> The Rev. All Green <

Week 25: Result

2010-07-01T12:08:00.000+02:00

For old times' sake I mugged it up on the last day of the week.

Hanescu Spits

2010-06-26T12:39:00.000+02:00

4 arrested after spitting incident at Court 18

Jizner

2010-06-24T23:36:00.000+02:00

Watch live streaming video from wimbledon at livestream.com

14 Sets and Counting...

2010-06-24T09:22:00.005+02:00

4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 6-6, 5-5...

Week 24: Result

2010-06-22T00:22:00.000+02:00

Shit week, slightly better result.

Winners of the Week (24)

2010-06-21T23:14:00.000+02:00

Ekatarina Makarova in Eastbourne

Michael Llodra in Eastbourne

Justine Henin in 's Hertogenbosch

Sergiy Stakhovsky in 's Hertogenbosch

Andy Murray Giving Head...

2010-06-15T22:52:00.001+02:00

... some promotion before Wimbledon.

Week 23: Result

2010-06-13T21:02:00.000+02:00

Very bad start to the week with the Toy's All Green Button moving me from a nice green position to a not so nice red one, but managed to turn it around at least.

Winners of the Week (23)

2010-06-13T20:10:00.002+02:00

Sam Querrey in London

Lleyton Hewitt in Halle

Na Li in Birmingham

X Marks the Spot

2010-06-10T20:58:00.001+02:00

Never thought I'd live to see the day again, but take a look at this. Xavier Malisse, one of the biggest underachievers of his generation, beats the number 3 of the world. Well done, X-man.

(And just my luck that this match was moved from Center Court to a court with no cameras.)

A Cover Story

2010-06-09T23:07:00.001+02:00

Apparently the Aegon Classic in Birmingham expected a long hot summer this year. But instead, it rained quite a bit and they weren't prepared.

...The problem was that the ground staff had been lumbered with the same covers that they used last year, even though the playing area has been expanded by at least a yard at each end...

...problems were further compounded by a broken-down water clearing device, which reduced the Priory Club to handing out towels and asking the staff to jump up and down on them. In an era when Wimbledon has a retractable roof, this felt like something from the stone age...

Winners of the Week (21-22)

2010-06-06T23:30:00.000+02:00

Francesca Schiavone in Paris

Rafael Nadal in Paris

Week 22: Result

2010-06-06T17:55:00.002+02:00

Just two words: Fuck Soderling.

Koubek Strangles Köllerer on Court

2010-06-04T12:36:00.003+02:00

Fellow Austrians Daniel Köllerer and Stefan Koubek replay Heidi.

Week 21: Result

2010-06-03T21:40:00.000+02:00

The special bet was on the Eurovision Song Contest, Belgium to make top 10. :-D

Winners of the Week (19)

2010-06-01T16:45:00.000+02:00

Aravane Rezai in Madrid

Rafael Nadal in Madrid

Winners of the Week (20)

2010-06-01T16:41:00.001+02:00

Richard Gasquet in Nice

Argentina in Düsseldorf

Alexandra Dulgheru in Warsaw

Maria Sharapova in Strasbourg

26 years

2010-05-16T12:39:00.001+02:00

Cup Final

2010-05-15T11:32:00.001+02:00

A bit off topic, but today my team AA Gent is playing the Belgian Cup Final. We're living our best season in half a century, after taking second place last week by beating archrivals Club Brugge 6-2 and thereby claiming the second CL ticket. And today we are the big favorites to win the Cup Final against non-archrivals Cercle Brugge. Two years ago we lost the Cup Final to Anderlecht after leading 2-1, then two of our ex-players scored two more goals for Anderlecht.
I was there then and we lost. I'm not going tonight so we will definitely win !

BUFFALO BUFFALO AA GENT !!

Week 18: Result

2010-05-11T11:05:00.001+02:00

First really decent week on the tennis in a very long time. It seems like the new 'system' is finally kicking off.

Since I had some 'spare time' on Saturday night I played a game of poker for the first time in a while, and whaddya know... 2nd of 156 players, winning me $50 for a $1 stake.

