Our bets today are:

JUAN IGNACIO CHELA to beat Marinko Matosevic at $1.55 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

NICHOLAS MAHUT to beat Robert Farah at $1.50 (Sports Managed Fund 15% Bet)

In the men’s Federer looked very strong in sweeping aside our men’s long shot in Wawrinka (Although we cleaned up in the Lay Betting options with him) and still looks the best chance at defending his title again. Nadal looked much better in his match with no signs of the virus that has plagued his preparations so far. His next match could turn into a bit of a grind against Ferrer and will be a better indication of his fitness / health levels.

To the next wave of matches and we have already covered the Djokovic vs Berdych event tonight. The games tomorrow see the giant killer DOLGOPOLOV ($7.00) taking on ANDY MURRAY ($1.10) who has snuck under the radar this year. With many of the big seeds still in the tournament Murray has managed to escape the spotlight and has to be considered a genuine threat. An immense talent who can match it with the big guns on his day. NADAL ($1.10) is a similar strong favourite against FERRER ($7.00). Although I think this match will be slightly tougher I can’t really support an upset here.

To the women and CLIJSTERS ($1.11) goes out a strong favourite again against RADWANSKA ($6.50) and looks on track to head to the semi finals to take on either KVITOVA ($2.65) or ZVONAREVA ($1.48). I think the Kvitova vs Zvonareva looks to be a cracker and it’s the only match tomorrow where I could warrant an upset result. A though one to call though and I’m not keen to spend our money there even though Kvitova has been good to us so far this year.

Our Selections are:

We’ll leave tomorrow alone with it looking like a favourites kind of day.

WAWRINKA ($4.40) now faces fellow countryman FEDERER ($1.21) and although a big outsider I wouldn’t count out his chances of causing an upset. These 2 have played together numerous times and know each other’s game well. Federer is definitely a class above and I am still confident the hot favourite to win the title, however, this could be a tough hurdle should Wawrinka get off to a start.

In the other Quarter Final in the bottom half of the draw sees DJOKOVIC ($1.32) taking on BERDYCH ($3.40) and this could be a real test for the Serbian. If this match was during the daytime I would’ve predicted an upset here with the question mark on Djokovic’s abilities in the heat. However, he has scored the night session and is in good form so we’ll leave that match alone.

For the Women’s draw we see WOZNIACKI ($1.11) taking on SCHIAVONE ($6.60) and I am a little surprised at the odds. I think Wozniacki should win this, especially after Schiavone’s marathon match yesterday, but I think the odds are a little lopsided. Could be worth doing some multi’s with the upset in the mix to hope for a big payout.

For the 2nd match listed we have the powerful NA LI ($1.43) the dominate favourite over the now famous dancer PETKOVIC ($2.82) who has been making her name on YouTube with her little jig after each win. This match could be a real walkover for Li who is in great form.

Our Selections are:

NA LI to beat Petkovic in the Quarter Finals at $1.43 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

As predicted JUSTINE HENIN struggled with conditioning and was bundled out early in the tournament. KIM CLIJSTERS looks like she is playing solid enough tennis and deserves to be the favourite for the tournament. I’m still not convinced on CAROLINE WOZNIACKI to go all the way even though she is the Number 1 player in the world. The bottom half of the draw does look more inviting but I am going to jump on FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE at the huge odds of $100. Schiavone takes on the old hard head Kuznetsova in her next meeting and if she gets past her she gets a chance to take on Wozniacki.

To the 4^th round bets and we have a really interesting situation in the NA LI vs VICTORIA AZARENKA match. On SportsBet Li is the dominate favourite at $1.83 against $1.97 whereas on Betfair Li is the outsider $2.04 to Azarenka’s $1.94. Hard to know why there is such a difference and if you had enough coin you could actually back Azarenka on SportsBet and Lay her on betfair and be guaranteed to make 1.5% on your money no matter the result. I like Li personally but it does seem a bit odd so I’ll let it go.

