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Britain’s Premier Tennis player on the Women’s circuit, Elena Baltacha, who is enjoying a fine year so far, came through a tough first qualifying match for the BNP Paribas Open in California. The tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Gardens, which is in a stunning location in the Southern Californian desert, is one of the tournaments which the majoirty of the World Stars turn out for. This is WTA Tour Premier event, which the best in the world participate in, regarded in standing as just behind the prestige of a Grand Slam event. The main draw, for both the men and women’s competitions will consist of 64 players, after qualification matches has whittled the draws down from 96. Elena Baltacha has to qualify for the main draw, and after a successful year so far, will be hoping to build upon her form.

Elena Baltacha to win: 1/2 at SkyBet
Ekaterina Bychkova: 7/4 at Paddy Power

Other British interest comes from Anne Keothavong, who is already in First Round of the Main draw:
Anna Chakvetadze to win: 8/1 5 at ExtraBet
Anne Keothavong to win: 9/5 at Boylesports

It took Baltacha three sets to get past American wildcard Julia Boserup, but winning is all that matters, and now she faces a one match shoot off to earn her place in the main draw. Ranked 65th in the World, Baltacha, forever smiling and looking as if she is having fun, put in some impressive performances at the Australian Open, and queen of tennis Maria Sharapova denied her a genuine title shot in Memphis recently. She now has to square off against Ekaterina Bychkova to reach the main draw. With the main draw itself having already been made, there is one stand out portion of the draw, which is going to draw a lot of fans and betting interest. The Indian Wells tennis tournament, appears to be all about Vera Zvonareva and Ana Ivanovic.

Russian Zvonareva has picked up a tour title already this year, winning in Thailand. It was she who beat Ivanovic in the final at Indian Wells last year, taking the crown from the defending champion. Now Ivanovic, who’s best performance this season came in reaching the semi finals in Brisbane, has a lot of work to do, with Zvonareva probably being the better of the two at the moment. The young Serbian, who made headlines recently with her Swimsuit Illustrated shoot, has not done much since to suggest that she can make an impact at the event. Yes, you guessed it, these two are on a collision course again this year, but it won’t be in the final, it will be in the third round, if everything goes to plan.

In the same half of the draw, is the likes of feisty favourite Victoria Azarenka, Daniela Hantuchova (who has won at Indian Wells twice before, and just lost the final in Monterrey, so is in good form) and the always dangerous Yanina Wickmayer. The other half of the draw has Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin (who both continue their comebacks), Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova, along with a good outside bet in Serbian Jelena Jankovic. Top seed for the draw is Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has lost twice in the final at Indian Wells. It is difficult to see her, from a betting point of view, get back the wealth of talent in her half of the draw. For now, we shall see if Britain’s Elena Baltacha can make her way into the main draw, and over the next two weeks, there will be match previews and tennis betting opportunities to explore here.

WTA Indian Wells Outright
Justine Henin: 10/3 at ExtraBet
Kim Clijsters: 9/2 at ExtraBet
Elena Dementieva: 12/1 at Expekt
Maria Sharapova: 12/1 at Bet365
Victoria Azarenka: 14/1 at Expekt

The Men’s tournament at Indian Wells is also in the qualification stage, with the players hoping to join the world’s elite in the main draw. Yes, everyone is there. World Number one Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Britain’s Andy Murray. Spaniard Nadal beat Andy Murray in the final at Indian Wells Garden last year, and after reaching the final of the Australian Open, Murray will be hoping to go one better. There is still the matter of three times champions Roger Federer to deal with though. There is an awesome amount of Tennis to come over the next fortnight, and we will be brining you the highlights of the competition right here, along with betting advice and tips.

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Tennis betting and the WTA pretty much winds down for the week ahead of the much fancied tournament at Indian Wells in just over a week or so. Some players however, are taking the chance to get in a little more hard court practice, by showing up at Monterrey, Mexico. After watching young Russian Alisa Kleybanova beat in form Elena Dementieva in Malaysia, and seeing Venus Williams cruise to back to back victories in both Dubai and Acapulco, it is the turn of a couple of wild card entrants at Monterrey to grab some headlines.