Winners of the Week (18)

2010-05-11T11:04:00.000+02:00

Anastasia Sevastova in Estoril

Maria José Martinez Sanchez in Rome

Albert Montañes in Estoril

Mikhail Youzhny in Munich

Sam Querrey in Belgrade

Playing Tennis on a Table

2010-05-10T14:59:00.002+02:00

Wouldn't you expect professional tennis players to be better at this ?

Week 17: Result

2010-05-06T20:31:00.001+02:00

Best Moonball Ever

2010-05-06T20:24:00.002+02:00

javascript:void(0)

Winners of the Week (17)

2010-05-03T12:54:00.001+02:00

Justine Henin in Stuttgart

Rafael Nadal in Rome

One Million Dollars...

2010-04-27T19:12:00.002+02:00

That's what one account backed Federer for during his loss against Gulbis. The score was 6-2 2-2, the odds 1.05, 1.06. As you may have heard, Fed lost that match. Someone isn't happy today...

Winner of the Week (16)

2010-04-26T11:03:00.001+02:00

Fernando Verdasco in Barcelona

One break...

2010-04-19T09:47:00.002+02:00

...is what the three losing finalists managed in their finals over the past weekend. That's one break combined over the three finals. Luckily there was Mad Vera and one naughty racquet.

Winners of the Week (15)

2010-04-18T22:18:00.000+02:00

Francesca Schiavone in Barcelona

Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo

Sam Stosur in Charleston

Winners of the Week (14)

2010-04-16T10:47:00.000+02:00

Stanislas Wawrinka in Casablanca

Flavia Pennetta in Marbella

Caroline Wozniacki in Ponte Vedra Beach

Juan Ignacio Chela in Houston

Week 13 Result: Miami Vice

2010-04-05T21:27:00.003+02:00

Especially for u, GVL.

:-)

Winners of the Week (12-13)

2010-04-05T20:48:00.000+02:00

Kim Clijsters in Miami

Andy Roddick in Miami

Congratulations on Your Forthcoming Marriage, Sania

2010-03-31T22:11:00.001+02:00

Indian rightwing nationalist protestors burn an effigy of tennis player Sania Mirza in Mumbai on March 31, 2010. The Indian tennis star confirmed March 30 she will marry Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik, forming a unique union bridging the two nations' bitter sporting and political divide.

It's nice when everyone in your country supports you.

A Profitable Week

2010-03-29T23:23:00.000+02:00

It's been awhile, but there you go. Two profitable weeks in a row.

Andy Murray is Not English. He's Not Even British

2010-03-26T12:18:00.006+01:00

At least according to the BBC:

...British interest in the Sony Ericsson Open is over after Elena Baltacha was beaten 6-1 6-3 by Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the second round in Miami...

That's what you get for not playing Davis Cup, Andy.
The question now remains, if he's not British, what is he ? Finnish ? Anyway, any country that wants him, can pick him up at their local McDonald's Drive-Thru.

source: BBC

Natural habitat

2010-03-25T19:22:00.000+01:00

For Flipper anyway. (That's Kirsten Flipkens for any of you WTA illiterates)

Purple Day

2010-03-22T23:25:00.000+01:00

Move all liquidity from Betfair for a day because:

Ever increasing charges - both the Premium Charge and higher demands for points discount (not that I pay them)
A total PR disaster with the introduction of the Premium Charge and the way Betfair went about doing it. There was no way of checking whether you will be liable and how much you are likely to pay. Even nowadays its extremely complicated to find out exactly how much you are likely to pay. Just shows they treat customers like dirt.
Banning users from the forums for a lifetime for the slightest offence (scandalous !)
Probably the worst customer service not only in the betting industry (you have to be a certified mug to work at their helpdesk)
Too little investment in technology compared to what other exchanges working in competitive markets spend (e.g. futures exchanges - CME, Eurex, Liffe) which shows in many horrific market failures costing some customers massive amounts. It also shows in how slow API is compared to how for example futures markets operate.

More here.

Indian Wells is Not in India !

