IT'S the final day of the Commonwealth Games and you know what that means … it will be easier to get to work next week!
Glasgow 2014 has exceeded all expectations and people who will never watch gymnastics again or be glued to a bowls tie have embraced all the events and made it a real spectacle. For anyone like me who works in the city centre the road closures have been a pain but there have been enough sporting highlights to make them bearable.
I haven't put up many tips because I've got to concentrate on the football. I did a double yesterday on the the Jamaican sprint teams to win gold but that wasn't a tip – that was a cert. My boxer David Light lost 2-1 in a close contest. So we don't get a Light heavyweight champion.
On Sunday there's just hockey, badminton, squash, netball and the highlight of the day the road race cycling through Glasgow. Mark Renshaw is 7-2 favourite with McBookie and Coral but we need a cycling expert to call this one and remember with rain forecast conditions could be tricky.
In golf my tip Justin Rose has fallen back to fourth in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and it looks to be a shootout for the title between leader Sergio Garcia and Open champion Rory McIlroy.
The Spaniard leads by three and is 8-13 at BetVictor and McBookie to take the title. McIlroy is 11-2 at Coral and if you haven't got him on the outrights take that each way for a top-two place at quarter the odds. He is two clear of Aussie Marc Leishman.
Put up any other sports tips here.
In December 2020 we sadly 
McCilroy down to 2-1 now unfortunately
Double Gold Medal Winner Alex “Tattie” Marshall has been chosen to be Scotlands flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony
Great day for Bowls
sorry John, everybody to their own sport in their own competitive way…. but this one had a few guys in a few different sports in fits on fb this morning
Another die hard Jambo like Eilidh Child.
Washington Final
Raonic d Pospisil 2-0 @ 4/5
Pospisl has found some great form this week, but every edge in this matchup looks to me to be going Raonic’s way. Not only is his game a bigger and better version of Pospisil’s he also has the experience of 10 atp finals under his belt, 5 of which he has won, whereas this is the very first time Pospisil has been in this position.
Add to that the fact that Raonic has only been broken once all weak and not dropped a set yet, while Pospisil has played 3 sets in both of his last two matches, both of which were played on friday (with Pospisil having to come back to play the deciding set of his semi final yesterday due to a rain delay), and the fitness edge has to go to Raonic too.
I am also tempted by a tie-break to be played @ 4/5.
Raal ,just been reading a little bit about dundees Dick McTaggart ,very impressive amateur career apperently he was handing out the medals the other day
Daz, before my time but a fighter held in very very high regard in Scotland.
a quick summary of my tennis tips this week to help me and you keep an eye on how i’m doing long term. Will try and do this every week (unless of course i have a stinker :p )
Sunday 27 July-Sunday 3rd August:
Cuevas d Robredo @ 6/4 WIN
Osaka d Stosur @ 10/1 WIN
Andujar d Melzer @ 4/6 WIN
Sela d Groth @ 8/15 WIN
Mladenovic d Safarova @ 5/2 WIN
Cuevas d Michalika in play @ 1/1 WIN
Goffin d Kohlschreiber @ 7/5 WIN
V Williams d Azarenka @ 5/6 WIN
Goffin d Gonzales @ 2/1 in play WIN
Thiem d Monaco @ 4/5 WIN
Johnson v Raonic Tie break played @ 4/6 WIN
Raonic 2-0 Pospisil @ 4/5 WIN
Tomic d Istomin @ 8/15 LOSE
Zverev d Schwartzman In Play @ 11/4 LOSE
Isner 2-0 Johnson @ 4/5 LOSE
Sela d Gasquet @ 9/4 LOSE
Becker d Giraldo @ 4/5 LOSE
Ivanovic d Serena @ 3/1 LOSE
Johnson + 3.5 d Raonic @ 4/5 LOSE
Ante post outright tips:
V.williams and {etkovic @ 25/1 both LOSE
Kerber @ 10/1 (suggested on basis of her being likely to reach the final)STILL RUNNING
Dimitrov VOID
Andujar @ 14/1 LOSE
All in all a productive week (I probably wouldn’t have chosen now to start summarising my tips otherwise!) But hopefully this process will help me keep focused and disciplined.
Final tip for the week:
Vancouver Challenger 23:00 uk time ( 15:00 Vancouver)
Dustov d Baghdatis @ 2/1
My attention has been on the main events, so I haven’t been following either of these two at all, but from looking this one over there seems to be some value in the underdog.
There are a couple of things going for Dustov here. He has been in good form this week, and the last four sets he’s played have been 6-1, 6-0 v Krajicek and 7-6, 6-3 v a red-hot James Ward, so he is peaking at the perfect time for this, and his confidence should be high. Baghdatis, though obviously in good form himself, isn’t the player he used to be, and there are question marks over his fitness and his ability to produce when it counts these days.
