Tennis League All Thread

[Jating]

I love Murray as a tennis player but his return to the top of tennis will be very difficult, if not impossible.

Yes, it's difficult to see him challenging for slams again.
He was good in patches last season, and in a one-off match he was capable of playing with the top ranked players. It was just that his body couldn't maintain it, and it seemed like every good victory was followed by a disappointing defeat as his body struggled to play consecutive matches in a short space of time. That is where this week has been encouraging, he's beaten some good players and been able to keep going, round after round.

So he may not challenge for slams again, but he is certainly getting closer to that level, even if it may be impossible to regain it exactly.

Yes, he is already past his prime and I don't see him winning any slams, maybe a couple of small tournaments that he can compete and go to reach quarter-finals the most.

Maybe his body is not really build to take the gruelling tennis tournaments with different surfaces.

And one injury suddenly change the complexion of his career. But it was really good to see him at his prime against the big 3.

[1714304619]

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[Timelord2067]

Some pics for the Australian Open Women's Qualifying matches:  (both today and Monday)

Harriet Dart - Kimberly Birrell      Match Winner   Harriet Dart @ 1.32   Taken Amount: 0.03 mBTC      Possible Payout: 0.04 mBTC

Harriet Dart came through on Friday, so I'm going to place another wager on her and a couple of others I missed:

Iga Swiatek - Harriet Dart       Match Winner    Harriet Dart @ 8.51    Taken Amount: 0.03 mBTC    Possible Payout: 0.26 mBTC
Hailey Baptiste - Caroline Garcia    Match Winner    Caroline Garcia @ 1.41    Taken Amount: 0.03 mBTC    Possible Payout: 0.04 mBTC
Stefanie Voegele - Daria Kasatkina    Match Winner   Stefanie Voegele @ 6.96   Taken Amount: 0.03 mBTC    Possible Payout: 0.21 mBTC


Carried forward:
Won 8 (bet 0.28 mBTC - won 0.41 mBTC) / Lost 5 - 0.21 mBTC / Cancelled 0.07 mBTC / To play 0

This post:
Won 0 (bet 0.09mBTC)  / Lost 3 - 0.09 mBTC / Cancelled 0 / To play 0

Total since 2022-01-15
Won 8 (bet 0.37 mBTC - won 0.35 mBTC) / Lost 8 - 0.30 mBTC / Cancelled 0.07 mBTC / To play 0

[Cnut237]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

[Trofo]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

What a drama and series of bad decisions. Hope now it is all settled and we can actually start to talk about tennis and enjoy some good matches. AO is stating tonight for us Europeans so lots of matches to scout and make some bets. Will probably drop by later with some of my selections if there is anything good. Hate odds at BO5 matches, they are always so low on ML and handicaps have a way to go wrong in them as well. Players often leave one set without fight and conserve their energy for the rest of the match.

[Cnut237]

 

Will probably drop by later with some of my selections if there is anything good.

I've not seen anything that looks hugely appealing so far.
One thing I do think is going to happen in the women's, where I think Raducanu will lose, but the odds aren't amazing and so not really worth taking the risk. I do think she'll have a better year than many are predicting, but she's currently coming back from a break after contracting Covid last month. If she hadn't lost 6-0 6-1 last week, the odds on her losing in the AO might be more appealing. But as I'm from the UK, I would feel bad betting against her anyway.

[Maidak]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

This is such a shame for him. I get that he appealed the first time. But doing it for the 2nd time made all things totally crummy for him. I myself have lost my respect for him not gonna lie. A public figure as big as him should not be showing such crummy behavior. He shouldn't have entered the country in the first place. I get that maybe the govt made a blunder about the papers or something? but when he knew that the Australian govt is not letting unvaccinated people in, he shouldn't have gone in the first place.

[laurenB7742]

I love Murray as a tennis player but his return to the top of tennis will be very difficult, if not impossible.

Yes, it's difficult to see him challenging for slams again.
He was good in patches last season, and in a one-off match he was capable of playing with the top ranked players. It was just that his body couldn't maintain it, and it seemed like every good victory was followed by a disappointing defeat as his body struggled to play consecutive matches in a short space of time. That is where this week has been encouraging, he's beaten some good players and been able to keep going, round after round.

