1966: A Year of Sporting Victories

What a year. 

Like the battle of Hastings in 1066, football fans will never forget the year when England won the World Cup 1966. 

As the quote goes: ''They think its all over...'' Kenneth Wolstenholme's commentary on BBC when England beat Germany 4 - 2. 

He said: And here comes Hurst! He's got...

Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over!

Whatever your fancy, Sun Bets has lots of great offers.   

It is now, it's four!    

I get the feeling we will have to wait until 2066 to see another FIFA World Cup for our beloved football nation. 

Here is a quick summary of other sporting winners in this famous year.

Tennis: Wimbledon 20th June - 2nd July

Manuel Santana wins the men's final. While Billie Jean King wins the women's. 

Grand National 1966 - Aintree

Anlgo wins at odds of 50-1 for trainer Fred Winter, ridden by Tim Norman. A 20-length victory beating Freddie who was runner-up the year before. 

Gold Cup 1966 - Cheltenham 

Almost as well known as England winning the World Cup, equine star Arkle made this a historic Gold Cup winning for the third time in consecutive years. Tom Dreaper trained this amazing nine-year-old for the Dutchess Of Westminster, ridden by Pat Taaffe at odds of 1/10f. 

More Horse Racing 

Flat racing:

The English Triple Crown wasn't achieved. We had to wait until 1970 for Nijinsky to win the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St Leger. He went on to win the Irish Derby just for good measure. 

Who won these races in 1966? 

2000 Guineas - Won by Kashmir trained by Mick Bartholomew, French-trained colt who showed class as two. 

Epsom Derby - Charlottown trained by Towzer Gosden. This bay colt won seven of his ten races but retire at four when disappointing in France. 

St Leger - Readers may remember this class horse - Sodium. This son of Psidium was trained by George Todd at Manton in Wiltshire. Sodium finished fourth behind Charlottown in the Epsom Derby and went on to win the Irish Dery in the same year.  

The Boat Race 1966

A long history of the battle of supremacy for Oxford and Cambridge University. The 112 boat race took place on the 26th  March 1966. A tight competition, Oxford won by three and quarter lengths. Cambridge won the women's race. 

1966 European Athletics Championship 

A couple of English victories of note:

Jim Hogan won the Marathon 2:20:04.06

Lynn Davies won the men's Long Jump 7.98 m  

The only two medals England achieved in these championships. 

July 17th saw American runner Jim Ryun set a new world record in the mile timed 3:51.3 

FA Cup 1966

Football fans enjoyed a battle between two tough sides in this final. Everton went on to beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2. 

Boxing in 1966

29th March - Muhammed Ali defeats George Chuvalo in 15 rounds on a unanimous decision.

21st May - A fight few UK boxing fans will forget. Henry Cooper deserved to beat Muhammed Ali ( Cassius Clay) in their first fight in 1963 with a left hook in the final seconds. The fight was delayed when Ali's gloves had to be changed after a tear (which was later detailed as a deliberate act by his corner). Cooper was outfought and stopped in the 6th round by a technical knockout in 1966. 

Muhammed Ali had a busy year going on to defeat Brian London by knockout in the third round (6th August)

10th September Ali had a tough fight with Karl Mildenberger with a 12th round TKO. 

He concluded the year retaining his WBC heavyweight title knocking out Cleveland Williams in three rounds. 

What's your favourite sporting year?

Pixabay: Free for commercial use and no attribution but given 

ATP & WTA Indian Wells Outright's

The first leg of the duel ATP & WTA Spring Double starting off today in the Californian Desert of Indian Wells, with Miami the next stop later in March, before we head to the European Clay.

A profitable return last week to AntePost Tennis after a short break as Pablo Cuevas the claycourt supremo successfully defended the São Paulo title at 7/1, so onto this week. 

The Men's draw looks extremely bottom heavy with a potential fourth round clash between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer on the cards which would be a repeat of the surprise Australian Open final in January.

3x Defending Champion Novak Djokovic could be the winner's quarter-final opponent but don't rule out dangerous floaters in that section like the in-form Grigor Dimitrov or extrovert Aussie talent Nick Krygios, who of course has a recent win just last week in Acapulco over Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray heads the betting at 12/5 with SkyBet or is 9/4 general and despite the World number one stating, he has never found a way to get comfortable here in Indian Wells throughout his career, the draw certainly gives him a chance to find his feet and top level over the next 11 days.

Stan Wawrinka or Jo-Wilfred Tsonga appear his main dangers in making the final and both could pop up at any time, Stan usually is off-form at this stage of the year and is happily bypassed in these attacking, high bouncing, quick conditions, where the balls tend to fizz through the air on the slick side, and see Frenchman, Tsonga, 40/1 winner back to back weeks on tour recently as the chief threat to Murray's title charge in that half.

