Wimbledon Semis – Safina vs. Venus for a spot in the Final
July 1, 2009
London, Great Britain – Dinara Safina survived another dramatic three-set thriller against Sabine Lisicki today to book her spot in the Wimbledon semis. The Russian world No.1 and top seed at Wimbledon did not enter the tournament as the bookies favourite for all her top pretensions; in fact, she was earmarked for a disappointing run at Wimby. Grass is not her favourite surface (well-known fact) and after her recent mental breakdown at the French Open final, unravelling against Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets, many believed she would not be able to bounce back. Yet, in reaching the Wimby Semis, Safina put paid on that notion as she outperforms several of the bookies favourites –save for the Williamses who also sauntered into the semis today. Next up for Safina is a monumental battle against Venus Williams – five time champion and two-time defending champion at Wimbledon. Can Safina stare down one of the most successful women at the All England Club in today’s era or will she be making her last bow at Centre Court on Thursday. Here is a look at the tennis betting market on this matchup.
Tennis Betting Line: Dinara Safina +300 Venus Williams -500
Match Time: 06:00 A.M. Eastern Time Thursday July 2 2009
Head-to-Head Series: Venus Williams leads the head-to-head series 2-1. Safina owns the most recent victory in Rome (2009). They have never met on grass.
Tennis Betting Analysis: This is one of those instances when the tennis betting line has nothing to do with the current ranking landscape. Though Dinara Safina is the world No.1 player and the top seed at the tournament, she is decidedly the underdog in this matchup at a hefty price of +300. She is coming up against Venus Williams who has ruled Wimbledon almost exclusively these last four years, winning three of the four titles. Yet, Safina has proven to be a consistent performer, especially on the major stage. She has reached two Grand Slam finals this season already and she is on the verge of a third consecutive appearance. Say what you will about her mental collapses during the Aussie Open final and French Open final, but at this stage of the tournament, she is a legitimate bet to go to the final. Even when her opponent is the great Venus Williams.
Venus Williams is set to face her toughest battle to date at the All England Club. Up to this point, she has not faced an opponent that looked more threatening than a butter knife. She breezes through to the semis without dropping a set. She is the outright favourite to win this match at -500 and most likely, she will win. Yet, if there were a player that could beat her it would be Safina. Safina recently beat Venus in Rome in the semis, coming back from a set down to take the match 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 en route to the title.
Tennis Betting Verdict: The tennis betting trend will favour Venus Williams but I have a real penchant for this underdog and I would be happy to see her go through, if not just to give us a final other than a Williamses final. I might be reading too much into Safina’s newfangled abilities on grass? Or am I?
Tennis Free Picks: Safina in three sets
Possible Mega Fight – Silva vs. St. Pierre
July 1, 2009
Could an Anderson Silva-Georges St. Pierre Matchup Be on the Horizon?
When BJ Penn issued a personal challenge to Georges St. Pierre after his win over Jon Fitch at UFC 87, most of the MMA world rejoiced. But there was still a sizeable chunk of fans who lamented the fact that setting up a St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva match up wasn’t the course of action instead.
Penn is easily one of the most talented mixed martial artists of our time, but one look at him suggests he isn’t on the same level from a pure physical standpoint as St. Pierre.
Flash forward to the Penn-St. Pierre fight at UFC 94 and that disparity was seemingly proven as St. Pierre bullied Penn around the Octagon in one of the easiest wins of his career.
Then the infamous “Greasegate” situation happened with Penn claiming St. Pierre used an unlikely new type of performance-enhancing in the fight, vasoline, to prevent Penn from utilizing his grip and world-famous jiu-jitsu game.
Penn might very well have a legitimate gripe, but a rematch will have to wait because Anderson Silva-Georges St. Pierre is the superfight any true MMA and UFC fan needs to see.
And with the welterweight division looking as lackluster as it has in years and no legitimate challengers on the horizon for St. Pierre behind Alves, there’s never been a better time than after the conclusions UFC 100 and UFC 101 to set it up, assuming that St. Pierre and Silva defeat Alves and Forrest Griffin, respectively.
