova. After starting the draw strongly, Zvonareva had a bit of struggle in the second round when she dropped the first set against promising youngster Bojana Jovanovski. She looked stronger in her first set against Lucie Safarova in the third round, but was made to work very hard in the third, taking it on a tie break in the end. Zvonareva is still hit and miss really as far as the title goes, and because of the fact that she would meet Kim Clijsters in the semi finals of her half of the draw, the player who thumped her in the final of the US Open late last year, you would back Clijsters over the Russian. But Zvonareva is improving and is looking a little more mature in her tactical approach to the game. Good mover around the court, and drives her shots well to the baseline, however, may just be lacking that world class edge to take her all the way. She has to be behind Wozniacki and Clijsters in the front running. Zvonareva takes on Benesova, who has knocked out two seeds along the way. Firstly she deposed Maria Kirilenko in the second round ,before taking out dark horse Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an enduring match. Benesova has never made it past the third round of a Grand Slam, so this is new territory for her. Really shouldn’t be beating Zvonareva here, don’t fully see an upset happening, so would look for Clijsters, Zvonareva, Radwanska and perhaps Kvitova to move through today.

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Latest Outright Winner Prices

Kim Clijsters: 11/8 at Extrabet
Caroline Wozniacki: 4/1 at Bet365
Na Li: 11/2 at SkyBet
Vera Zvonareva: 8/1 at BetFred
Petra Kvitova: 12/1 at Extrabet

The women’s fourth round tennis betting (all odds listed for outright tournament winner, not match betting) is really looking like the most attractive prospect of Day Seven at the Australian Open as well look ahead. There are some great matches coming up, and with the Women’s draw still wide open for anyone to win, it continues to intrigue and produce some fantastic matches. Topping the bill is world number one Caroline Wozniacki (11/2 at BetFair), who squares off against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova (ranked 46th). The two players have never met before, but Wozniacki has not shown any sign of her progress slowing down. She is moving well and being naturally aggressive, and its hard to see where she gets some of her power from to be honest. Great talent, and great wit and she turned on the media at a press conference, answering questions before she’d been asked, and challenging the press to come up with more interesting challenges. This was all in response to criticism of her replies to questions being boring. Russian queen Maria Sharapova (16/1 at Boylesports) is in the fourth round, and she takes on Andrea Petkovic, and Sharapova has a great chance to move ahead here. She was challenged hard in the third round, losing her first set, but showed a lot of grit to battle back for the win. She is still looking like she is improving, but not quite enough to win the Grand Slam one would think. This really could have been Britain’s Anne Keothavong playing Sharapova in the fourth round, if only the Brit hadn’t blown things in the final set against Petkovic. Somehow German Petkovic got away by the skin of her teeth, and got a free pass through to the fourth round following that, as her third round opponent Venus Williams pulled out because of injury. Petkovic, ranked 33, can challenge on her day, but Sharapova is the better player of the two on paper. Sharapova beat Petkovic easily last year in Cincinnati, their only previous meeting.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (14/1 at BetFred), who caused a shock in knocking out Justine Henin, squares off against last year’s French Open winner Francesca Schiavone. Kuznetsova was not at the races at all last year, but actually looked in good nick against Henin. The Russian holds an 8-4 head to head advantage of Schiavone. Should be tight, and a tough one to call. Schiavone has probably got the slight edge, it depends which Kuznetsova turns up. Our girl and top tip Victoria Azaraneka (14/1 at Paddy Power) meets Na Li, in probably the best looking match of the day’s women’s action. The Belarusian has been in very good form so far through the tournament, and really has the potential to go and win this one. She will face her toughest test in Na Li, who is just rolling confidently along doing what she does best. The Chinese star reached the semi finals here last season, and won’t be a pushover. Azarenka has incredible reach and power in her shots and if she is high on confidence, then she will take this one. Na Li will need to get after Azarenka early in the match to try and throw her off her game, and Na Li holds a 2-1 head to head advantage over Azarenka, but Azarenka won when they met in Montreal last  year. This is 9th (Azarenka) v 11th (Na) match, and should be fiercely contested. Would lean towards the power of Azarenka pulling this one off. You can tell by her body language that she is fired up.

