Saturday 16 January
The Australian Open begins on Monday and with the weather in the high 20’s, I know where I would rather be! For those of us not lucky enough to be Down Under, stick to trading on the ‘Daq’ for a bit of winter cheer.
As is mostly the case, Roger Federer goes into a Grand Slam as favourite, this time he’s at 4.0 on Betdaq, and what’s not to like about a man who’s won there three times already? OK, he lost in the final last year to Rafa Nadal at Melbourne, but FedEx then went on to win at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
He also made it a complete set of Major finals last year before falling at the last in the US Open. Furthermore, the 2008 Australian Open final between Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga is the only Slam finale he hasn’t contested since mid-2005.
Nadal follows him in the betting but the Spaniard looks a better lay to me at 6.0 than one to back at 5.5. He did win the five-setter against his great rival last year, but that’s the only hard-surface Slam final he’s ever been to.
The man I’m keeping an eye on is Nikolay Davydenko. The determined Russian can grind the results out and got the better of Fed and Rafa at both the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals and last week’s Qatar Open – lifting both along the way. The Aussie Open’s a lot less predictable than the other Slams –Tsonga, Marcos Baghdatis, Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement have all upset bigger names, and the odds, to reach recent finals.
Back Davydenko now at 15.0 on Betdaq, then look to lay off when he reaches the latter rounds at a much lower price.
I may be slightly biased but surely its hard to argue that Sky coverage of the NFL is among the best of any sport on TV. Betting and trading this season has been among the most wild and unpredictable I can recall and we are now at the crucial stage on the run to the Superbowl.
Of the four huge games this weekend my focus will be on the Arizona Cardinals who travel to New Orleans on the back of a breathtaking overtime win against Green Bay last week. Quarterback Kurt Warner, rumoured to be in his last year, put on an absolute masterclass against the number two ranked defense in the league and with star receiver Larry Fitzgerald in fine form, I sense this could be closer than the odds suggest.
New Orleans aren't the same outfit who lit up the league earlier in the campaign and I really like Arizona +7 at 1.95 on the "Daq"
Best of luck with all of your trading on the ‘Daq’ this weekend!
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