2010-03-22T21:04:00.001+01:00

Winners of Weeks 10-11

2010-03-22T09:42:00.003+01:00

Jelena Jankovic in Indian Wells

Ivan Ljubicic in Indian Wells

Djoko Only Wants One Thing

2010-03-19T13:44:00.001+01:00

I think he means '40- love'.

New Challenge

2010-03-17T19:12:00.000+01:00

I'm starting a new challenge today and it's called Not Doing My Bank The Very Day I Deposit. I know it's not overly ambitious, but it's a small bank and I'd like it to grow a little before I lose it all again.

2014

2010-03-16T20:43:00.000+01:00

According to this article in The Times, Belgium is a good bet for the World Cup 2014. In my opinion, it would have been an even better bet if they had managed to qualify for this year's WC. Or if they had come a little closer to qualifying. Still, could be worth a punt if you don't mind your money getting stuck for four years.

Hit For Haiti Taken a Bit Too Literally

2010-03-13T18:19:00.004+01:00

Read more: Agassi, Sampras Feud at Charity Event

70k = Superhero

2010-03-12T19:32:00.004+01:00

70k's Blog Mentioned on MSN

(...) Lastly, http://mylessoncost70k.blogspot.com is a diary of one person's currently incredibly successful part-time life as a sports trader on Betfair.

It gives a terrific insight into trading, on mainly tennis and American sports, both how to do it, and how exhilarating a roller-coaster ride it can be. (...)

I would have expected my blog to be mentioned as a terrific insight into how not to trade, and how exhilarating a roller-coaster that goes down without ever going up, can also be.
Anyway the full article can be found here: http://him.uk.msn.com/in-the-know/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=152317584

Sharapova Won't Win Indian Wells

2010-03-11T22:24:00.000+01:00

Training with her boyfriend.

Shameless Self-aggrandizing is Nothing To Be Ashamed Of.

2010-03-11T18:42:00.000+01:00

Winner of Week 9

2010-03-08T13:50:00.000+01:00

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Monterrey

This is Why I Only Play Freerolls Online

2010-03-07T18:40:00.000+01:00

Daring poker heist in German luxury hotel

By JUERGEN BAETZ (AP)

BERLIN — A heavily armed group stormed a poker tournament in a German luxury hotel Saturday afternoon and made off with a jackpot, a police spokesman said.
Several participants at the tournament in Berlin's Grand Hyatt hotel were slightly injured when they panicked and fled following the daring afternoon heist, Carsten Mueller said.
Mueller said four robbers in disguises forced employees to hand over money, and then managed to escape. Mueller declined to give details, including how much money the men got away with.
The jackpot for the tournament stood at euro1 million ($1.36 million), according to a European Poker Tour Web site. The EPT confirmed the heist on the event's blog in an official statement, saying there had been "an armed robbery executed by six men." It was unclear why the number differed from the police count.
The B.Z. daily quoted witnesses as saying that the robbers were armed with automatic weapons, machetes and hand grenades.
Mueller declined to comment on the weapons, citing the ongoing investigation.
German news website Spiegel Online quoted witness Claudia Sommerey as saying that panic spread in the room at the five-star hotel in downtown Berlin.
Sommerey told Spiegel Online she hid under a table. "I saw three disguised men with rifles," she was quoted as saying.
The tournament was organized by the European Poker Tour, which calls it the biggest such event in Germany. The tournament was to be continued in the late afternoon.
According to the organization's website, about 400 participants started into the five days long competition on Wednesday. Most of them, however, had already dropped out of the game by Saturday, among them tennis great Boris Becker.

So You Want to Be a Professional Gambler ?

2010-03-05T20:10:00.002+01:00

This is for all you aspiring or failing Professional Gamblers. (Didn't write it myself btw. :-) )

So you want to be a professional gambler?

By The Frontiersman

So, it's a great time to be a gambler. Before you all jack in your jobs and head for the gold in those gambling hills, let's take a reality check.