Nadal 10/1 a former champion here would be my tentative pick from the bottom half with his intentions of a big run this month clear, having swerved the golden swing on the clay in South America for hard court preparation in Acapulco in which he went all the way.

Federer will be all out this week as he favours the courts here over Miami and Djokovic's three titles in a row must be respected but that form and confidence seem a long way off right now.

Preference is for a new Champion, and i am siding with Andy Murray who won his maiden Dubai title just two weeks back and is coming here fully tuned knowing big points are on offer at this opening Masters 1000 event of the year, with little points to defend from last year Murray is fully aware this month is a big opportunity to pull further away from the main rival at the top of the rankings in Novak Djokovic and Murray's price of anything over 2/1 certainly catches my eye.

WTA Indian Wells

The Women got underway a day early but we haven't missed too much with the top seeds receiving a bye into round two and we have the conclusion to round one later tonight.

The big news this week came from the Serena Williams camp as she has confirmed an ankle injury has ruled her out of both Indian Wells and Miami.

I am very pleased to hear this news from a betting perspective as it is often such a hard ante-post market to weigh up with Serena in the field due to playing very little tennis, so we are most certainly looking at a better punting scenario now.

Angelique Kerber is the top seed and 2nd favourite at 13/2, however 4x opening round exits on the trot, coupled with the uneasy form she has shown early this campaign, these quick conditions that favour attacking, front foot players, Kerber doesn't appeal or tick enough boxes for me this week.

One player that does is tournament favourite Karolina Pliskova at 9/2 with Betfair or 4/1 general, who is the 3rd seed and highest ranked player in the top half of the draw.

Everything seems to be falling into place for the classy former US Open finalist and she has all the weapons on serve and on the ground to be a difficult to stop over the coming 11 days at what is the opening Premier Mandatory event of the season for the Woman.

Elina Svitolina 9/1 is in superb form winning the Dubai title two weeks ago and is now firmly a title threat where ever she plays at present.

Conditions will favour the Ukranian but I feel her serve may come under pressure more than it would elsewhere and is opposed this week.

A couple of top players are returning from injury in the way of Simona Halep 18/1 (knee) and Madison Keys 33/1 (wrist) would be shorter generally ante-post but again it is an easy decision to bypass this duo so soon on their return to action.

Joanna Konta is big at 14/1 but usually, finds a few too good at this major/premier mandatory level and would see Caroline Woznacki as a big price at 20/1 away from my selection of Karolina Pliskova.

Woznacki is in great heart and a former champion here as well as on numerous consecutive occasions reaching the last 4, but see the Golden Girl of Woman's tennis right now Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic adding the Indian Wells crown to the Brisbane and Doha titles already won in 2017 on outdoor hard courts.

Recommendations 

Men's

Andy Murray to win Outright @ 12/5 SkyBet or 9/4 General.

Women's 

Karolina Pliskova to win Outright @ 9/2 Betfair or 4/1 General.

Follow the Round by Round selections daily for Indian Wells on Twitter @ReddenCarl

Good luck everyone! 

WTA Kuala Lumpur

Elina Svitolina defends her title and is the 2/1 firm favourite this week at the Malaysian Open.

She will have to do things the hard way as all seeds will feature in the first round with no byes, and is coming off a hot run in Dubai, where she stormed to the title on Saturday.

It will be so hard for the classy, improving Ukranian to repeat her top level for a second consecutive week again in difficult climate conditions following on from a semi-final win over World number 2, Angelique Kerber who she has now beaten three times in a row I may add. Then defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the final, two players you would not want to face who make you play for every point hard.

A chance is taken on a player housed in Svitolina's half of the draw and who has been on my radar since the turn of the year.

Elise Mertens is the 7th seed and up to 80 in the World rankings from over 100 at the start of this campaign and I expect the improving 21-year-old being top 50 very soon and top 20 in the not too distant future. She does have improvement to make but is very much on the upgrade and at 16/1 with Bet365 for Each-way terms of half the odds to make the final looks the best bet in Malaysia should Svitolina be running on empty or withdraw at some stage.

Mertens is a very clean striker of the ball and the Hobart Champion prior to the Australian Open is worth keeping on the side this year.

The Bottom half features second & third seeds in Carla Suarez Navarro and French powerhouse Caroline Garcia. It is Garcia who is the second favourite at 5/1 with Spaniard Suarez Navarro at 7's. The latter is very much an early season performer despite having a slow start this year. It is this lack of form this year that moves me further in the direction the young Belgian Mertens where 16/1 looks over priced and is preferred over single figured odds of inconsistent performers right now.

