Bollettieri Thinks Fed Has More Slams To Win...

From the Times of India...

Nick Bollettieri could wear the look of a smug man and maybe he does, the orange tan that is the trademark of the Florida sun slightly blurring the expression. For a man with over 30-years of coaching experience behind him and a Who's Who list of tennis champions among his former pupils, being right all the time, after a while, maybe loses its charm.

While most pundits began talking about Roger Federer's fading aura only after his sensational ouster by Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon recently, Bollettieri had already noticed chinks in the Swiss king's armour.

With 16 Grand Slams in his pocket, Federer surely hadn't forgotten how to win a tennis match but what he seemed to forget, according to the exalted tennis guru, was that 'he's the best'.

"Is the end of the Federer era near? Well, it's going to be very interesting because today there are 8-10 guys that can beat Federer or think that they can beat him. Earlier, no one thought they could beat him and that fear gave him an advantage. Players don't fear him anymore," was Bollettieri's summing up of the predicament that Federer finds himself in.

The road ahead of Federer isn't easy but its got little to do with his game or technique. He needs to keep himself fit as a fiddle to ward off the challenge of the young guns, according to Bollettieri.

"Federer must be as healthy as can be. If his movement falters at all like it did at Wimbledon, then he will be in deep trouble on the backhand side. Why? Because he's not in a good position to hit the ball, he can only slice the ball and that's not good."

Bollettieri, never one to mince words, lands a soft but telling blow. "A lot of players and sports writers wondered whether he has lost his competitive edge. I believe that Federer will win another Grand Slam or two. However, if he doesn't win either the US Open (this year) or the Australian Open (early next year), he may himself begin to doubt his ability," he predicted.

He added, "Then you've got Rafael Nadal, who's just 24 and can play on any surface but Rog is still the man. He's lost a little edge but he still is the man. Difference is now people are going to be looking furiously at whether he can still win a few more Grand Slams."

However, Federer remains Bollettieri's definition of a perfect player. "Nobody is perfect but he's damn close to being perfect. You have the Samprases and Lavers but Federer is the perfect player or very close.

A perfect player would be one who has total confidence in himself, plays the game like a true sportsman, respects the sport and its competitors, lives the life as a role model for youngsters and a player who can do little bit of everything and have one or two weapons, play defence and offense, serve and volley and attack and a player that is really physically and mentally unbelievable. Federer embodies all of that."



A slight loss again yesterday so a few chase sequences to go ahead with today if the right criteria fits. There has been many picks in the last two days so I expect quite a few from today's matches too.

An Up And Down Day...

Like the title says, an up and down day. I will try and get photoshop installed today so you can the profit and loss from each match but with the players blurred on some days. I only ever remember that I haven't done it in the mornings when posting the profit/loss and realise that I can't blur it out!

A loss though anyway so let's move on and see if we can make some back today with the chasing! I don't think any sequences will need to be broken down today unless many bets lose so I think I'll be ok.

British Tennis Is Thriving At Junior Level....

According to Becky Lee. Becky Lee is the coach at Huddersfield Lawn Tennis Club and was encouraged by the fact that the Wimbledon doubles final was contested by four Brits.

But she says she knows that when they make the step up to senior level around age 17 or 18 they just don't do enough.

She asks is it funding? I highly doubt that considering the countless millions that are piled into tennis training each year but is there definitely something wrong in the background? Or is it just the players are not good enough?



Why are they so good at junior level only to fail at senior level?

Here is the link to the full story if you want to read more.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/sport-news/other-sports/2010/07/12/tennis-british-tennis-is-thriving-at-junior-level-says-huddersfield-coach-becky-lee-86081-26831363/

Some More Matches Today At Last...

Just a quick post this morning especially with very little to write about. There weren't many matches yesterday and I didn't watch the Fish/Rochus match because the World Cup Final was only slightly more interesting to watch (in the end).

There are a few tournaments this week though and there are some of the qualifying rounds matches that meet the criteria so I'm already involved. Let's hope the bank can grow a bit this week by the end.

More Cheating Going On????

I was watching some of Schnyder/Ondraskova and left when it was 2-0 in the second set. I popped back near the end to check the score and there was a lot of talk about Patty tanking the second set then pulling it back in the third to win on purpose.

Now I didn't see it myself but from the comments I read it seemed clear she done it on purpose, any thoughts from anyone who saw it?