As for the men’s draw, Roger Federer (9/5 at SportingBet) will look to set the pace again, as he takes on Tommy Robredo. Federer, after being pushed to five sets in the second round, cruised back into top form in the third round to set up this clash. The Fed Express should win this one and carry on his charge towards the title. Federer still makes a worthy punt for your money, as you get the feeling that if anyone is going to stop the Rafa Slam from happening, it has to be him. It would be just so fitting. Novak Djokovic (8/1 at Boylesports), the only other previous Australian Open winner in the tournament besides Federer and Nadal is still rolling along in his challenge. He is one of the most consistent players on the ATP and you could pretty much pick him up from the start and drop him into the quarter final stage. He is incredibly hard working a diligent, this is a big year for him and really would be great to see him push Nadal and Federer. Other matches on the go will be Stanislas Wawrinka v Andy Roddick. Roddick had to survive a scare in his third round match, and needed to battle hard to book his place in the fourth round. Good enough to progress here. Tomas Berdych, who can be really exciting on his day, squares off against Fernando Verdasco, who is just as thrilling. Verdasco is always good for entertainment value, and has already shown that this year, when he left it late to get through one of his early matches. A winner here, really tough call, would go with Berdych on the day.

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Federer though has been pushed to five sets already. Aussie hero Leyton Hewitt crashed out in a five set epic, and Andy Roddick was also pushed to the wire. So these deciding sets crop up more often than you think, and it is heartbreaking to think of your backed player losing out in a deciding set. This is where the SportingBet Last Set Decider serves up an ace for your tennis betting at the Australian Open. If you are not a SportingBet customer, then you will receive a match first bet welcome offer from the popular bookie when you do open an account, up to the value of a £50 free bet. This is all great, and a fantastic opportunity to start your sports betting one of the best bookies for sports promotions. The action is coming thick and fast from Melbourne, and the competition is heading to the second week, the real business end of the tournament. So, take any Match Price on any player in an individual Australian Open match, and your bet will be covered if that player then loses in the deciding set of the match.

The RafaSlam is looking more and more likely to happen, it has to be said. If he can win the Australian Open, then he will be the first man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at one, since Rod Laver back in the 40’s. He has looked totally dominant through the early rounds, as expected really, and is just racing through the sets without breaking a sweat (not literally, due to the Melbourne heat). He is just oozing class and confidence at the moment, and with him having seen Roger Federer struggle through a five set match in the second round, the Spaniard really has the Slam at his mercy. Day six will see him try and book his place in the fourth round, as he takes on exciting youngster Bernard Tomic from Australia. Tomic is ranked 199th in the world and hasn’t turned pro yet. Has played a few Grand Slam before, but this is the further he has gotten in any of them. Not expected to have much of a chance against Nadal, but that hasn’t stopped Tomic fancying his own chances. He is determined that he will have a good crack at Nadal, the world number one. Tomic hasn’t dropped a set yet actually, including a win over 31st seed Feliciano Lopez in the second round. It looks like another breeze for Nadal, and that’s about it. Swede and fourth seed in the men’s draw Robin Soderling steps back into action as well, as he takes on Jan Hernych in his quarter of the draw. Realistically this is the best chance at winning a Grand Slam that Soderling has been in. Unlikely to happen, as he’d need to beat Murray and Nadal in his half most likley. After a much improved year last year, is looking solid enough to progress a bit further though. Not that the challenges have been too stiff, but there is still the question mark over whether or not he can really beat Federer and Nadal to a Grand Slam. Should be in the fourth round without much fuss.

Andy Murray steps onto the court again as well, as he faces Guillermo Garcia Lopez (ranked 32) in his third round match. Murray easily saw off the challenge of young Illya Marchenko in the second round, with Murray’s serve looking strong to carry him through the tournament. He is looking defensively sound (which really is one of his biggest strengths), relaxed and confident, but we have seen that before from Murray early in tournaments and then things have gone a bit awry. In order to win the Grand Slam at the Australian Open, the draw will make him have to go through Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (most likely) in order to do it. Garcia Lopez is really the kind of opponent that Murray should be beating with ease as well if he is going to win his first slam. With Marcos Baghdatis ending the come back of Juan Martin Del Potro, Murray would play the winner of him and Jurgen Melzer in the fourth round. Melzer is a dangerous floater in Murray’s quarter, the Austrian is ranked 11th and could be a tricky opponent. Awaiting Murray after that could be 4th seed Robin Soderling, so Murray really has his work cut out for him. Murray is second on court at the Rod Laver Arena, when Vera Zvonareva has finished her match. One more match to look out for, and it could be a bruising, hard hitting affair between the big John Isner  (20th) and Marin Cilic (15th). Just has the makings of a good, entertaining match.