Defending Champion in Monterrey, Marion Bartoli is not back to defend her title, so feisty Serbian Jelena Jankovic heads the field as top seed for the tournament, in hot pursuit by second seed Daniela Hantuchova. Jankovic, ranked 9th in the world, will be strong favourite, as Hantuchova is still outside of the World Top 20, and she is looking to make her way back up the rankings. Jankovic hasn’t been in top form herself this season, and better things are expected of her. She is quick and tenacious around the court, but her best performance this season has been reaching the last 16 in Dubai. For ranking in the top ten, she should be pushing harder for titles. This is one tournament which she should find a breeze, and be able to get some momentum into her season.

Hantuchova started the season well, reaching the quarter finals of Brisbane, but then hasn’t made it past the last 16 in any tournament since. Ranked 24th in the world, the Slovakian will be looking to raise her game ahead of Indian Wells, a place where she has already won twice in her career. Two players to watch out for this time as outside betting tips are Pavlyuchenkova. Well, she is seeded 3rd for the tournament, but remains an outside bet, because she is the highest ranked player in the world, never to have won a singles tournament on the WTA. Yes, another Russian teenager on the scene, but carrying a little form after losing in the Quarter Finals at Dubai to Venus Williams. She also beat Hantuchova during her progress in Dubai too.

World 53, Polona Hercog lost to Venus Williams over 3 sets in Acapulco last week, and that was her second final of the season. Would be a major step up for her to take this one, but dark horse potential is there, and she should meet Pavyluchenkova in the second round in a fascinating prospect. Outside of the seeds, watch out for Sorana Cirstea, who looks like she is due a good run. The one to back could be Lucie Safarova, who reached the final in Paris at the beginning of February in her last tournament, getting the better of higher ranked opponents. Prefers clay, but the world 38 could make an impact, and she is on a collision course with Hantuchova.

Having watched her play, Jankovic should be strong enough to get through to the final, with not much standing in her way in her half of the draw. Biggest challenge is likely to come from Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semi’s. Tournament winner, in all likelihood, should come from that, but pay heed to outsiders, as shown by Kleybanova (world 26th) winning in Malaysia over top seed, and class act Dementieva.

WTA Monterrey Open Outrights, ranked betting favourites: Jelena Jankovic, Lucie Safarova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Dominka Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova.

Time to reap the benefits of Betting Exchange BetFair on this one. There are some good prices to be found over there on smaller tennis tournaments like this. Being a Betting Exchange, there is no actual bookmaker, as you, the punter, will be betting directly against other punters on the exchange. As long as your bet can be matched, which isn’t a problem considering the amount of users on there, or whether you simply find a bet and match it yourself, you will be well away. Cutting out the middle man often leads to better prices, and you can earn a nice £25 no loss bet for joining.

Tennis star Andy Roddick will be pleased with the way things are going for him in Memphis at the Regions Morgan Championships. Although he had a good first round battle against fellow American James Blake, Roddick, who has won this tournament four times, is through to the third round after beating Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. Roddick, ranked 7th in the world started the tournament as top seed above Fernando Verdasco, ranked 11th, and Radek Stepanek, who is ranked 14th. But Roddick is sitting pretty now, as he has seen his main challengers in Verdasco, Stepanek and fourth seed Tommy Haas, all waive goodbye to the tournament. The biggest shock was Radek Stepanek’s exit to qualifier Kevin Anderson from South Africa. The world number 14th found himself in a tough battle right from the off, and could not get things together.

If Roddick was favourite before the tournament, then he is looking much stronger now. He does have two other seeds to get past though in his quarter, starting with 8th seed Sam Querrey, who is ranked 31st in the World. Out of five meetings, Roddick is 4-1 up over his fellow American, the most recent victory coming at San Jose, where Roddick won in three sets. Fifth seed Tomas Berdych is still in the hunt and could meet Roddick in the Quarter finals. It is from the second half of the draw where all the major casualties have occurred, leaving American John Isner all alone as the only seeded player in that half. This is the big tall Isner, who Andy Murray had to overcome in the Australian Open. Isner goes up against Ivo Karlovic in the third round. But the way should be straight forward for Roddick, who is enjoying a busy, yet productive start to the year. His quest is to make an impact again in the Grand Slams, and while he is doing great in the ATP tour tournament, his performance at the Australian Open, highlighted just how much gulf in class there is amongst the elite of the tennis world, and the chasing pack.