Baghdatis contested a tough three set semi final that he nicked 7-6 in the decider at around 3:30am this morning (uk time) and has played after Dustov every step of the way this week, giving him less recovery time. He is of course the more experienced player in these situations, and my staking will reflect that, but he hasn’t contested or won a hard court final since 2010, and I think the upset is worth a few pounds of this weeks profit @ 2/1.
As I’ve already said, I haven’t seen these guys play this week so this is somewhat speculative and appropriately cautious bet.
Good luck to anyone having a go.
re previously mentioned kerber 10/1 tip, she is now a break up v Serena in the final so can now be covered for a very healthy profit.
or better yet now at a double break up !
kylie Minogue was a crap choice for the ceremony, the crowd were up for a Scottish party, and instead of the proclaimers we had over half an hour of monotonous pop songs from the nineties.
loved the army major piper doing auld langs syne, he actually played out the Edinburgh games years ago.
Overall Glasgow can be proud of what has been put on over the last 11 days.
I understand Cardiff want to bring the games to my country in 2022, but will struggle to match this.
bad jasper, I’m sure anyone there would have loved it. Kylie was there because they’ve passed the Games to the Aussies.
Cool dude he’s 1 up with 4 holes left
Ad, top class knowledge of tennis. Just trying to catch you’re winners is my problem.
Cheers Banksie.
First tip of a new week:
Treble-
Hewitt d Benneteau @ 1/2
Paire d Falla @ 1/2
Vinci d Zahlova Strycova @ 4/6
£10 returns £37.50
Single:
Riske d Rybarikova @ 1/1
keeping it small today as there’s nothing really jumping off the card at me.
The only ante post outright I fancy is Kvitova @ 8/1 to win WTA Montreal.
She is in the opposite side of the draw to Serena which always helps. The usual threats of Radawanka, Azarenka and Jankovic aren’t particularly threatening right now, and Petra has enjoyed playing Ivanovic recently, taking three of their last four matches and winning the last two sets they contested 6-0, 6-0 earlier this year. There’s a potentially tricky third round meeting with Andrea Petkovic to negotiate, but The Wimbledon champ has a great chance of making the final.
i’m also going to have a few pounds on an alternate treble of:
watson/ bertens/ shelby rogers @ 3/1
Well that was a pretty shoddy start to the week. The only small consolation is that I kept it small and recommended anyone following to do the same. As I said it wasn’t a great looking card and in hindsight probably should have been patient and waited till tomorrow.
going to have a little flutter for nighttime interest on abanda to beat cibulkova @ 17/1 in play. 17 years old and no experience to her name but she has home advantage and a pretty big game and cibulkova can be a little wild at times.
Abanda is now down from 17/1 to 4/1. double break up in second set, one set down.
disappointing day from me yesterday (cashing out on Abanda when she was cut from 17/1 to 4/1 being the only positive) so keeping it simple today.
A daily double.
Jack Sock d Melzer
Vandeweghe d Zhang
pays 6/5
Sock is in good form, with 7 wins to 3 losses post wimbledon, four of those wins coming on U.S hard courts and those losses coming to the eventual champion of all three tournaments, Hewitt, Raonic and Isner (Sock beat Isner the weak before. Melzer on the other hand has played just once since Wimbledon, a straight sets loss to Andujar on clay in Austria. Canada may not be quite the U.S, but Sock will be the more at home here and the more grooved of the two, and I expect him to win here.
Vandeweghe was on fire in the grass court season, taking the title in Hertogenbosch with some very impressive wins along the way. post wimbledon, she’s played 4 and won 3 on hardcourt, the loss a tough 3 setter to eventual finalist Kerber, and two of the wins coming this week in very encouraging style, 6-0, 6-2 v Glushko and 6-0, 6-3 v Dabrowski. Zhang has lost her last four matches, and has played just once since wimbledon, a crushing 6-1, 6-2 hardcourt defeat to Sachia Vickery. Zhang usually wins very little outside of her native China, and the North American setting should give a further edge to Vandeweghe, as should the head to head which she leads 1-0.
the best value outside bets i can see for the day are:
Jovanovski d Navarro @ 2/1
Puig d Stosur @ 7/4
Strycova d Radawanska @ 4/1
Rogers d Bouchard @ 16/5
Strycova and Rogers matches worth following in play as i can see them getting ahead early but possibly being clawed back. i can see bouchard especially starting slowly having not played since wimbledon and taking on a sharp and inform opponent.