Being a full-time gambler is hard. Really hard. Not hard as in a hard life, nor a hard job. Hard in the sense it's really difficult to be successful long-term.
Bookmakers are sharp
For a start let's look at what you're up against. The opposition. These come in two forms - the bookmakers, and your fellow gamblers. The bookmakers employ odds compilers. These people work full-time to set prices that are as accurate as possible, along with a nice profit margin.

If these people are accurate in their pricing we have no chance of making a long-term profit. And the bad news is they are usually very accurate. Not just that, but the bookmakers also get the jump on you by being aware of things you are not. They have a big advantage in the form of "market intelligence".

For example, they can see whether the people that matter are backing their own horses or not; and they can see where the "shrewd" punters are putting their money. And of course if you are too "shrewd" they can simply decide not to take your money and either close your account or limit you to very small stakes.
Gamblers are sharper
But they are only a part of the equation. You also have to be better than your fellow gamblers. And that can be very difficult indeed. Take Betfair, where punters bet against each other, and where the odds on offer should in theory be better, and where we should be killing the golden goose.

The adverts focus on a few mates sitting around arguing with each other about football before putting their money where there mouths are. But the reality is it's more like a wild west saloon. Every hustler, insider, grifter and chancer seems to be there trying to steal your money.

If you can manoeuvre your way round them you're still going to have to pit your wits against the pros who long ago were banned by the normal bookmakers for being too good. In this ultra competitive environment whatever "edge" you may have won't last long, as the marketplace has the habit of catching-up and moving on.

You could imagine successful gambling as the equivalent of being in a fast-moving river. It takes enough energy just to stand still, let alone to make progress upstream.
Full-time gambling is even harder
That covers what makes gambling itself so difficult. But professional gambling is even harder. And there is a key difference between part-time and going pro. When you aren't winning, you're losing. That's the killer. There's no monthly pay-cheque to smooth the way at the end of a terrible month. Just red figures staring at you.

And it's worse than that. More than a big fat hole in your betting-bank there's a big fat hole in your confidence to keep it company.
So, what qualities do you need to survive in this environment?
Strangely, all the successful gamblers I've come across have only one thing in common. They are all opinionated. Very opinionated. Annoyingly so, I'm afraid. That doesn't mean that being opinionated in itself will make you successful, but essentially you need to be able to make a decision and stand by it.

Otherwise, there seem to be three key skills. Firstly successful gamblers are businesslike in their approach. They keep the money separate, and they keep accurate records. Secondly, they have the discipline not to fritter money away - what poker players call "leakage" where they take their winnings and blow it on something like roulette.

Thirdly, they cope with losing so much better than anyone else. This I can say without question is my own personal weakness. I'm a terrible loser.
Remember, it's fun
So, that's the reality check. It may be a great time to be a gambler, but it remains a tough, tough world out there. Be careful. Of course, you don't have to take it as seriously as I do. I certainly didn't when I started. Doesn't it make much more sense to gamble as a satisfying and hopefully profitable hobby?

There's loads of different things you can do in your spare time. But are there any others that can make you feel so alive, and at the same time make you money?

Wish he'd written this a year and a half earlier. Lazy mug ! Anyway, I've got a job again now, which is good. Though no more relationship, which is bad. :-(

(courtesy of edgehunters)

Acts of Man

2010-03-04T19:44:00.007+01:00

Winners of Week 8

2010-03-01T10:43:00.000+01:00

Venus Williams in Acapulco

David Ferrer in Acapulco

Alisa Kleybanova in Kuala Lumpur

Novak Djokovic in Dubai

Ernests Gulbis in Delray Beach

One's a Fighter, the Other One's a Bad Actress...

2010-02-26T10:38:00.002+01:00

My Name is Haas

2010-02-23T10:55:00.000+01:00

'Mijn naam is haas' is a proverb in Dutch and it means something like: 'I don't have a clue'. You wonder where they got it from...

Tommy Haas, American citizen, lost to Istomin, Malisse and now even Gabashvili in the last three tournaments.