So he may not challenge for slams again, but he is certainly getting closer to that level, even if it may be impossible to regain it exactly.

I have to say that Andy Murray has left his golden age way behind in the past and I highly doubt that he will be able to challenge others in tier-1 tennis right now.

The thing is that the body won't be able to cope up with sports after 30 or 32. You lose pace, power, and in some cases the mentality to win or the hunger to win also declines. The same thing goes for Murray. I don't think that he will be able to win another tournament again. What he can now do is play for his enjoyment and when the time is right, retire.

[aoluain]

Will probably drop by later with some of my selections if there is anything good.

I've not seen anything that looks hugely appealing so far.
One thing I do think is going to happen in the women's, where I think Raducanu will lose, but the odds aren't amazing and so not really worth taking the risk. I do think she'll have a better year than many are predicting, but she's currently coming back from a break after contracting Covid last month. If she hadn't lost 6-0 6-1 last week, the odds on her losing in the AO might be more appealing. But as I'm from the UK, I would feel bad betting against her anyway.

For tomorrow I see a few, I have a small bet on Harris against Vukic.
There is also:
Nakashima 3.25 - 1.35 Berrettini
Norrie 1.57 - 2.43 Korda

Kenin 2.55 - 1.53 Keys (can madison carry her form from the win at Adelaide?)

I love Murray as a tennis player but his return to the top of tennis will be very difficult, if not impossible.

Yes, it's difficult to see him challenging for slams again.
He was good in patches last season, and in a one-off match he was capable of playing with the top ranked players. It was just that his body couldn't maintain it, and it seemed like every good victory was followed by a disappointing defeat as his body struggled to play consecutive matches in a short space of time. That is where this week has been encouraging, he's beaten some good players and been able to keep going, round after round.

So he may not challenge for slams again, but he is certainly getting closer to that level, even if it may be impossible to regain it exactly.

I have to say that Andy Murray has left his golden age way behind in the past and I highly doubt that he will be able to challenge others in tier-1 tennis right now.

The thing is that the body won't be able to cope up with sports after 30 or 32. You lose pace, power, and in some cases the mentality to win or the hunger to win also declines. The same thing goes for Murray. I don't think that he will be able to win another tournament again. What he can now do is play for his enjoyment and when the time is right, retire.

Andy is favourite to get past Basilashvili on Tuesday,  He has a chance for sure.
He made some good wins against higher ranked players last year and will be
pumped up to better his performance this year.

[Daniel91]

Honestly, I think everyone is glad that this drama with Djokovic is over and now, finally, we can all enjoy tennis.
Depending on the development of the situation with Covid and the new Covid rules in France, the UK and the USA, it could easily happen that Djokovic will be banned from participating in all 4 GS tournaments if he refuses to be vaccinated.
What a senseless waste of tremendous tennis talent because of his own attitudes and thinking.
Djokovic had a great opportunity to become the greatest tennis player of all time and now the ''Björn Borg'' case could be repeated, that the tennis player at the peak of his career abruptly interrupted his magnificent tennis career, for no good reason.
Djokovic is getting older every year and he is nearing the end of his great tennis career and new young tennis players are already coming and they are ready to take over the tennis top from Djokovic.
If Djokovic loses this year because of his hard-line views on vaccination, I don't think there will be a new chance for him to take over the top tennis and he will end his tennis career in a shameful way.

[Jackl87]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

Well what a sh*it-show this have been basically from all sides evolved. Everyone that was involved in this looked pretty bad. Djokovic because he wanted to sue his way into the tournament even though he isn't vaccinated and does not want to be vaccinated and of course also Australia. First they grant him an exception, then he is denied to entry the country and has to stay in a hotel. Then a jury says Djokovic can enter the country, then the relevant Australian minister still denies Djokovic to enter the country and then Djokovic fails with his last appeal. The press in Serbia is outraged now.
At least this topic is done now and everyone can concentrate on the tournament that is starting in a few hours.

[Cnut237]

Djokovic [...] refuses to be vaccinated. [...] What a senseless waste of tremendous tennis talent because of his own attitudes and thinking.