Our Selections are:

FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 4^th round at $3.30 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

PETRA KVITOVA to beat Flavia Pennetta in the 4^th round at $1.57 Sports Managed Fund 15% Bet)

In the Men’s side of the draw I think the tournament is set up for ROGER FEDERER ($2.80) to take yet another Australian Open title. In previous years RAFAEL NADAL ($2.80) has had his measure but a virus the week before the big event would have to hamper his chances of becoming the first player in over 40 years to hold all 4 titles at once. Nadal is a supremely fit person but of all the tournaments the Australian Open can be the toughest on the tour with temperatures on court soaring in the summer heat. Conditions at the moment may not be as bad as they have been in the past but if the sun decides to come out the humidity will be at its worst and fatigue will become a huge factor. A player who has done well in the Aussie Open in the past but struggles when the heat kicks in is NOVAC DJOKOVIC ($9.50) who has been in good form of late. I would suggest staying away from him till you get a real stinker of a day and crunching his opponent. Maybe even watch how he is reacting on court as he usually gives some telltale signs that he is struggling with the cooling ice necklace and pouring water over himself. STANISLAS WAWRINKA ($370) has been in great form and could be a little smokie to get deep in the tournament, however, he would face Federer if he got to Round 4. ERNESTS GULBIS ($440) is another in solid form and has got the advantage of being in the opposite half to Federer. A huge hitter of the ball and although I rate his first round opponent in BENJAMIN BECKER, he is meeting him when Becker is out of form and could get deep into the tournament.

**Prices for Becker and Wawrinka were courtesy of Betfair who are a much better option for backing roughies as you have the opportunity to “Lay” them later in the tournament. For more information on how to do this or how to join Betfair please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. The odds for Sportsbet were much lower at $126 for both players.

The Women’s side of the draw is a much tougher prospect with a number of the women in scratchy or nonexistent form coming into the tournament. Much of the pressure will be on “Aussie” KIM CLIJSTERS ($3.25) who looked in good form before being pumped by little known NA LI ($23) in the final of the Medibank International putting a few question marks up there. A 1^st round match against the classy DINARA SAFINA ($101) is a good way to find out how she is hitting them. Although Safina is in horrible form she is a danger on her day when her head is right. JUSTINE HENIN ($5.50) is second favourite but you’d have to question the amount of tennis she has been able to play in recent times. Played 4 strong matches in the Hopman cup, however, that was her first tennis since a 6 month layoff. I’m not convinced Number 1 CAROLINE WOZNIACKI ($9.00) is the best female tennis player in the draw and even though the $9.00 would be tempting to many I will be staying away from that one. MARION BARTOLI ($100) is my smokie for the women’s side of the draw. A hard hitting player who likes the fast surface and could well go deep in the tournament, especially if a few of the big guns crash.

Our Selections are:

ROGER FEDERER to win the Australian Open Title at $2.80 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

TIMEA BACSINSZKY to beat Monica Niculescu in the 1^st round at $1.67 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

DANIELA HANTUCHOVA to beat Regina Kulikova in the 1^st Round at $1.53 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

FABIO FOGNINI to beat Kei Nishkori in the 1^st round at $2.75 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

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Our Bets today are:

VANIA KING to beat Robert Vinci at $2.28 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet) **King played well against Cibulkova in the first round and I think deserved to be favourite for this match too. Worth a bet at $2.28.

IVO KARLOVIC to beat Julian Benneteau at $1.67 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **Karlovic has had the wood on Benneteau and overcame the dangerous Stepanek in the first round whilst Benneteau struggled against the lowly David Guez.

ELENA DEMENTIAVA to beat Justine Henin at $2.06 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **I couldn’t believe it when I saw the price come up for this match. Yes when Henin was on top of her game she was all but unstoppable but times have changed and the women’s game has changed as well. Henin is not that long into her comeback and although she has produced some good results she is coming up against a player who has been on the top of her game for well over a year now. I think this will be a cracking match but at the odds it is time to load up (I almost made this a 15% bet)

For our next wave of bets I like

PETRA KVITOVA to beat Jill Craybas at $1.61 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **This is Kvitova’s first tournament for the year which is my only concern. Kvitova finished the year impressively in 2009 and took down some big names. Although Craybas has had 2 tournaments warm-up before this she has been wiped out in the 1^st round both times.

NICHOLAS ALAMAGRO to beat Xavier Malisse at $2.08 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet) **Alamagro has always done well for us in the majors and I fail to see how Malisse is the favourite since he spent the end of 2009 on the Challenger Tour.