Winners of the Week

2010-02-22T14:22:00.001+01:00

Venus Williams in Dubai

Maria Sharapova in Memphis

Michael Llodra in Marseille

Sam Querrey in Memphis

Juan Carlos Ferrero in Buenos Aires

Mariana Duque Marino in Bogotá

Federer Out of Dubai

2010-02-21T15:45:00.000+01:00

Roger Federer made a surprise withdrawal from the Barclays Championships Sunday with a lung infection.
But the world number one says doctors expect him to be cured in time to play the Indian Wells Masters from mid-March.
The world number one who has not played since beating Andy Murray for the Australian Open title, picked up the problem in recent days after returning to Switzerland after his Melbourne title, heading to Dubai and and then visiting a school his foundations fund in Ethiopia last week.
'I'm hoping to be back for Indian Well,s' said the 16-time Grand Slam winner. 'But of course there are no promises.
'This is something that with proper treatment will be finished,' said Federer, whose 2008 season was compromised by a case of glandular fever.
'I've been taking it easy, relaxing as much as possible. My breathing is a bit difficult and everything feels a bit slow. I can't take any chances until I'm fit again.
'It could be better, it could be worse.'
The Swiss player's place in the draw for the 500 series event which begins Monday was taken by Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
Federer missed Dubai in 2009 with injury and lost in the first round in 2008. He won the tournament in 2003-2005 and lost the 2006 final to Rafael Nadal.
Federer is due for further medical tests in several week to ascertain his condition. The Swiss said that the illness is much more straightforward than his glandular fever incident.
'I want to get back in shape and get back on court again. Once I'm back I'll be OK again.'

2010-02-19T20:54:00.001+01:00

Federer Wins Off Court

2010-02-18T12:59:00.000+01:00

Shanghai best Masters 1000 tournament ? Really ?

What the Dubai Organisers Are Feeling Right Now...

2010-02-18T12:53:00.002+01:00

Geek Trouble

2010-02-18T00:06:00.000+01:00

Can anyone explain this ? The bet is showing on the BF main page but not in the My Bets column and also not in the Geek. This happened after the BF outage tonight and it nearly cost me.

Nadal in Shakira video

2010-02-17T18:53:00.002+01:00

Serena, the Nail Technician

2010-02-17T00:20:00.000+01:00

My first day in school.

Vaidisova wins WTA level match

2010-02-16T22:29:00.000+01:00

The first one in 10 months for the 194th ranked former RG semi finalist.

Reverse Aftertiming

2010-02-16T14:31:00.005+01:00

I told the guys on chat this morning that I had a hunch Flipkens would do well versus Zvonareva. And this is what i get: 6-0 6-0. If they had played a round of strip poker Flipkens would have left the court in Dubai like this again:

Challenge Update

2010-02-16T09:36:00.001+01:00

First couple of days have passed and it's been going to plan, so far. The first day was a bit wobbly, but I've made up for that and I'm now a little ahead of schedule.

Jah Man

2010-02-15T23:16:00.000+01:00

Winners of the Week

2010-02-15T09:58:00.000+01:00

A shiny hub cap goes to:

Vera Zvonareva in Pattaya

Robin Söderling in Rotterdam

Elena Dementieva in Paris

Juan Carlos Ferrero in Costa do Sauipe

Fernando Verdasco in San José

Random Nudity

2010-02-13T22:40:00.001+01:00

Mentally Challenged

2010-02-12T09:49:00.000+01:00

I have a new huge bank of €100. I've figured out that if I make 25% each day (and take commission into account) my bank should be €3788.67 by the end of the month. Because I'm a modest guy (very, very, very modest actually) I will settle for 3k. (2k would be pretty cool too btw. Or 1k...)

Good luck, myself.

PS All tips are welcome.

(Well, not ALL tips, only good ones of course...)

The Cover of Sports Illustrated

2010-02-11T21:52:00.003+01:00

Wife. On the cover of SI.