A trio of Chinese players fill the middle seedlings with the back to fitness and in-form Peng Shuai leading the way at 9/1 and she is the better of Ying Ying Duan and Quang Wang at 20/1 who's best results comes in their home continent but usually against a lesser quality of field as this week.

Recommendation: 

WTA Kuala Lumpur - Elise Mertens to win Outright Each-Way @ 16/1 Bet365 or 14/1 General. (Each Way terms half odds if makes final 1-2 finish).

Ante Post - ATP Dubai & Sau Paulo

ATP Dubai

Andy Murray tops the betting at 7/4 in what is his first appearance since his shock 4th round exit at the Australian Open last month and for me is plenty short enough considering he has made only one final here in 2012, and one appearance since losing to teenage sensation Borna Coric in 2015.

A fresh and fully fit Roger Federer is hard to oppose in my opinion, the recent Australian Open Champion claiming an incredible 18th Grand Slam title will look to add the trophy this week to the seven he has amassed so far in his career here in Dubai.

Quick conditions like here, Shanghai and Cincinnati are perfect for Federer, and a soft draw to the semi-finals where he would meet Murray on route to the final with only his off season hitting partner, Lucas Pouille, a realistic danger, however this seems less likely the talented Frenchman will be able to trouble Federer as he has had an exhausting week will a quick turnaround from Marseille, where he lost to Jo Wilfred Tsonga in the final earlier today.

The 7/2 with Ladbrokes looks big or can be backed at 3/1 general elsewhere acceptable.

The bottom half and potential finalists could be defending Champion, Stan Wawrinka, who surprised many in claiming the title with conditions not ideally suited to big Stan who usually requires plenty time to set himself and unload that huge backhand. I would not be wanting to touch Stan at 11/2 despite being in the opposite half to the two market principles.

Tomas Berdych looks like being the main threat to Stan in making the final and would probably be my selection to come through that draw but again the price of 9/1 hardly appeals for someone with a poor head to head record over Wawrinka even at half the odds to make the final with such inconsistencies.

So it's Federer who missed last year through injury can claim his title back at 7/2 with the magic sign.

Worth noting Andy Murray missed Dubai last year following the birth of his first child and also played poor over the North American Sping double in Indian Wells & Miami.

I do expect big performances from Murray in the coming months as this is the opportunity Murray can pull away from Djokovic in the World rankings with little points to defend.

For this tournament in these quick conditions, I simply favour the great Roger Federer.

ATP Sau Paulo

A wide open feel to the final leg of the Golden Swing in South America. 

So many inconsistent or out of form players will feel they are capable of a deep run this week.

Alberto Ramos has been consistent over this year's Golden Swing and heads the betting at 9/2. He played dreadful, however, rolling over to Dominic Thiem this week in Rio and maybe a tough few weeks in red hot conditions are starting to take its toll.

The same could be said for fellow Spaniard in Pablo Carreno Busta at 5/1, who is yet to play the Rio final against Dominic Thiem later tonight and will be hard to reproduce top form back to back weeks in these conditions.

PCB is defending final points from last year but the pressure is off now that he has repeated that finish at least a week earlier. 

The player who defeated the Spaniard in last year's final was Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, he is pretty much a clay specialist despite showing vast improvements on all other surfaces in the last 2 years, and he could take advantage of rivals that are below 100% this week.

Cuevas has not been in the best of form this year but no doubt will have eyed his defence this week as the turning point in his season so will no doubt be giving it his all and is crucially fully fit and fresh.

The Uruguayan only dropped one set on route to the title last year and will fear no-one in this field. 

We saw a dream defence and in fact a third Quito title in a row for Victor Estrella Burgos a few weeks back over the golden swing so we are not adverse to repeat winners at this time of the year and he is preferred at 7/1 with Ladbrokes or 6/1 general over the two favourites mentioned in the betting who are below full strength and the likes of Fredrico Delbonis and Fabio Fognini who come next at 15/2 & 8/1 simply can't be trusted and are so hard to win with.

Recommendations 

ATP Dubai - Roger Federer to win Outright @ 7/2 Ladbrokes or 3/1 General.

ATP Sau Paulo - Pablo Cuevas to win Outright @ 7/1 Ladbrokes or 6/1 General.

Thursday's Australian Open 2nd Round

Fabio Fognini set to win the Battle of the mad men against Benoit Paire. 

Fabio Fognini v Benoit Paire 

Now many would say you would have to be mad yourself to consider an investment between these two lunatics in Fabio Fognini and Benoit Paire of France however at Grand Slam level where it is not your week to week bread & butter of the ATP tour where we often see both these players tank through matches, I feel it is worth siding with the Italian Fognini. Both surprisingly advanced to this 2nd round stage without the loss of a set, as Fognini beat a below par Feliciano Lopez who rarely plays well at this stage of the season and at this grand slam, whilst the draw was kind to Paire who only had to play just two sets before veteran German Tommy Haas called it a day in his first competitive match for over a year.