Dana White has said numerous times that a champion fighter needs to “clean out” his division before there’s talk of him fighting at another weight class, and Silva has already done just that with the possible exception of Demian Maia.
If Maia defeats Nate Marquardt in their upcoming match at UFC 102 he would certainly deserve a title shot, but he could wait until a Silva-St. Pierre match considering the time gap, as he long as he gets assurances from Dana White that he’d get his chance. And if Marquardt wins, he deserve get a shot as well but probably wouldn’t mind waiting since he’ll need plenty of time to prepare for a rematch with the man who took him apart in their first match.
A Silva title defense against either fighter would be interesting, but nowhere near the level of a fight with St. Pierre. That’s the fight has the potential to be the UFC’s version of Ali-Frazier. That’s the fight that the true UFC fans deserve, and that’s the fight that could be even bigger than the upcoming UFC 100.
Keep that in mind when watching St. Pierre and Silva in the coming weeks so we can finally get the classic fight we all deserve.
Wild Card Juan Carlos Ferrero next in Murray’s path at Wimbledon
July 1, 2009
London, Great Britain – With Rafael Nadal out of the Wimbledon draw there has been a different tone to this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Many shed a nostalgic tear when it became obvious we would not have another Nadal-Federer final at the All England Club (the 2008 Wimbledon final stands out as one of the best in the history of the event and will be a tough act to follow). But, one has to agree that this year’s Wimbledon has had its fair share of drama thus far. Not least was Andy Murray’s R16 encounter against Stanislas Wawrinka.
One has to give Stan props for making a match of it, really giving it his all – didn’t think he had that in him. Newfound respect for Stan. More props go to Murray who brought the roof down with his five-set victory. It was the match of the day on Monday. More importantly, any doubts about Murray and the legitimacy of his claim to the Wimbledon title have to be vanquished. Well, maybe some lingering doubts remain; and he has yet to win a major title. No question, best five-setter he ever played.
Next up is Juan Carlos Ferrero who is enjoying a fairytale Wimbledon, flying the Spanish flag in Nadal’s stead through to the quarterfinals. In spite of his heroics, most believe he poses a less challenging threat to Murray. Or, so they think.
Tennis Betting Line:
Andrew Murray -7 +105 -1000 34½ O -130 U -110
Juan Carlos Ferrero +7 -145 +500 34½ O -130 U -110
Match Time: 08:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday July 1 2009
Head-to-Head Series: Andy Murray owns a 1-0 edge over Juan Carlos Ferrero. He beat the Spaniard recently at the London Queen’s Club semis 6-2, 6-4, en route to the title.
Tennis Betting Verdict: Juan Carlos Ferrero recently saw Murray’s game on grass so he should be better prepared for the fiery Scot on Wednesday. It was the first time they ever met and he lost relatively quickly and easily. At Wimbledon, Ferrero has enjoyed a dream run, beating some tough opponents along the way. Most recently, he topped the tournament’s eighth seed Gilles Simon. One can point to Simon’s patchy season and say therein lies the rub but no matter which way you slice it Ferrero beat him and he thoroughly deserved the win. He was coming off a five set thriller against Fernando Gonzalez, another tough opponent and a viable contender at Wimbledon.
Granted a Murray victory is more likely than a Ferrero upset but what if the unthinkable happens. Murray is coming off an emotional roller coaster in the R16 – not much unlike his R16 match against Gasquet last year in which he earned the nickname Braveheart. He followed up with a meek hearted three set loss to Nadal in the quarters. Indeed, Murray’s fitness has improved leaps and bounds since then. That poor showing led him to work on his fitness. He showed some of that newfangled fitness against Wawrinka on Monday. Can he come up with back-to-back performances?
Tennis Free Picks: Most say yes. Absolutely. And the betting trend will fall in line with the heavy odds in his favour. Yet, after the Ferrero-heroics of the last two rounds ,I don’t think he can be so easily dismissed. Methinks, the underdog has a legitimate chance.