Third Round Match:
Andy Roddick to win: 4/9 at BetFred
Sam Querrey to win: 25/12 at Bwin

Britain’s Anne Keothavong has earned herself a place in the semi final of the Cellular South Cup semi finals which are being in held in Memphis at the moment. Britain’s number three is having a fine run, and clearly enjoys playing in Memphis, as she also reached the semi final in last year’s tournament. She beat Karolina Sprem in the Quarter Finals quite comfortably with a score of 6-4, 6-3, but sadly her compatriot Elena Baltacha could join her in the semi’s as the British number one fell to Russian tennis queen Maria Sharapova, who is favourite for the title.

Keothavong has a great chance to reach the final, but will face a stern test against Sofia Arvidsson from Sweden, who knocked out the number two seed in the Quarter Finals. Keothavong hasn’t been on the British tennis radar too much, as she was nursing an injury for the best part of 2009, and the Memphis tournament sees her return to WTA action. In the head to head against her semi final opponent and good fried, the Swede leads the battle by a narrow 4-3 margin. So there is nothing much to fear for Koethavong, who is looking pretty confident around the court. Keothavong, to her credit beat the number 6 seed in the first round, and has looked fairly untroubled during her progress. She is now at 27/5 at BetFair to win the tournament outright.

In the other semi final, Sharapova, who is by far the highest Ranked player in the tournament, will take on Petra Kvitova in the other semi final. Sharapova, who was knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open, in one of the tournament’s big shocks, will be looking to build momentum for the rest of the season. Sharapova has been looking in fine form throughout the tournament, but the level of opposition isn’t really up to her standard to be honest. Sharapova is ranked 16th in the world, and second favourite for the tournament was Melanie Oudin, ranked 53rd in the world. Oudin went out to Keothavong’s semi final opponent Arvidsson.That is the gulf in class.

Maria Sharapova to win: 1/7 at Boylesports
Petra Kvitova to win: 5/1 at Bet365

Over in Dubai, the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships will be contested between Venus Williams and Azarenka. One of the big stories of the championships, was Israeli Shahar Peer making an appearance, after she was denied entry into the country last year. The unseeded Peer made big headlines with her tennis as well, as she beat higher opposition to reach the semi final. Peer knockout out Yanina Wickmayer, Caroline Wozniacki and Na Li on her way to the semi final and it appeared as if there was going to be one of those wonderful fairy tale sporting stories on the cards. But although she battled well, she just couldn’t get the better of the more powerful Williams, who cruised through to the final without playing another seeded player, as Elena Dementieva couldn’t get past the second round in the same quarter of the draw.

Now Williams will play fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, who has only dropped one set on her progress to the final, and was probably expecting a tougher ride from Zvonerava in the Quarter Finals, but the challenge just was not there, with Azarenka winning out 6-3, 6-2. Azarenka, from Belarus and ranked 6th in the world, has had a steady start to 2010, being there or thereabouts in the latter stages of tournaments. She finished in the semi finals in Sydney, and then reached the Quarter finals of the Australian open, where she blew a big lead against Serena Williams. Out of the five meetings on the WTA between the two players, Azarenka has only pulled out one win, coming in the Final in Miami in 2009 on a hard court. Williams will be favourite, but Azarenka is an exciting, powerful and quick player, and if she can find her ruthless edge and play like she did through the Australian Open, then she is more than capable of winning out.

Venus Williams to win: 4/6 at SkyBet
Victoria Azarenka to win: 9/7 at Bwin

It’s tennis overload again this week as the season really starts getting into full swing. There is even some added interest from a British point of view, with Elena Baltacha being seeded for her tournament. Casting a good eye over the women’s game, there are three good tournaments going on this week, with most of the top stars in action spread across them.

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship

Probably the premier tournament happening this week out of the three. This is $2,000,000 event which is played outdoors on a hard court. This is the tournament which has attracted most of the top seeds, and it is a major 64 player tournament. Number One seed going into the tournament is Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki who received a bye through to the second round, where she duly beat unseeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-4 6-4. If things go to plan during her half of the draw, then she will likely come up against defending Dubai champion Venus Williams in the Semi Final. Australian Open surprise, China’s Na Li is in the same quarter as Wozniacki, but took three games to get past Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, while 11th seed Marion Bartoli was on cruise control through her first two matches. It is likely that Wozniacki will meet one of those in the Quarter Finals.