Only one place separate them in the rankings at 46 & 47 slightly in favour of Paire who's early season form may read a semi-final in Chennai but he was very fortunate with the draw as well as opponents that were suffering such as Ajez Bedene a former finalist who had little left in the tank come the start of their match-up. I didn't expect either to put much effort in or do any type of running last week in Sydney and both treat it as hitting practice duly losing to Philipp Kohlscreiber and 17-year-old Aussie talent Alex De Minaur respectively in round 1, so come here fresh. I do really like the late season run of Fabio Fognini where signs were promising with form and temperament in reaching the Kremlin Cup final in October losing in 3 sets to Pablo Carreno Busta and at Grand Slam level Fognini can be far more relied upon to raise his game to the required level than Paire. The 4/5 has been trimmed to best price 3/4 with Betvictor & BetBright or 8/11 general but feel this is still priced reasonable and the Italian can take a 3-2 lead in what is always a fascinating watch when the pair meet. 

Woman's 

Barbora Strycova v Andrea Petkovic

Two players that advanced to this stage with identical 6-3 6-2 scorelines and would appear a pick'em match and closer than the 8/15 & 6/4 price would suggest. I do however favour the favourite Strycova of the Czech Republic and have identified her as the chief threat in Serena Williams navigating her way out of this 4th quarter of the woman's draw. What we have here is two real competitive spirits on court and no doubt at Grand Slam level there will be little left to give from either by the time the final point is won. 

The total sets - (3 sets) option look good odds at 8/5 with Betway or 6/4 Ladbrokes, as is the 3/1 for Strycova to win 2-1 set betting, but preference is for a 'TIE BREAK' to be played in the match at 3/1 with Bet365 & Coral. 3 of the last 4 meetings between the pair have featured a tie-break. The head to head reads 3-2 in Strycova's favour for reference, however, these most recent scorelines have read 5-7 6-4 7-5 7-6 7-6 7-6 7-2 7-6 6-0 So the 3/1 looks massive considering we have two big servers and two hugely competitive players that if going a break down late in the set can fight to break back and a tie-break could be on the cards again in any set to collect as they go to battle in these quick humid conditions that favour the server more so than on slower courts. 

Recommendations: 

Fabio Fognini to beat Beniot Paire @ 3/4 Betvictor & BetBright or 8/11 General. 

Barbora Strycova v Andrea Petkovic - Tie Break in Match YES @ 3/1 Bet365 & Coral.

Veserly at 20/1 in Auckland whilst it could be 3x wins in a row for Troicki in Sydney at 10/1

Look for big value prices in the week prior to a Grand Slam.

ATP Sydney

The Australian Open is around the corner next week it is difficult to envisage the top stars who are playing this week performing anywhere near 100%. Dominic Thiem is the 100/30 favourite and would usually see a field of this nature as rich pickings to further enhance his ranking of 8 in the World, but it is hard to see him going all out with Grand Slams surely his main focus this year where a semi final at the French Open is his best effort to date. 

Thiem pulled out of this competition last year mid-event and is opposed this week in favour of 2 year defending Champion Victor Troicki at 10/1. 

The Serbian is very hard to get right and often flatters to deceive on tour but in Sydney the week prior to Melbourne he is Mr Reliable. 

Troicki has a very soft draw and looks set to go close with matches against a qualifier, followed by Florian Mayer of Germany or Italian Journeyman Paulo Lorenzi set to cause Troicki little problems in the sleep department. 

A quarter-final against the player to come out on top half of his draw in 7th seed Philpp Kohschrieber who is out of form or the extravert Italian Fabio Fognini who won't want to be doing too much running a week prior to the Australian Open and same could be said for either of above duo's second round opponent in Aussie youngsters Jordan Thompson or the returning from injury Kokkinakis whose best efforts will surely come next week in front of massive home support. 

Pablo Cuevas is the 2nd seed in Troicki's half and although improved on courts away from the clay in 2016 he looks well short of troubling Troicki in these quick conditions. Troicki is the 3rd seed here with an outstanding 17-3 record in Sydney and the 10/1 with Betfair or 8/1 general is hard to ignore.

The top half could see improving Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta make the final at 11/1 but he could be rusty at more appealing odds Andrey Kuznetsov is a big talent and the World number 46 is the each-way value at over double those odds to make the final. Kuznetsov is defending 4th round points at the Australian Open next week but looked in good shape last week losing in 3 sets to Jo Wilfred Tsonga at the first round stage in Doha so importantly comes here fresh and no doubt acclimitised, he is a player I expect to go well this year. 