I find this point to be quite interesting. I think his refusal to get vaccinated is a part of the reason he is such a good player. Back in the old days, when he was first coming through as a top talent, he wasn't a world-beater. But he changed his diet completely in order to optimise his physical performance. He cut out gluten, and he cut out dairy as well, and he reduced his sugar intake to very low levels. If you think about it, this is a very restrictive diet, and he has stuck to it rigidly. He absolutely will not eat any food that reduces the perfect efficiency of the machine that is his body.

So in this context, if you are that obsessed with perfect physical performance, it's understandable if you see a vaccine as something that pollutes your body. And if you are young and hyper-fit, as Djokovic is, and you know that if you catch the virus you are only likely to get mild symptoms... then I can understand why he doesn't want the vaccine.

I don't agree with his decision at all, and I think he hasn't behaved well in this instance... but I can sort of understand why he thinks the way he does.

Here's what Djokovic eats in a day

[bitbollo]

...
it's understandable if you see a vaccine as something that pollutes your body.
...

well... Covid19 doesn't pollute your body? Long-covid isn't also another issue?
I don't want enter in a diatribe about Vaccine good/bad or it's working or not working. Plus this is not the right topic to talk about it.

However Covid19 has been something very hard to fight also for young athletes.
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-newcastle-uniteds-allan-saint-maximin-and-jamaal-lascelles-suffering-long-term-effects-from-coronavirus-12170082

I don't know how a smart player (that is like an industry) with a smart staff, could fall victim of some controversial theories.... Plus he set a bad example at a global level.... sports not deserve such examples/lies.

[Woodie]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

Australia does not joke around with their laws and regulations and this was always going to be the case after djokovic was found wanting.
Its unfortunate that he can not defend his title for the 2022 campaign because his not going to around for the competition which others see to be selfish of him for not taking the vaccine to avoid or the complications that hwve followed him.

Now with the joker out of the race it will be nice to see who will be the favorite now

[Cnut237]

well... Covid19 doesn't pollute your body? Long-covid isn't also another issue?
I don't want enter in a diatribe about Vaccine good/bad or it's working or not working. Plus this is not the right topic to talk about it.

Just to clear up any potential confusion... The Covid vaccines are extremely effective, and have saved countless lives already. I spend a lot of my time on this forum in the P&S section presenting data on vaccine efficacy, and refuting any ridiculous claims made by anti-vaxxers. I am extremely pro-vaccine.

Yes, Covid does affect your body, yes, long covid is another issue. I'm not disputing that at all. I'm simply offering a perspective on why someone in Djokovic's specific position who is already anti-vaccine, and has reached the pinnacle of their sport as a direct consequence of changing what they put into their body, might be reluctant to take the vaccine... even if it prevents him entering the AO.

If his new diet has made him into Superman, then he may see the vaccine as his kryptonite. That's all.

[babygun]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

What a drama and series of bad decisions. Hope now it is all settled and we can actually start to talk about tennis and enjoy some good matches. AO is stating tonight for us Europeans so lots of matches to scout and make some bets. Will probably drop by later with some of my selections if there is anything good. Hate odds at BO5 matches, they are always so low on ML and handicaps have a way to go wrong in them as well. Players often leave one set without fight and conserve their energy for the rest of the match.

Exactly, now we finally can start talking about the AO itself as Djokovic dominated the news the last couple of days. It has been a lot of unnecessary drama but in the end the AO government took the right decision. Haven't had time yet to check the first round matches yet but will be curious to see your picks!

[aoluain]

Breaking news... Djokovic's appeal has been rejected and he'll be deported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60014059

That was his final appeal, so it's definitely happening now. He officially "poses a threat to public health", and will be deported.

No-one comes out of this looking good.

What a drama and series of bad decisions. Hope now it is all settled and we can actually start to talk about tennis and enjoy some good matches. AO is stating tonight for us Europeans so lots of matches to scout and make some bets. Will probably drop by later with some of my selections if there is anything good. Hate odds at BO5 matches, they are always so low on ML and handicaps have a way to go wrong in them as well. Players often leave one set without fight and conserve their energy for the rest of the match.

