Weekend Thoughts

I’ll start with a follow up to my last post :-

Kimiko Date

Contrary to my thoughts, Date wasn’t beaten by Hantuchova, nor anyone else, and won the Korea Open. She will be 39 tomorrow, and last won a title thirteen years ago. This week she’s beaten a series of decent names from the ‘second tier’ of the WTA – Kleybanova, Hantuchova, Kirilenko, Medina Garrigues – and is the second-oldest title winner in WTA history. Come on then, who backed her pre-tournament? No hands up then. The oldest winner ever? Billie-Jean King.

Shahar Peer

As I suggested, Peer did win the Tashkent Open without losing a set, just as she had in Guangzhoi during the previous week. Best bet of the coming week? She’ll pull out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo citing injury!



A step up in level for the WTA this week in Tokyo, with only Serena and Kim Clijsters missing of the big guns. Take out the only two with any consistent form, and you’re struggling for pointers. Safina is the defending champion, Venus the favourite (just). So it’s anyone’s tournament, basically. I can lend a pin to any optimists who wish to pick the winner.

I’ve noted before how my odds-on instincts often frustrate. I sniggered this morning at the odds available on Flavia Pennetta to beat Roberta Vinci ( 1.16ish I think ) in a first round game in Tokyo. Pennetta is inconsistent, Vinci limited but tough. Yet it didn’t occur to me to lay Pennetta, I just moved on to find the next value back. Vinci won 6-1, 6-2. A lay would have been a damn easier (and lower risk) way of making money than the long session I’ve just endured to pick off £3 and £4 wins on the evening’s footy.

Monitoring the cricket from Centurion today, it struck me how the odds-makers (and gamblers!) have no trust in England’s ability in the one day game. The odds on England remained extremely generous throughout the game, and I won a tenner backing at 1.61 and laying off at 1.07. Plenty of fingers must have been burnt recently, I assume. England are now third favourites to win the Champions Trophy. Don’t you just love sport.

I’m having a couple of days away from Betfair now – basically work-related, but September has been a shocker and I want to restart again refreshed for October. I’ll hopefully have time to put together a doom-laden month-end review post for Wednesday!