ATP Auckland

The ASB Classic has a wide open feel to it with former finalist Jack Sock at the head of the betting at 5/1 along with defending Champion Roberta Bautista-Agut of Spain. Sock looked in great shape last week at the Hopman Cup (exhibition tournament) when representing USA with Coco Vandeweghe reaching the final losing to France and the player I tipped pre season to be top American come the end of the year should go close.

However in a half packed with big servers the lottery of numerous tie-breaks put me off at the prices. Bautista-Agut the top seed has just wrapped up the Chennai title in what is always very difficult playing conditions, he also had the trainer out during his quarter-final 3 set marathon with Mikhail Youzhny and it is hard to see him putting in much effort this week with a grand slam upcoming, and a small amount of court time & acclimatisation will be the order of his week. 

At 11/2 David Ferrer the 3x former champion looks a fading force and past his best for a good year and a half now, whilst John Isner 11/2 has won here twice but is in that lottery of a bottom half with fellow big servers Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Feliciano Lopez, and Jeremy Chardy who the latter can come alive over the Austrailian swing having reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne in 2013 and interests me most at 20/1 from that bottom half.

The door could be a-jar for Czech big server Jiri Veserly a former finalist in a week prior to this grand slam. Housed in that top half with top seed Bautista-Agut and 3rd seed David Ferrer who I don't see making the latter stages. Veserly has to negotiate his way past Zeballos of Argentina who predominantly plies his trade at Challenger level and is a clay court specialist, then he will face the top seed RBA where the draw could open up nicely there-after. Veserly 55 in the World is progressive and should climb the rankings nicely in 2017. A victory over Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo last year shows his self belief is now their, and i see little else in that top half to trouble him. Marcus Baghdatis 6th seed withdrew early on opening week and will not want to jepodise any grand slam hopes and Albert Ramos of Spain the 5th seed has poor form this early in the season. The 20/1 with Betvictor, Ladbrokes, Betfred, and Totesport appeals each-way at half the odds of he reaches the final. 

Recommendations:

ATP Sydney - Victor Troicki to win Outright @ 10/1 Betfair Sportsbook or 8/1 General & Andrey Kuznetsov to win Outright Each-Way @ 25/1 Betfred & Totesport. (E/W terms half odds 1-2 Finish).

 ATP Auckland - Jiri Veserly to win Outright Each-Way @ 20/1 Betvictor, Ladbrokes, Betfred & Totesport. (E/w terms half odds 1-2 Finish).

WTA Brisbane: 11/4 Kerber Solid Bet to Start 2017 Tennis Campaign

WTA Brisbane is my main focus in what is a very busy period on the ATP & WTA tours. 

Firstly I see the men's Brisbane event being a pin job with little to separate or find an edge with the top four in the betting with Raonic, Wawrinka, Nadal, and Nishikori, all with big chances. Not to mention dangerous floaters such as Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov who the latter has a fine record over the Australian swing. 

Doha could bring a quick 2017 edition of Djokovic v Murray in a final where prices offer no appeal and Aukland features odds on shot Serena Williams as the obvious lead charge in that event. 

Shenzhen looks priced correctly with defending Champion and current World number 3 Agnieszka Radwanska plenty short enough and only realistic dangers Simona Halep and Britain's Johanna Konta no value from an each-way perspective. 

Angelique Kerber 11/4 ended 2016 as World number one and she will want to stamp her authority early on the Woman's game especially with Serena Williams active in week one over in Aukland. 

Karolina Pliskova 6/1 would appear the only danger in Kerber reaching the final, whilst rivals in the opposing half would be WTA Finals Champion and second seed Dominica Cibulkova 6/1 who incidentally I do see the World number 5 going very well at the Australian Open in two weeks time where she is a former finalist. Garbine Muguruza the 2016 French Open Champion has been pretty much off the radar lacking form & confidence since her Roland Garros success back in May and is hard to win with on tour. She scraped through in three tight sets overnight against home favourite Sam Stosur whilst I feel Svetlana Kuznetsova 10/1 could have her measure in the quarter-finals should they meet.

So it's a week to tread carefully as we get a feel of who is playing well and who is a week or two behind match-sharpness following the off-season break and Kerber looks the solid ante-post bet of the week in Brisbane. 

Recommendation:

WTA Brisbane - Angelique Kerber to win Outright @ 11/4 Coral

Kind draw means red hot Bautista-Agut is cracking each-way value @ 12/1 with BetVictor as an alternative to odds on Murray in Vienna

A feast of tennis to look forward to this week so will crack on and hopefully pick out some nice priced winners.

