Murray Favourite For Aussie Open

It’s finally happened! Both Nadal and Federer are out and Murray is still in a major tennis open and right now he’s the favourite to take the Australian Open 2011. Digging as deep as he’s ever had to, Andy Murray brought all of his fighting spirit as he battled to a four-set win over David Ferrer to reach a second successive Australian Open final.

Seeded fifth, he won 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 7-6 (7-2) to set up a final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday 30th January 2011. Despite an error-strewn performance against Spain’s Ferrer, his undoubted talent and class saw him come from the brink of a two-set deficit, leaving him just one win away from his first Grand Slam title.

But winning the title in Australia will be no easy task. Novak Djokovic claimed his second successive Grand Slam semi-final win over reigning champion Roger Federer to also reach the final of the Open. The Serbian, who beat Federer at the US Open in September, saw off the 16-time Grand Slam champion 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-4 in the first semi-final in Melbourne.

Having won his semi in, what is considered to be, easier fashion, Djokovic is odds on favourite with some of the bookies, but the are split, with some favouring Murray. If you want to get in on the action then it all goes live from Australia BBC One, Red Button & online from 0815 GMT on Sunday.

Tags: Andy Murray, australian open odds, murray to lose odds, murray to win australian open, Murray to win odds, tennis oddsShare

sales prospects fading for Aussie bookmakers?

Sportingbet started the trend by purchasing No1 Betting Shop from Vanuatu and then moving them to Darwin, Paddy Power got into the act by snapping up Sportsbet and IAS, and then Centrebet started preening their feathers in public trying to woo as many prospective buyers as they could. Anecdotal evidence suggests that several other Australian firms are available to buy, as most of the original owners are approaching retirement age. BWin, William Hill, Ladbrokes, 888 and others were mentioned as prospective suitors for Centrebet but it all seems to have gone very quiet lately.

BWin have tied up with Party Gaming which should keep them busy plus neither are shy about attracting Australian customers despite laws against online casino and poker operations; William Hill's online division is 29% owned by Playtech, another company with fingers in many bingo, casino and poker pies which reach Australia either organically or by targetted marketing; Ladbrokes are still involved in the bid for Victoria's retail wagering licence and are burdened by a net debt of over £500m, although they do block Australian clients; 888 is too heavily involved in non-wagering activity not to be affected by the remit of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.

Add that to the mess of the latest Federal Election which left Australia with a minority government which will have great difficulty in getting any legislative bills at all through both houses, so getting the restrictions on gaming operations and in-running betting online removed are unlikely to happen in the immediate future, despite frim recommendations from the Productivity Commission. There are too many attention-grabbing independents wanting their five minutes of fame allegedly protecting the social fabric of Australia, but really only trying to justify their existence. And PM Julia Gillard has already pledged to start cutting back on the evil poker machines (slots) in pubs and clubs, so it's hardly a surprise that foreign investors might hold off for a few years before acquiring an Australian firm. The cost of compliance, lobbying and everything that goes with it might be too much in the interim, leaving the likes of Centrebet, BetChoice, BetStar and TopSport gathering dust on the shelf.Posted byScott Fergusonat11:49

Serena shakes off Henin to land fifth Aussie Open

 By MAX ORAM  2:01PM 30 JAN 2010 SERENA WILLIAMS beat Justine Henin 6-4 3-6 6-2 on Saturday to claim a fifth Australian Open and 12th Grand Slam title.

Williams, the world No. 1 and top-seed in Melbourne, was just too strong for wild card Henin who was bidding to match Kim Clijsters in winning a Grand Slam event at the first attempt on her return to the circuit after 20 months in retirement.

Henin, 11-2 at the start of the tournament, frequently racked up chances to break and even enjoyed a run of 15 unchecked points in the process of the second set.

But Serena, 3-1 at the beginning of the fortnight, held firm.

A three-set Serena success was 10-3.

Henin is a standout 7-4favourite though to win the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris in May.

Clijsters is 5-1 second-favourite and then it is 6-1 Serena with Paddy Power and 7-1 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Boylesports are 11-1 about Victoria Azarenka but Paddy Power are as short as 15-2.

Hills report plenty of small money for Andy Murray ahead of Sunday's men's final but their big hitters sticking with Roger Federer.