Husband. Not on the cover of SI

When Going on Safari, Wear a Pink Shirt

2010-02-10T23:05:00.002+01:00

Federer Sucks

2010-02-09T14:29:00.000+01:00

Sorry had to get my blog back up just to post this pic. :D

Nadal Gets Marriage Proposal

2010-01-23T18:11:00.005+01:00

Day 19: Yesterday

2010-01-23T12:10:00.002+01:00

Was a lot better, I can tell you that. Second time this month I got caught by a Baggy Bagel. This time followed by a retirement. Overall a very disappointing day. Did a bad chase on Tsonga that could have turned out a lot worse, but also a lot better.
Before that, I had some nice green on Hantuchova and Li but went for another flipflop after the third set break and it didn't happen.

Day 18: Maybe I'm Amazed

2010-01-22T16:17:00.003+01:00

If there was ever something like a trader's dream then it was last night at the AusOpen. Of the 16 matches that were played only 1 wasn't very interesting. (Safina never got in trouble in her match.) But all the others... First of all the total off-day for Kim. Prematch 1.1, which was way too low to start off with. I was waiting for the first two games to get a feel for the match and then lay her but I never got a chance. Kim lost 9 games in a row and it was GSM from there.
JJ was pretty much the same story although she started around 1.44.
In practically all the other matches the player who eventually lost traded at pretty low odds. Bartoli 1.16, Fatanova 1.26, Kerber 1.55, Errani 1.7 (after Wickmayer had been 1.03).
Similar stuff on the men's side although slightly less spectacular, but every match very tradable, especially Isner vs Monfils.
As for myself, I did ok. As usual not as good as it could have been. :-) But I managed to get back into the green zone for the week.

Prince & Diapers

2010-01-21T17:46:00.000+01:00

Day 17: Balls

2010-01-21T12:13:00.002+01:00

Could be 300 up today if I grew me a pair.

What's wrong with just putting your hand up ?

2010-01-21T09:55:00.001+01:00

Angry Andy

2010-01-20T21:44:00.004+01:00

What for Andy ? It wasn't like you were going to lose the match. I liked the 'fuck' on US TV though.

Later Andy tweets apologies. :-)

Day 16: System Failure

2010-01-20T16:39:00.000+01:00

It could be that there's nothing wrong with the system and that it's just me being a mug. But let's just say that Blake a break up in the fifth at 1.77 wasn't bad odds. That is, if he had held his next service game. Nearly made up for the loss, on Tomic, but the kid was almost falling asleep on court when the match ended around 2.10am. Onwards and downwards...

Ball Boy Pisses Himself

2010-01-19T17:45:00.004+01:00

click below

Some video of the wet spot

Day 15: 1.01 x gubbed x 5

2010-01-19T14:26:00.002+01:00

Great day for the low odds layers. Five players who were 1.01 lost their matches and plenty of others lost from below 1.1. Sadly though, I didn't lay any of them. Why ? Hmmm, let's say my timing is still off. Must be the jetlag or something... But Fed could have been pretty good, laid Almugro at 1.09, Venus was better than expected (or Lucie worse), and then there's Gulbis... But I've said all I have to say about him in the previous post.

(The losing 1.01s were Soderling, Cibulkova, Ferrero, Oudin, Molik)

Gulbis

2010-01-19T08:48:00.003+01:00

No further comment...

Day 14: Timing

2010-01-18T14:24:00.000+01:00

When you lay, timing is important. For example, it is not a good idea to lay someone at 1.07 right before he breaks and goes 1.03. Thank you for the lesson, Juan Martin. Apart from that, I can't remember another first day of a Grand Slam that wasn't coloured red, so...

Winners of the Week

2010-01-17T20:14:00.000+01:00

Marcos Baghdatis in Sydney

Elena Dementieva in Sydney

Alona Bondarenko in Hobart

John Isner in Auckland

Hit For Haiti

2010-01-17T19:54:00.005+01:00

Day 13: Outback

2010-01-17T19:41:00.000+01:00

Been away for a couple of days. This is a result from last week. Ready for AusOpen now.

We Sponsor the Australian Open

2010-01-14T00:46:00.000+01:00

Roddick Takes Blake from Behind

2010-01-13T22:04:00.004+01:00

Day 12: A Man Called Horse

2010-01-13T16:10:00.001+01:00

Reasonable uneventful night. I laid the eternally overestimated and underpriced Alexandra Wozniak when she was a break up in the first set against qualifier Kirsten Flipkens. Wozniak was an amazingly low 1.14 at that time. From there it was pretty much an easy two set win for the least known of the Belgian tennis women.