ATP Vienna

Upgraded to a 500 point ranking event and can be enjoyed live on Sky Sports this week, top seed Andy Murray continues his quest for the number one spot in the world rankings as he chases down an ailing Novak Djokovic.

Murray a winner here in 2014 looks hard to oppose on current form coming here fresh and with the motivation he has currently.

The 4/6 offers little appeal for the majority of punters so at first glance it is easy to just switch events and look for value in Basel.

However, the draw is favourable for the bang in-form Spaniard, Roberta Bautista-Agut who reached his maiden Masters 1000 final in Shanghai three weeks back and followed this up with a solid run to the St Petersburg semi-final. I feel that when Baitista-Agut is in the form he is right now he is worth siding with, as he usually holds his form well for a period of time and this week, indoors in Vienna he could go deep into the tournament.

First up is home favourite Jurgen Melzer who is ready to hang up his racquet and retire, followed by a meeting with either Sunday's beaten finalist in Moscow the temperamental Italian Fabio Fognini who will surely be disinterested on the back of his efforts last week coupled with the disappointment with the added fatigue factor thrown into the mix RBA would have little resistance there, or Alberto Ramos-Vinolas who is in decent form however not playing at the same level of our selection Bautista-Agut right now.

A quarter-final potential opponent could be 6th seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who is 10/1 second favourite however the Frenchman again did not look fit in Shanghai and has been plagued by injury since the US Open so is happily opposed against a player such as RBA who will make him run and play that extra shot on every available point.

The danger in this bottom half away from Murray's top half draw is 2nd seed and 11/1 shot Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

The Berd man has a few shoot out scenarios against some big servers in his path to a potential semi-final clash with Bautista-Agut however if coming through this Berdych who defended his title in Shenzhen last month would be the toughest opponent standing in our selections way.

Berdych away from his favourite and most successful tournament of the season in Shenzhen has done little of note and looked on the decline during 2016 from his usual consistent self of the past decade, so preference is for the red hot Bautista-Agut where at 12/1 would return a 6/1 winner should he again be thwarted by Murray in a final with the bonus of the 12s plus 6s should he win the title and Murray flop to a Klizan, Simon, or Pouille who can all trouble and play lights out tennis on their day and beat anyone in the World.

ATP Basel

The Swiss indoors tournament has been dominated by 6 x winner Roger Federer who sadly is unable to defend his title due to an injury that has ruled him out for the season so it is over to fellow Swiss star and top seed Stan Wawrinka the 3/1 favourite to fly the flag for the home faithful at this lucrative 500 points ranking event.

Playing in his home country hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Stan the Man throughout his career, however, this week looks a great opportunity to follow on from Federer's successes. A draw that should motivate Stan where his route to the semi-finals looks easy enough with 7th seed Richard Gasquet the first big named opponent at the quarter-final stages although this could look even better due to Gasquets Antwerp title today meaning fatigue is a cert for an already fragile French body.

Marin Cilic the 4th seed has seen support in the markets cut from 9/1 into 15/2 however I would favour Stan should they meet on current form. The bottom half has so many uncertainties with Milos Raonic's and Kei Nishikori's fitness levels both complete guess work to part with any hard earned cash on.

The pair has retired from recent events and only one can progress to meet Stan in a final should they both fancy it this week.

It has to be noted wild card Juan Martin DelPotro the winner of this event in 2013 and 2012 is at 6/1 and must be respected however a title win in Stockholm would hardly be the best preparation this week and to win 10 games in 2 weeks seems highly unlikely for a player still on the com back trail from long-term wrist injury despite being a box office performer.

So it's the US Open Champion Stan Wawrinka who is taken at 3/1 with Paddy Power, SkyBet and Betvictor to lift the Swiss Indoors title this week.

WTA World Tour Finals

Already underway we have seen wins for 2014 runner-up Simona Halep and World number one Angelique Kerber in the red group however my main fancy in the betting comes from the White Group getting underway on Monday from 11.30am at this round robin stage.

Defending Champion Agineszka Radwanska has a very favourable group housed with the low on confidence French Open Champion Garbine Muguruza who has been in dreadful form since May and rolled her ankle which swelled up into a giant golf ball by the time she called it a day during her quarter-finals match in Linz less than two weeks ago.

Karolina Pliskova is the only danger in this 4 player group mainly due to the staying power the recent US Open Champion has for competing at a high level right until the end of a season. The unexpected Grand Slam title has effected her form and has been a welcome distraction to the bread and butter of the WTA campaign so preference is for the bang in-form Polish performer Radwaska who won the Beijing title a few weeks back and is also highly motivated until after this tournament and season is complete.