Still not much value in taking Nadal or Murray in match betting obviously. You will be better served dipping into live betting services to try and get some good value out of the match. Unibet are showing live streams from Melbourne, and coupled with their brilliant live in play betting service, you get the best of both worlds there. So, if you want to follow Murray in action, and bet on his progress throughout the match, then head to Unibet, one of the most highly recommended online bookmakers available. There is also a £20 no risk first bet to be taken as a welcome offer as a new account holder there.

Latest Outright Betting

Rafael Nadal: 13/8 at 888Sport (first time he’s really taken an advantage as favourite in the betting)
Roger Federer: 9/5 at SportingBet
Novak Djokovic: 8/1 at Blue Square
Andy Murray: 8/1 at BetFair

Roger Federer is back in tennis action on Day Five of the Australian Open from Melbourne. Federer has actually been edging things in the tennis betting at the bookmakers, but had a fight on his hands in his second round match. The Fed-Express went on a bit of an unexpected roller-coaster ride. The Swiss star opened up a two set to nil lead without much fuss or bother, but then dropped the next two sets against Gilles Simon. This suddenly turned into a much tougher encounter than Federer had ever imagined, and when his opponent took the fourth set, there was a hint of a major upset. But Federer, used all of his experience and found another gear when needed to take the deciding set 6-3. Federer now plays Xavier Malisse (who is Jamie Murray’s doubles partner incidentally) in the third round. Malisse (from Belgium), beat youngster Albert Montanes in straight sets in his second round match. Malisse is unseeded and not really expected to put up any kind of resistance that should bother Federer. The effort against Simon, may have just given Federer and extra bolt, a bit of a wake up call. He’ll be in the fourth round. A possible quarter final opponent for Federer could well be Andy Roddick. As expected, the bustling American has made it through to the third round, where he takes on Robin Haase. Roddick last year was full of vim and vigour at the start of the new year, but couldn’t make as big of an impact as he would have liked at the Australian Open. Hasse beat Juan Monaco to book his place in the third round. Roddick has been untroubled so far, not dropping a set on his progress. Really shouldn’t have too many problems against Haase (ranked 62nd in the world).

World Number three Novak Djokovic plays Viktor Troicki in his third round match. The Serbian had a small wobble in the second set against Ivan Dodig in the second round, but still had enough class to pull well clear and finish the match off easily. Djokovic is looking strong, and Troicki (ranked 29th) should be easily overcome by Djokovic, a former winner at the Australian Open. Perhaps one of the most interesting matches of the day (although it doesn’t sound it on paper to be truthful) will be between Stanislas Wawrinka and Gael Monfils, the winner of which will likely face Roddick in the fourth round. Wawrinka (19th seed) is the guy who knocked out Andy Murray from the US Open last year, while Monfils (ranked 12th) is always a hit and miss job. This is a close one to call, and they may be evenly matched and therefore slug it out over five sets. Nicolas Almagro (14th) meets veteran Ivan Ljubicic (17th) in a contest which will decide who will likely meet Djokovic in the fourth round. Not the most exciting of cards for Day Five at the Australian Open, more like matches which will intrigue than really thrill too much. All eyes will be on Roger Federer though, to see if he can get back to his no-nonsense business of winning in straight sets.