One to watch out for, who could upset the apple cart is Russia’s Elena Dementieva, who beat Daniela Hantuchova in the second round. She is on a collision course with 3rd seed Venus Williams in the Quarter Finals, but is in good form. Dementieva already has two titles under belt so far this season, winning in Sydney in January, and in Paris just a week ago. This would be a repeat of the 2009 Quarter Final, which Williams won quite comfortably. Although the head to head standings has Williams 9-3 up over Dementieva, the Russian is a good tip to go with in this competition, and did get the better of her opponent the last time they met.

The other half of the draw is just as fascinating, with some big names on a collision course in the Quarter Finals. In the third quarter of the draw, Belarussian Victoria Azarenka is seeded highest (4th for the tournament) but there isn’t going to be any ride for her to get to the final, as she’s probably drawn the toughest quarter. Not only is the threat of Serbian Jelena Jankovic there, who struggled a bit in her second round match but pulled through, there is also Vera Zvonereva in the mix. The Russian, ranked 12 is another one of those players who has huge potential to win tournaments like this if she can reach the top of her game. She lost to Azarenka at the Australian Open and may be out for a bit of revenge this time around.

In the fourth quarter of the draw, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is ranked number two for the tournament, should have a fairly easy ride to the semi’. She’s likely face either Agnieszka Radwanska (7th) or Flavia Pennetta (10th) in the Quarter Finals, and then will go up against the winner of the third quarter from the paragraph above. Kuznetsova is a two times Grand Slam winner, her most recent success being in the French Open last year, but hasn’t really hit top form this year yet, crashing out of the Australian Open too 19th seed Nadia Petrova. Still, she has the game to win the tournament if she can regain her top form, and has some history behind her, having won in Dubai in 2008. Favourable draw for her, so she should be a good bet for the semi’s.

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships Outright Winner. Check out Stan James for all these prices:
Venus Williams – 5/2
Victoria Azarenka – 3/1
Jelena Jankovic – 6/1
Vera Zvonareva – 6.1
Svetlana Kuznetsova – 7/1
Caroline Wozniacki -8/1

All above prices at Stan James

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Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & the Cellular South Cup

Britain have a seeded player in a tennis tournament, who is not named Andy Murray. Elena Baltacha, who performed some heroics at the Australian Open by reaching the third round, is ranked 8th for the…(take a deep breath)…Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and The Cellular South Cup. Phew. This is a hard court tournament held in Memphis, USA. Ranked 83rd in the world standing, Baltacha, who is forever smiling, could end up with the glamour tie against tennis queen Maria Sharapova in the third round. Baltacha easily beat Renata Voracova in the first round, and a qualifier in Valerie Tetreault await the winner in the second round.

First seed Sharapova looked in ominous form, as she blitzed past Shenay Perry of the USA in less than an hour. Sharapova crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open this year, and will be hungry for some success to come her way. Ranked 16th in the world, she is head and shoulders the best player in this tournament, with Melanie Oudin the next highest ranked players, seeded 2nd in the tournament, but ranked 53rd in the world. There was a lot more higher ranked players in this tournament last year, but they seem to have all emigrated to Dubai, including last year’s winner Victoria Azarenka who beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final. All this should leave the way clear for Sharapova to pick up the honours.

Three Britain’s actually entered the tournament, and there are still two standing. Katie O’Brien lost to wild card Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round, but Anne Keothavong earned herself a place in the second round with a good, convincing win, and now plays Portugal’s Michelle Larcher De Brito. There’s no chance of the two Brits meeting, well, unless it’s in the final, which is highly unlikely, but it keeps interest keen in British Women’s Tennis.

Outright Winner
Check out Betfair for the prices on this tournament. This betting exchange can pick up good prices, as minor tournaments like this aren’t always covered by online bookmakers. This way, with the Betfair exchange, you can at least pick up some good prices, as you are essentially bidding against other punters. Very often, because there isn’t that middle man, you can get some enhanced prices. Betfair is well worth checking out for events such as this, which fall under the radar a little bit.