Svetlana Kuznetsova is the other player in this section however the 29 year old who has had a very pleasing and successful campaign, a first for a long time that has been injury free but will surely have little in the tank having won the title to secure her berth In Singapore on Saturday in Moscow and has had a very active Asia swing, reaching latter stages to ensure she was in the mix for the final slot to make this end of season finale.

Radwanska is taken at 6/4 to win the White group and also at 4/1 with Stan James to defend her title where it is noted she is 7/2 general an acceptable price over main rivals from the white group and 11/4 joint-favourites for the title Kerber and Halep.

Recommendations 

ATP Vienna - Roberto Bautista-Agut to win Outright Each-Way @ 12/1 Betvictor or 11/1 General. (EachWay terms 1/2 Odds 1-2 finish).

ATP Basel - Stan Wawrinka to win Outright @ 3/1 Paddy Power, SkyBet & Betway.

WTA World Tour Finals

Agineszka Radwanska to win White Group @ 6/4 Bet365, Coral, & Betway.

Agineszka Radwanska to win Outright @ 4/1 StanJames or 7/2 General.

Rising star Karen Khachanov to Win Moscow Kremlin Cup 2016

Rising star Karen Khachanov can prove a handful at his home tournament in Moscow and is cracking value at 14/1 EachWay with PaddyPower.

The Kremlin Cup is one of three ATP 250 ranking events on the men's tour this week as the European Indoor season takes over from last month's Asia Swing.

Roberta Bautista Agut is the top seed in Moscow and chasing one of three remaining places in the race to London. RBA is playing very consistent again which was evident in his run to his maiden Masters 1000 Final in Shanghai at the weekend, losing out to Andy Murray 7-5 6-1.  RBA is the 7/2 jolly this week however after such a busy week and a change in time zones I am happy to leave the versatile Spaniard out of my Outright plans despite finishing runner-up here for the past two years losing both times to Marin Cilic in a tournament he clearly enjoys playing in. Cilic is not back to defend his title and this looks a wide open event this week with some big prices on offer.

Victor Troicki is on my radar having shown a high level of form against Rafa Nadal who he beat in straight sets in the quick conditions of Shanghai. However in true Troicki fashion he then imploded the following match and despite the 7/1 looking generous for the 2010 Champion here, I cannot trust the frustrating Serb to string it together for a full week with his usual top form coming early in the season over in Australia, not towards the end of a long campaign.

Alberto Ramos is playing arguably the best tennis of his career, the second seed here and boasts decent current form when was runner-up in Chengdu a couple of weeks back and should be at the business end of proceedings again this week.

Winner of the Chengdu title two weeks ago was the very powerful and talented Russian Karen Khachanov who won his first ATP title and I expect it to be the first of many for this imposing and confident 20-year-old from Moscow. 

Khachanov was handed a well deserved wild card for his home tournament and having beaten Ramos so recent in his first final and can also boast a 3 set win over top seed Roberta Bautista-Agut in Barcelona back in April on the clay, he is sure to be a handful and be looking to go deep this week into the latter stages in front of home support.

He boasts very good stats on his breakthrough season in terms of service holds and breaks and at 14/1 with Paddy Power or 12/1 general appeals as the best value each-way at the Kremlin Cup where it is half the odds should Khachanov make the final in the City he was born. 

The in-form Russian gets his tournament underway on Tuesday afternoon where he is 2/7 to beat Damir Dzhumur who struggles away from the clay and Khachanov should find plenty of break opportunities against a player with a weak serve.

The top seeds enter the fray on Wednesday so prices should hold until early Wednesday morning.

Recommendations 

ATP Moscow - Karen Khachanov to win Outright Each Way @ 14/1 Paddy Power or 12/1 General.

(Each Way Terms 1/2 Odds for 1-2 finish).

Japanese Super Star Kei Nishikori looks good value for third title in Tokyo at 5/2

Japanese Super Star Kei Nishikori looks good value for third title in Tokyo at 5/2. 

ATP Tokyo

Top seed Kei Nishikori plays in a far weaker top half of the draw and the 5/2 general appeals this week. We commence the 2nd round of matches through the night with a 3am start in what is the middle of the seasons three week Asia Swing, before the tour moves back to Europe for the final leg of the season for the indoor campaign. 

Nishikori brushed aside last year's shock early exit at the hands of eventual finalist Benoit Paire with a victory over tricky American leftie Donald Young in thes very quick outdoor conditions of Tokyo. 