Latest Outright Odds

Rafael Nadal: 7/4 at SportingBet
Roger Federer: 7/4 at 888Sport
Andy Murray: 8/1 at Paddy Power
Novak Djokovic: 17/2 at Paddy Power
Robin Soderling: 18/1 at SportingBet

Great tennis promotions going on at 888Sport at the moment, and the popular bookie will be well worth a visit. They have two promotions running for the Australian Open in the Love 50! Offer. It is called that because the value of the free bets you can get, is up to £50! In the first offer, if the player you back in a match loses in fifth set, then 888Sport will give you a free bet to the value of your lost stake (up to £50). The second promotion running covers the instance of there being three sets which go to a tiebreak, in a match in which you have backed a player. If that happens, then again 888Sport will give you a free bet matching your stake (regardless of whether your player wins or loses). It is just some nice coverage bonus to have in you are doing your tennis betting anyway. With a great £25 no risk first bet on a new account, 888Sport really serve up a treat with their online betting promotions. If you make the 888th bet of the day on their website, then you will get a free bet to the value of your stake there as well (up to the value of £888!). So if you time it right and fall lucky, there is a lot on offer at the highly recommended 888Sport.

Some great line ups for Day Five at the Australian Open in the women’s draw as we look ahead. Both Brits, Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong have now fallen by the wayside, and Kim Clijsters is just looking unstoppable at the moment. Of course it is early days yet, but she is looking the strongest out of the favourites so far. While she and Caroline Wozniacki will remain favourites, there has already been a major seed fall by the wayside, as 7th seed Jelena Jankovic crashed out in the second round. Normally she is one of the best movers, and has a fierce backhand, but she just couldn’t pull it all together. She didn’t look fully confident to be honest, and was really hesitant to go and attack, and she paid the price. Vera Zvonareva (2nd seed) was blitzed in the first set 6-2 by Bojana Jovanovski. Zvonareva bounced back with relative ease though, and is looking more of a threat than really first thought. With Clijsters in the third round already, it is world number one Caroline Wozniacki’s time kick off the action there. She goes in the glamour match against Dominika Cibulkova who is ranked 29th in the world, and could be an interesting test for the Danish starlet. Cibulkova reached the quarter finals of the US Open late last year, her best effort in any Slam since first entering in 2007. Good, exciting young talent, but Wozniacki has looked pretty sharp though, and still sitting in cruise control. You have to back her to get through, but the challenges will start getting much stiffer from here on out.

Victoria Azarenka faces the awesomely named Chanelle Scheeper in the third round, as the Belarusian continues her challenge. Azarenka really has to be pencilled in as one of the most dangerous outside bets to take the title. She should get better and better as the tournament goes on, if she hold her mental game together through these early rounds, matches which she should win with relative ease. There’s a decent path ahead for the number 8 seed and is well worth a look. Elena Baltacha’s conqueror Justine Henin will have a tougher time against Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 23rd seed. Kuznetsova has been a Quarter Finalist a couple of times in Melbourne, and is a two times Grand Slam Champion. Hasn’t really been at her world beating best for some time now, certainly struggled through 2010, so this marks a big challenge for her, and Henin. Justine Henin is one of the favourites for the title, and with her class showing clearly above her early round opponents, it has been hard to judge how far she may go. This is an important one to watch for her progress.

Seriously. What was Venus Williams wearing in her second round match against Sandra Zahlavova? Well the 4th seed got herself caught up in one of the strangest games of the tournament so far. She lost the first set, looked as if she was going to retire because of injury, was barely mobile for the rest of the match, but somehow still won. That is the determination and grit of a champion, but Zahlavova really blew it to be honest, she had a big chance, but made serious errors letting Williams off the hook in the second match, before being totally overwhelmed in the third. Odd match, very loud with the screams of pain from Williams, boisterous grunts from Zahlavova, oh and that dress. This injury could affect her Grand Slam chances of course, but she is going to soldier on. She plays Andrea Petkovic, who really should have been beaten by Britain’s Anne Keothavong, but the Brit really blew her chance. A fit Williams would probably walk this, but if she gets into the situation she did against Zahlavova, Petkovic (ranked 30th) may just have that extra edge of fitness and quality to punish her. Fascinating match up.

Latest Outright Odds

Kim Clijsters: 13/8 at BetFred
Justine Henin: 5/1 at Blue Square
Caroline Wozniacki: 7/1 at Paddy Power
Vera Zvonareva: 10/1 at Paddy Power
Samantha Stosur: 14/1 at 888Sport
Victoria Azarenka: 14/1 at Stan James

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