Exactly, now we finally can start talking about the AO itself as Djokovic dominated the news the last couple of days. It has been a lot of unnecessary drama but in the end the AO government took the right decision. Haven't had time yet to check the first round matches yet but will be curious to see your picks!

Yes please lets talk about the up coming games and how we plan to make
our bets. As Rafa said in this statement below from SkySports website,

"No one player is bigger than the Australian Open"

https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/12516804/novak-djokovic-set-to-be-deported-from-australia-after-losing-second-visa-appeal-hearing

We have debated Djokovic's journety pver the last week and its done, he's
going home and the tournament will continue.

Do you think Rafa will have extra motive to win this year, I know it will
be tricky for him but to win this 21st slam and get one up on Roger and Novak
will be something very special. ?

[bitbollo]

If his new diet has made him into Superman, then he may see the vaccine as his kryptonite. That's all.

Sorry Cnut237 I was not doubting about your point of view. I was aware of your perspective and I am totally agree with you.

What is really surprising to me is that point:

I don't know how a smart player (that is like an industry) with a smart staff, could fall victim of some controversial theories....

How it's possible that all people behind his entourage have fallen in such delicate argument? He lost the chance to join & win another tournament + spend money in lawyers + get negative promotion + loss of sponsorship and so on (even problems with future tournaments not only in AUS)....
It's something crazy that a player at certain level (and people behind him) have lost completely light of reason... there was not a single Medical Doctor able to explain how it work a vaccine? and serious risks related covid19 ? I'm still shocked for that mistake...

[Trofo]

Do you think Rafa will have extra motive to win this year, I know it will
be tricky for him but to win this 21st slam and get one up on Roger and Novak
will be something very special. ?

Rafa will have extra motive but I don't think he has a chance. Medvedev, Zverev and quite possibly a couple more players like Rublev, Berettini and Sinner have much better hard court form at the moment. Despite his age I still think best of 5 works in Nadal favor so Nadal will do well but I don't see him getting to the final. Semi final seems like most probable exit point for him since he has solid draw.

Some games I played:
Alcaraz to win 3:0 @2.1
Mofiels -7.5 @1.75, this one could end up as forfeit and void bet easy so be careful if you need the game for some bonus
Carreno Busta to win 3:0
Kokkinakis set handicap -1.5 @1.6
Azarenka -5.5 @ 1.6

[AndySt]

Honestly, I think everyone is glad that this drama with Djokovic is over and now, finally, we can all enjoy tennis.
Depending on the development of the situation with Covid and the new Covid rules in France, the UK and the USA, it could easily happen that Djokovic will be banned from participating in all 4 GS tournaments if he refuses to be vaccinated.
What a senseless waste of tremendous tennis talent because of his own attitudes and thinking.
Djokovic had a great opportunity to become the greatest tennis player of all time and now the ''Björn Borg'' case could be repeated, that the tennis player at the peak of his career abruptly interrupted his magnificent tennis career, for no good reason.
Djokovic is getting older every year and he is nearing the end of his great tennis career and new young tennis players are already coming and they are ready to take over the tennis top from Djokovic.
If Djokovic loses this year because of his hard-line views on vaccination, I don't think there will be a new chance for him to take over the top tennis and he will end his tennis career in a shameful way.

I am also extremely disappointed with the position that Djokovic has taken and the actions that he and his team have taken to circumvent the rules. By the way, Novak faces not only problems with participation in the remaining Grand Slam tournaments, but also a three-year ban from coming to Australia. On the other hand, the actions of the tournament organizers also deserve more consideration, who did not behave correctly because of financial profit, because if Djokovic arrived in Australia, he must have been given some guarantees by the organizers, otherwise I think Novak would hardly have got involved in this adventure with PCR tests and medical withdrawals from vaccinations.

[Kemarit]

@aoluain - I think Rafa still got it, if not for being injured or sideline at the bottom half of the year, he could have compete more.

So for sure, he will be back and try to win another Grand slam and not look at the records of Federer. He simply needs to compete and go for a win. He will be extra motivated again that's for sure and then if ever he accomplishes it then that is the time he will talk about breaking records in public. So still has that competitive fire in him, in my opinion.