I feel the top half is where we need to concentrate as the bottom half is littered with big servers that will require plenty of tiebreak luck in probably two or three matches just to reach the championship game so I am happy to leave out front runners in that section like Gael Monfils at 11/2 (third favourite), last week's winner for us in Shenzhen Tomas Berdych 8/1 who's body will surely struggle to hold out for two weeks running following his lay off from appendicitis. Nick Kyrgios could pop up and 9/1 and appeals most from the bottom half but feel he would still really struggle to beat this week's selection Kei Nishikori should he even make the final from a difficult berth.

Ivo Karlovic should not also be dismissed at 18/1 coming fresh off the back of a good run at the US Open and conditions will be very much in Dr Ivo's favour like many from that bottom half who's serve will be tough to break. 

I will leave the bottom half coin-toss, tie breakers to unfold, and only see 4th seed Marin Cilic who is short enough at 9/2 second favourite as the primary danger in making the final for Nishikori who is 1/10 to beat Joao Sousa of Portugal who has been struggling with a knee injury of late and then David Goffin or Jiri Veserly will not put any fear up the top seeds game in a quarter-final warm up before facing Cilic in the semi's. 

The Croaitian lost to Nishikori here last year 6-3 in the third set decider so the Japanese star has that victory to draw on as well as the box office home support he will embrace. Nishikori leads the recent Cincinnati champion 7-4 on the head to head that has included the most recent two matches and at 5/2 offers far more appeal for the fresh top seed over the 9/2 for the inconsistent Croatian who will probably find a 250 ranking event indoors as his next success before the season is out. 

Recommendations - ATP Tokyo. Kei Nishikori to win Outright @ 5/2 General.

@ReddenCarl 

reddencarl@yahoo.co.uk

WTA Quebec City Open 2016

Quick conditions set to favour the 2014 Champion Lucic-Baroni at 8/1 to win the Coupe Banque Nationale.

A good betting heat from 4pm on Monday UK time this week as we return to the bread and butter of the WTA tour following an excellent fortnights play at the U.S Open which was the final major of the season.

Their are no Men's tournaments this week as the Davis Cup semi-finals will take centre stage from Friday that will feature Great Britain as they take on Argentina in defence of their title.

We head indoors on the WTA tour and play on fast carpet conditions which have suited the heavy hitters in previous years.

Eugenie Bouchard is the top seed and tournament favourite at 7/2 with Stan James or 100/30 general, she is ranked at 39 in the World right now which is way down from her lofty heights in 2014 and despite fitting the profile of a power hitter is not for me this week having not won back to back matches for so long, let alone string five wins that will be required to lift this trophy as no seeds receive a bye in this event.

Annika Beck at 6/1 is the defending champion and second seed, she leads a strong German challenge along with fourth seed Julia Goerges 9/1 and sixth seed Mona Barthel 16/1 however Beck despite in my opinion being at her best indoors is in poor form coming into this event and has a very tricky opener against the 2008 & 2010 runner-up Bethanie Mattek Sands who bagged a gold medal in the mixed doubles at the recent Rio Olympics.

Preference this week is for the third seed and 2014 Champion, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who lost in a close three set battle with Annika Beck last year at the semi-final stages in a brave effort to defend her title.

Lucic-Baroni is always highly motivated at this event and the lightning quick conditions coupled with her all out attacking, front foot game, not many can live with her power especially in a field with minimal strength in-depth such as what is on offer this week.

Lucic-Baroni beat Venus Williams in that 2014 final 6-4 6-3 and at 8/1 with Bet365, Coral, and William Hill should offer great value.

The 34 year old is in prime fitness at present and has reached a final in Strasbourg as recent as May and played fine tennis at the U.S Open blitzing the dangerous Alize Cornet 6-4 6-1 before putting in a very respectable performance against eventual Champion and new World number one Angelique Kerber 2-6 6-7 so also comes into this week fresh having had over a week to prepare for one of her favourite weeks of the season.

The other seed worth noting is the fifth seed Niaomi Broady of Great Britain.

She is showing vast improvement in her

Development, possesses a big serve and goes well on these indoor conditions.

She will eventually come unstuck from a tough bottom half that features our selection Lucic-Baroni but offers the best 1st Round value to win her match at 10/11 with William Hill & Betway to beat French youngster Oceane Dodin who hasn't progressed in the senior ranks as was expected of her and see Broady showing too much power and higher level of tennis with the great form shown coming into this at the U.S Open, that saw her gain a huge win over fellow British player Laura Robson who was on a seven game win streak coming into that match and then put in an eye catching effort against Agnieska Radwanaska who is a top five player in the World.

Recommendations - WTA Quebec City Open

Mirjana Lucic Baroni to win Outright @ 8/1 Bet365, Coral, & William Hill.

1st Round - Monday (From 4pm Timings not confirmed at time of print).

Niaomi Broady to beat Oceane Dodin @ 10/11 William Hill & Betway.