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XVIII Copa BBVA Colsanitas, Bogota

This outdoor clay event will fall into the background thanks to the higher profiles of the other  two tournaments happening at the moment. Top seed at this event in Bogota, Columbia, is South America’s finest, Gisela Dulko. The Argentinean is ranked 35th in the world and being the top seed for this tournament, gives you an inkling about the quality of opposition she’ll come up against. This is a good chance for the lesser ranked players to get some glory, but Dulko will remain firm favourite. All of the seeded players progressed through the first round with no problems, and there doesn’t look as if there’ll be much opposition to stop her doing just that.

Outright Winner
Again it’s worth looking an exploring options on Betfair for this tournament as well. Likewise, scour Bet365 for their Live In-Play service, as that is also a nice way to pick up a little extra betting action, and therefore rewards on this smaller tournament tennis action.

Dare Britain believe that they will have two Grand Slam winners at the Australian Open? Sixteen year old Laura Robson has played her way into the semi finals of the Girl’s Tournament, as she goes in search of her second Grand Slam title. The performances of Robson have been commendable, as she is a genuine rising talent of British sport. She took under three quarters of an hour to beat her quarter final opponent, and now plays Kristyna Pliskova in the semi. Pliskova beat top seed Timea Babos in the Quarter Final, which should mean that the seventeen year old is not going to be a pushover. Still, Robson seems to be growing in stature, confidence and ability all the time. Her Quarter Final victory came literally hours after a defeat in the Doubles competition. A busy schedule for young Robson, but hopefully all of the hard work will pay off.

Laura Robson to win: 2/9 at Stan James
Kristyna Pliskova to win: 10/3 at Bet365

With all of the Murray Mania going on in support of Britain’s Andy Murray who is seeking his first Tennis Grand Slam title in Melbourne, there is another Brit on the radar of making it to a final. In last year’s tournament, Laura Robson, age 16, was the losing finalist in the Girls Australian Open. Now she gets to square off against the USA’s Ester Goldfield in her Quarter Final match. Robson is a former Junior World Number One and will be looking to go one better this year, and push her very promising career forward.

She has had a busy time of things at the Australian Open, partaking in the Girls Doubles tournament as well. She and partner Sally Peers lost in the Quarter Finals though to Maria Kirilenko and Agniezska Radwanska. Robson had a great warm up for the tournament, partnering Andy Murray in the Hopman Cup event, in which they reached the final together. That was a great experience for her, playing against higher level opposition, and she performed wonderfully in beating World 26th seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in her singles match in the final.

Laura Robson to win: 1/5 at Bet365
Ester Goldfield to win: 10/3 at SkyBet

It’s semi final day at the Australian Open, with Britain’s great hope Andy Murray in action against Croatian Marin Cilic. Murray won through after getting himself well ahead against World Number Two Rafael Nadal in the Quarter Finals, before the Spaniard had to retire through injury. He is now just one match away from the Grand Slam final, another step closer to his dream of winning the first Grand Slam of his career. The best performance that Cilic, ranked 14th, has put in at a Grand Slam, was his Quarter Final finish at the US Open late last year. He triumphed over American Andy Roddick in their Quarter Final match, looking quite sharp. He did take five sets though to get past Roddick, whereas Murray only played two and a half sets in his Quarter Final match. Incidentally, Nadal had nothing but praise for Murray, stating that he deserves to win the Australian Open. That’s probably out of wishful thinking, as it would meant that his rival Roger Federer doesn’t.

Andy Murray to win: 2/9 at BetFred
Marin Cilic to win: 4/1 at Bet365

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But World Number 5 Andy Murray will be starting as favourite anyway in his match against Cilic. He continued his great form against Nadal, looking composed and sticking to his tactics. All the focus on this semi is about revenge for Andy Murray, as it was Cilic who ended the Scot’s run in the US Open in the Grand Slam of 2009, winning straight sets. Cilic has already beaten one of the tournament favourites, the in form young Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro, and that should send large warning signals over the threat he can cause anyone. This is a great chance for Murray now though, as his performances and ranking will hopefully be enough to see him through. The winner of Murray v Cilic will await to see whether they play Roger Federer or surprise semi finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of this year’s Australian Open Men’s Final. Federer looked down and out in the early stages of his match against in form Nikolay Davydenko. The big Russian looked to have Federer beaten hands down, but Federer’s success highlighted a day of comebacks.