A winning day for me anyway and nearly made back the loss from yesterday. I have still haven't installed photoshop again either. There are a few more DC matches tomorrow so a few more bets and I'll be backing Szavay in the final tomorrow of her home tournament, that's one that the system has thrown up.

The balance is currently at just £108.50. After withdrawing the £330 ish a few weeks ago I only topped up with about £100 so I am technically playing with profit after keeping out the original £150 and an extra £50 so even if it goes bust from here I am £50 up.

I may top up slightly in the future but only if the bank is taking a while to grow. I would like to see the balance grow by the system only.


Spain lost in the DC to a team it hadn't lost to for 87 years... They won't be retaining their title once again anyway.

Dulko Shocks...

Dulko pulled off a shock win against her doubles partner Pennetta and Dulko is now 7-1 against Italians on clay. Pennetta has now won 79% of her matches when she is sub 1.50 odds and most of them are straight set wins so could be some good opportunities there for some nice price wins, although just not yesterday!

A losing day for me and with not many matches over the next few days as we approach the end of the week it will probably have to run into next week to make it back.

I still haven't installed Photoshop again so it's this screen shot rather than a blurred one showing each of the matches still.

Here is a news report regarding the Bloomfield/Rochus match which was very dodgy in the betting patterns area. Bloomfield went down to around 1.2 pre match and won in straight sets so questions were clearly going to be asked.

We all know nothing will be done but they have to have their token effort of investigation so make it seem like they want to stop it.

"Tennis officials are assessing reports of irregular betting on a first-round match between Richard Bloomfield and Christophe Rochus at the Hall of Fame grass-court tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.

Online gambling exchange Betfair told The Associated Press on Friday that Tuesday's match, which was won 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 by Britain's Bloomfield, attracted an unusual amount in wagers - more than STG1 million ($A1.73 million)- and was the subject of a dramatic price movement.

Bloomfield, ranked No.552, was rated even money against his 160th-ranked Belgian opponent. In the hours before the match, the odds on Bloomfield winning shortened to 1-4. After he won the first set, the odds shorted to 1-8.

"If people are willing to risk 4 pounds to win one, that is indicative of a substantial gamble," Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin said.

Notification of the irregular betting pattern was made to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), an independent body created by the sport's governing bodies to lead the fight against corruption.

It is standard procedure for the betting industry to share irregular activity on its markets with the TIU.

No conclusion was reached by authorities about the match. There is no suggestion Bloomfield is implicated in the irregular betting."

I like it how Betfair comment saying it was a "substantial gamble" at that price and that it was reported but they still settled it right away with no chance of a void and them losing out of commission....hmmmmm.

Back To The Start...

I have realised I am messing around with the criteria too much in an attempt to find the winning sequences easier and quicker and this is not going to happen.

I am going right back to the simple criteria I used when starting the blog and will have to blur the screenshots of course to protect the selection crieria. I will start the blurring from another day as since I had to replace my hard drive I have not re-installed photoshop so will do that very soon.

I see the first negative comment has arrived and it's better than no comments at all! If only he had posted I was shit when I actually WAS shit, losing the money by scalping the football markets, instead of when I simply listed the matches that the criteria had picked that day. Unlucky, you can always leave a link to your blog of picks should you ever choose to do one and I'll be happy to follow you. :)

So, a massive 28p profit today as we have to still go from scratch to build the bank. I couldn't top up all of it after the withdrawal so it will be a long, slow process and I am more than happy to think long term with this. Let's see if it's made any money in 6 mths.

Some WTA Picks...

These are a few of the WTA picks that I will be doing throughout the day. Edit: some of the later matches too.

I will be backing these players...

Groenefeld 1.34
Dulko 1.4
Strycova 1.67
Schnyder 2.42
Soeda 1.65 (Now 1.35, looks like another Rochus style match)
Dulgheru 1.31 (This is a very confident one)
Ram 1.51
O Rochus 1.38 (should be around 1.28 according to my system)
Giraldo 1.33
Mahut 1.48

I haven't checked the Harrison/Kudla match yet so not sure who to follow yet. Schnyder could be the only underdog for today.

A Better Day...

A better day with a decent profit boosted by the fixer of course but it would have shown a profit anyway albeit a smaller one. Still plenty of matches to get involved in today so hopefully another good day.

I did write a better write up but it didn't post and I'm not writing again. Basically, Rochus is a known fixer and this was an opportunity not to be missed.