POTITO STARACE to beat Stephane Robert at $1.68 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **While Starace has not been setting the world on fire he has been playing much harder opposition than Robert who again has been spending the majority of his time on the Challenger Tour.

RICHARD GASQUET to beat Mikhail Youzhny at $1.84 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **A tough opener for Gasquet but as I said in my opening email he is my smokie to go deep into the tournament so I feel obliged to back him here. This will be a big test to see whether he is fatigued from reaching the final last week in Sydney. Meanwhile Youzhny had a great finish to the year and on his day can match it with the top players in the world. He does have a habit of just not turning up sometimes though.

In the overall men’s market nothing really stood out for me at this stage but as we get deeper into the tournament we may see more action. I’m normally a fan of jumping on one of the big roughies in the hope that they go deep into the tournament and preferably one or two of the big guns get knocked out too. This year I like the look of the way Richard Gasquet is playing and I will be getting on him a few times if the odds present themselves.

On the women’s side of the draw things are very tight with a number of big contenders looking good coming into form early in the season. Add to that the comebacks of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters that seem to be getting straight back into things. The player who has looked great for a number of years but has blown more opportunities than most is Elena Dementieva who won last week in Sydney. Dementieva is currently $12 at the moment and I think that may be a bit short considering if most of the big guns survive the first week she will still be the same price coming into the quarter finals. We’ll leave it all alone for now.

Our Bets so far are:

BERNARD TOMIC to beat Guillermo Rufin at $1.65 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **Massive odds considering that Rufin is playing his first ever tournament on the ATP tour whilst Tomic has been here before and performed very well under pressure.

MARC GICQUEL to beat Simone Bolleli at $1.47 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet) **Gicquel has been in great form of late reaching the quarter finals of the Heineken Open last weekend and seems well worth the short quote.

EKATERINA MAKAROVA to beat Virginnie Razzano at $3.70 (Sports Managed Fund 3% Bet) **Razzano is playing pretty ordinary at the moment and I think is a big chance of being the first seeded player knocked out on the women’s side of the draw. With rankings of Makarova (60) and Razzano (18) there is not much between these two at all.

SARA ERRANI to beat Klara Zakapalova at $1.36 (Sports Managed Fund 15% Bet) **Definitely the best bet of the early rounds as Errani is in super form reaching the semi-finals in Hobart last week claiming some big names along the way. Zakapalova was also beaten 1-6, 1-6 in her last match which was also against Errani.

**On a side note Betfair is offering a promotion at the moment where if you do a $20 multi with 5 legs or more and you only fail by 1 leg then you get your stake back. Not bad i think!

The Overall Market

The mens competition is as wide as its ever been with a number of the big names given a huge chance. I think you are betting blind here and you might as well wait till the last 16 before making your choices here. I am thinking there is good value about both Andy Roddick ($18) and Novak Djokovic ($17.50) who have both performed well in recent months returning to their best form

The womens competition is much the same, however, i would be leaning strongly towards the Williams sisters who have the tournament in their hands if they are on song. Venus represents excellent value between the 2 at $9.60 whereas Serena is a miserly $3.00. I will have a small wager on Alisa Kleybanova at $510 for interest sake. She can really clobber a ball.

Our Bets are:

Lucie Safarova appears to have the edge on Patty Schnyder with a strong of recent good performances. The $1.82 looks too tempting to refuse so we’ll have $200 on that.

We have a similar situation in the other womens match we are reviewing with Tamarine Tanasugarn a clear statistical leader over her rival Anastasija Sevastova. Tanasugarn won the 2nd last tournament she competed in beating some big names including Dinara Safina along the way while Sevastova hasn’t won a match on the tour since April. We’ll have $200 on Tanasugarn at the incredible odds of $2.06

In the mens we have a couple of bets to look at. Firstly Rajeev Ram has been showing some recent good form without getting the results he deserves coming up against some realy big names early in tournaments. However this time he meets lowly Josselin Ouanna who has rarely been playing far inferior opponents and should struggle on the big stage. We’ll have $100 on Ram at $1.64

Next up Chris Guccione looks to be able to cruise into the 2nd round with a far superior record over his rival Pablo Cuevas who does his best work on clay. Guccione loves the fast surface at the US Open and can boast a recent win over Jo Wilfred Tsonga only 2 weeks ago. We’ll have $200 on Guccione at $1.68