Roger Federer to win: 1/5 at William Hill
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win: 9/2 at Bet365

Tsonga upset third seed Novak Djokovic on a day of surprises and comebacks at the Australian Open. On form and ranking, this should have resulted in an easy victory for World Number 3 Djokovic, but the Frenchman Tsonga had other ideas. In the women’s draw, Venus Williams crashed out to a stunning comeback from China’s Na Li, which means that two of the semi finalists are Chinese. Can there be an unprecedented all-China final? Jie Zheng (ranked 35th) completely breezed past Maria Kirilenko in their Quarter Final match, her diminutive figure a huge presence on the court. She now plays Belgian Justine Henin in the semi final, ensuring that at least one un-seeded player makes it to the final. Her best finish at a Grand Slam was a fourth round exit at Roland Garros in her first full season, several years ago. Henin, who has simply been the epitome of hunger, desire and skill, would be a popular winner, and as if expected, meets Serena Williams in the Final, then it would be a huge achievement for her in her first Grand Slam tournament back after retirement.

Serena Williams to win: 2/13 at Boylesports
Na Li to win: 21/4 at Boylesports

Serena Williams had a monumental task on her hands in her Quarter Final match, as she looked to be on the brink of elimination, but found a way to come initiate an incredible comeback against Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian looked in complete control, one set up and cruising in the second. She looked sharper, more creative that Serena Williams, but then on the flick of a switch, Williams found a dozen more gears and in a whirlwind completely out powered and crushed Azarenka’s challenge. All looked a bit bewildering, and felt a bit sorry for Azaranka, who looked crest fallen. Just goes to prove what a champion Serena Williams is, as she goes in search of her first back to back Australian Open titles.

Justine Henin to win: 1/4 at SkyBet
Jie Zheng to win: 18/5 at Boylesports

Andy Murray did it. He is through to the Semi Finals of the Australian Open. Murray progressed when opponent and number two seed Rafael Nadal retired through injury, with Murray two sets up already and 3-0 ahead in the third. The Scot will now play Marin Cilic in the semi final, after the Croatian brushed past Andy Roddick. Now it is the turn of the other half of the draw, where World Number One Roger Federer is in action today. Catch all of the live action from Melbourne on Bet365’s live streaming service.

Federer plays one of the most in form players at the moment, Nikolay Davydenko. The Swiss superstar will naturally start as favourite, but the Russian has recently gotten the better of the meetings between them. Davydenko won the Qatar Open as a warm up to the Australian Open, beating Federer and Nadal along the way. That’s how good he is at the moment, and this could be a severe test for the World Number One. All the speculation about Federer ahead of the tournament, is whether or not becoming a new father would have affected him. Would that life style change have caused a distraction from his game? But there has been no signs of that as he has looked his majestic self at times during his progress. Don’t be so overwhelmed by the bookie prices on this one, Davydenko has every chance of pushing Federer to breaking point.

Roger Federer to win: 2/5 at Paddy Power
Nikolay Davydenko to win: 12/5 at Boylesports

The day’s other Quarter Final sees World Number 3, Novak Djokovic play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic has been on cruise control, whereas Tsonga has been making hard work of things. Granted the Frenchman has had a slightly tougher passage, but current standings and form should see Djokovic reach the semi final, as expected from the start, looking at his quarter of the Draw. The big question should simply be who he will meet in the Semi, Federer or Davydenko. That match will clearly the big highlight reel game of the day.

Novak Djokovic to win: 9/20 at Boylesports
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 21/10 at SportingBet

In the Women’s Draw, World Number One Serena Williams plays 7th seed Victoria Azarenka, who has somewhat understated through the competition, not drawing much attention to herself. The Belarussian’s progress has been steady, with her toughest win coming over World Number 9 Vera Zvonareva in the Quarter Finals. That had all the promise of a thrilling, evenly matched game, and it was so after two sets. Azarenka stepped up her game in the deciding third set though, crushing her opponent six games to nil. How much of a challenge she will be able to put up against Serena Williams is a different matter entirely. The older Williams sister looks completely on top of her powerful game.