Later in the day I was made aware of a huge copyright infraction. A horse won the 13.30 in Southwell, which is nothing special of course, but the horse's name was Reverend Green. Since it won from odds of 16 I think it would be fair to demand 10% on all winnings from this race.

And if the owners don't agree I'll let them know that horse meat is a delicacy in Belgium...

The Most Annoying Part of Betting on In-Play Tennis...

2010-01-13T11:04:00.001+01:00

Apart from doing your bank on a stupid bet...

Day 11: Over Before it Started

2010-01-12T12:29:00.000+01:00

What can I say ? BF's timing wasn't perfect, but what else would you expect.

Day 10: Agnes of God

2010-01-11T11:30:00.000+01:00

Didn't get a chance to do much last night as I had to get up early in the morning but at least what I did was succesful. JJ was struggling throughout the first set of her match against Agnes Szavay but still she was 1.14 after she won that set. That was ridiculously low for someone who was playing her first match of the season. I tried to lay for a liability of €50 but wasn't completely matched due to an annoying lack of liquidity. Not unsatisfied with the result, but in a match with 17 breaks in 31 games there is obviously a chance to do better.

Day 9: A Weak Week

2010-01-10T19:38:00.001+01:00

So that concludes the first week and it hasn't been a particularly successful one. I've been checking some stats and it seems that this wasn't a veruy good week for layers, with a very high percentage of favorites winning and an exceptionally low count of three set matches (Except in Brisbane, a tournament I followed mostly from my bed, asleep.)
So, for now, I'll just put the loss this week to bad luck. Better luck in Sydney, Hobart and Auckland...

Winners of the Week

2010-01-10T18:20:00.000+01:00

Nicolay Davydenko in Qatar

Kim Clijsters in Brisbane

Andy Roddick in Brisbane

Yanina Wickmayer in Auckland

Marin Cilic in Chennai

Pizza Causes Pennetta to Lose Auckland Final

2010-01-10T11:59:00.002+01:00

Day 8: A Tale of Two Finals

2010-01-09T19:41:00.000+01:00

Wow. It's rare that you get two finals with world class players on one day, that are as exciting as the ones we've seen today. First Clijsters vs. Henin, with Kim matched at 1.01 before being matchpoints down and still winning. Then almost the same scenario in the Nadal vs. Davydenko final in Qatar. Rafa had matchpoints in the second set TB, was a break up in the third but Davy still won it.

And so did I. First good day of the year. About fuckin time too.

Is This How Andy and Kim Broke Up ?

2010-01-09T13:16:00.005+01:00

Bychkova Suspended for Not Fixing Matches

2010-01-09T10:37:00.001+01:00

The Tennis Integrity Unit has fined the Russian Ekaterina Bychkova $5,000 and barred her from playing for 30 days for failing to report that she was asked to provide inside information and throw matches.
An anti-corruption hearing officer said there was no evidence the 24-year-old Bychkova, who is ranked 121st, accepted any compensation.
So after suspending Wickmayer and Malisse for not failing a doping test, they now ban Bychkova for not fixing.

Strength through Unity

2010-01-09T10:05:00.006+01:00

It's

Kim vs. Justine
Komaan vs. Allez
Flanders vs. Wallonia

Telenet vs. Belgacom

Outgoing vs. Ingrowing

Lost my Dad vs. Lost my Mom

I won the US Open while you were away vs. I won all the others while you were still playing

It's BELGIUM

Or as the Prime Minister of Belgium would sing: "Alons enfants de la patrie... Le jour de gloire est arrivé". Even though that's the French national anthem and not the Belgian one.

Rogue Traders at AusOpen

2010-01-08T22:02:00.001+01:00

This isn't a joke. A band called 'Rogue Traders' will play a concert before the start of the AusOpen Men's Final. The joke would be complete if Davydenko made the final now.