Best prices on Saturday afternoonare 8-13 Federer (general) and 13-8 Murray (Sportingbet).

Read Saturday's Racing Post for Adrian Humphries's Australian Open men's final preview, prices and stats

Read Sunday's Racing Post for Dylan Hill's reaction to the Australian Open women's final and French Open prices

Buy the paper in PDFformat

Open an account and receive free bets

 

 

FacebookDeliciousDiggStumbleUpon   TOP STORIES Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Woods 4-5 to be top-scoring wild-card 4:07pm 7 Sep 2010 Federer 13-8 after easy passage to fourth round 2:33pm 5 Sep 2010 Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 Spurs drift for top four finish after Latics loss 11:53pm 28 Aug 2010 Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Federer cut to 9-4 to regain US Open title 2:00pm 28 Aug 2010 Contador evens to win 2011 title 6:19pm 25 Jul 2010 Post delivers the verdict 1:34pm 14 Jul 2010 Show All Current Stories LATEST STORIES Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Woods 4-5 to be top-scoring wild-card 4:07pm 7 Sep 2010 Federer 13-8 after easy passage to fourth round 2:33pm 5 Sep 2010 Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 Murphy 7-4 to get Premier League defence off to flyer 6:33pm 1 Sep 2010 Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Spurs drift for top four finish after Latics loss 11:53pm 28 Aug 2010 Federer cut to 9-4 to regain US Open title 2:00pm 28 Aug 2010 Contador evens to win 2011 title 6:19pm 25 Jul 2010 Show All Current Stories FOOTBALL Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 Spurs drift for top four finish after Latics loss 11:53pm 28 Aug 2010 GOLF Woods 4-5 to be top-scoring wild-card 4:07pm 7 Sep 2010 WORLD CUP NEWS Post delivers the verdict 1:34pm 14 Jul 2010 TENNIS Federer 13-8 after easy passage to fourth round 2:33pm 5 Sep 2010 Federer cut to 9-4 to regain US Open title 2:00pm 28 Aug 2010 Federer 12-1 for Grand Slam after fourth Aussie win 11:39am 31 Jan 2010 2:01pm 30 Jan 2010 RUGBY Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Rhinos land Grand Final hat-trick 8:46pm 10 Oct 2009 OTHER SPORTS Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Contador evens to win 2011 title 6:19pm 25 Jul 2010 Murphy 7-4 to get Premier League defence off to flyer 6:33pm 1 Sep 2010 Taylor 9-2 to take title haul to 20 2:49pm 4 Jan 2010 Schumacher makes F1 return with Mercedes 12:19pm 23 Dec 2009 Rage set to give Joe a run for his money 5:06pm 16 Dec 2009 Haye camp unimpressed with Klitschko defence 2:58pm 13 Dec 2009 Khan odds-on to beat Hatton after Salita win 12:13pm 6 Dec 2009 Happy Harvick value to join in Johnson celebrations 12:16pm 22 Nov 2009 Froch retains title with scrappy win 11:56am 18 Oct 2009 Show All Current Stories BOXING Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Search our News Archive Sport News RSS Feed All Racing Post RSS Feeds Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Download our iPhone app

Federer 12-1 for Grand Slam after fourth Aussie win

11:39am 31 Jan 2010 Serena shakes off Henin to land fifth Aussie Open 2:01pm 30 Jan 2010 RUGBY Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Rhinos land Grand Final hat-trick 8:46pm 10 Oct 2009 OTHER SPORTS Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Contador evens to win 2011 title 6:19pm 25 Jul 2010 Murphy 7-4 to get Premier League defence off to flyer 6:33pm 1 Sep 2010 Taylor 9-2 to take title haul to 20 2:49pm 4 Jan 2010 Schumacher makes F1 return with Mercedes 12:19pm 23 Dec 2009 Rage set to give Joe a run for his money 5:06pm 16 Dec 2009 Haye camp unimpressed with Klitschko defence 2:58pm 13 Dec 2009 Khan odds-on to beat Hatton after Salita win 12:13pm 6 Dec 2009 Happy Harvick value to join in Johnson celebrations 12:16pm 22 Nov 2009 Froch retains title with scrappy win 11:56am 18 Oct 2009 Show All Current Stories BOXING Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Search our News Archive Sport News RSS Feed All Racing Post RSS Feeds Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Download our iPhone app