Serena Williams to win: 3/10 at Paddy Power
Victoria Azarenka to win: 17/5 at Bwin

It has been expected that the two Williams sisters will be in the semi finals, and that looks to completely be on the cards. Serena Williams plays China’s Na Li in their semi final encounter, after Li put in a surprisingly powerful two set victory over 4th seed Caroline Wozniacki. Not many people will have seen that result coming from the 16th seed, and if she could beat Williams, then she would join fellow countrywomen Jie Zheng in the semi finals, which would be a massive step forward for Chinese tennis. Jie Zheng plays resilient Justine Henin. The expected result though, as backed up by the bookies prices, is that come the end of the day, the Williams sisters will both be preparing for a semi final sibling shootout.

Venus Williams to win: 8/15 at Boylesports
Na Li to win: 7/4 at Bet365

It’s the first day of the Quarter Finals at the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne, and the highlight of the day is unquestionably the big evening clash between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. That match will grab all of the headlines of the day, and rightly so. It is the big match that everyone has been waiting for, and the first real match between two top competitors that will fire up the already exciting Australian Open even further. But what of the other matches? There is still plenty of good action to follow ahead of the big Murray match which starts at 8am GMT and can be seen via Bet365’s Live Streaming Service, which is free for funded account holders.

Murray to win: 13/15 at Bwin
Nadal to win: 11/10 at Boylesports

The first men’s Quarter Final match is between Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic. American Roddick had a comfortable build up to the tournament, by winning the Brisbane Open. With all due respect, the level of competition wasn’t as high as it could have been there, not when Roddick was the top seed in the tournament. The only other two names which posed a threat were Radek Stepanek and Gael Monfils, but Roddick won the tournament at something of a canter. Roddick took the full five sets to see of Fernando Gonzalez in the Fourth Round of the Australian Open, and had to rely heavily on his service, which was the main tool which got him through. Marin Cilic has shown his ability already, after beating 4th seed, and much fancied Juan Martin del Potro in the Fourth Round. That was also a five set epic, and Cilic, ranked 11th should be evenly matched up against Roddick, if not slight favourite.

Andy Roddick to win: 4/6 at BetFred
Marin Cilic to win: 19/13 at Bwin

In the Women’s Draw, all spotlights will be on Belgian comeback kid, Justine Henin. This is her first major tournament back after coming out of the tennis wilderness of retirement. She lost in the final of her warm up tournament in Brisbane to Kim Clijsters, and has been involved in some great matches in her progress in the Australian Open Grand Slam. She has clearly shown that she has the desire, skill and mettle needed to go on and win the tournament. She has been tested to the limits and come through, and the draw could have been a lot worse for her. She has already dispatched two seeded players from the tournament, namely Elena Dementieva (5th) and Alisa Kleybanova (31st) and now plays Nadia Petrova (19th ) for a spot in the semi finals after beating fellow countrywoman Yanina Wickmayer.

Justine Henin to win: 2/5 at SkyBet
Nadia Petrova to win: 11/5 at Bwin

The second women’s Quarter Final of the day should draw a lot of camera action, as young Russian Maria Kirilenko is in action. The so called new “It Girl” of the women’s tour reached the Quarter Final after he match against Number Two seed Dinara Safina was abandoned due to a injury to Safina. Safina had been one of the strong favourites for the tournament, and was the class act in the quarter of the draw. Her departure has given Kirilenko a chance at her biggest limelight, having never gone beyond the third round at a Grand Slam before. Kirilenko, ranked 58th, plays China’s Julie Zheng, ranked 35th. Zheng reached the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, so this is also new territory for her. If Petrova doesn’t beat Henin, then there will be a non-seeded player reaching the Women’s final from this half of the draw. This half of the draw has lost Kuznetsova (3rd), Kim Clijsters (15th), Elena Dementieva (5th) and Jelena Jankovic. Dinara Safina was the expected winner of this half, but that was not meant to be. The other side of the draw, which contains the Williams sisters is arguably stronger, with Caroline Wozniacki in the picture as well.

Julie Zheng to win: 8/11 at Stan James
Maria Kirilenko to win: 13/10 at Boylesports