Jun 18 2013

New Balls Please!

Since we all like a flutter here at The Tennis Tipster, it’s time to have some fun with Bingo!

How does Bingo work?

For instance, 75-ball Bingo is the typical game of Bingo played across the United States in Bingo halls everywhere, and online at sites like WeLuvBingo.com. Most often it is played on a card that is five by five. Your goal is achieve the pattern designated and mark off that pattern as you go, or the computer does it for you. Once you have the designated pattern you have Bingo. There will be 75 balls that could potentially be called out, thus the term “75-Ball Bingo”.

Tennis_Bingo_Cards

By now, you may be familiar with the sports betting community so hopefully this blog is helping you make informed decisions about your bets! Boris Becker has been involved with YouWin for a while and comments:

“Betting has always been an integral part of sporting culture and can create as much excitement for sports fans as the results do. So whether it’s backing Bayern or looking forward to the French Open and Wimbledon, our aim is to ensure we continually engage fans.”

Back to the topic of Bingo, you can get some practice in by playing some John McEnroe bingo before laying down some cash. It’s easy, just check off every time Mac Daddy references these topics, using this handy Bingo card courtesy of Yahoo’s ‘Busted Racquet blog‘. Of course, they could also mention Big Mac’s flirting with Sue Barker or underplay how bratty he was when he played. You could also add a “says player should come to the net more often” square.

This is the kind of game that would work with a few others, perhaps Mary Carillo or Brad Gilbert including one of my favorite Bradisms, “Taking him to the woodshed for a beating”. My new favorite commentator is Robbie Koenig with his South African lilt and coining the term “Roddickulous!”.

Leave your comments below with ideas for ‘commentator bingo’. It’s the perfect way to enjoy Wimbledon during changeovers or rain delays!

Play ‘John McEnroe Bingo’ on Busted Racquet

Jun 18 2013

ATP Challenger Tour Week In Review

Johnson Wimbledon Bound!

atp-challenger-tour

Steve Johnson won his first grass-court title at the Aegon Nottingham Challenger and received a wild card into Wimbledon for the efforts. Johnson beat Ruben Bemelmans 7-5, 7-5 to claim his second ATP Challenger Tour title and cracks the top 100.

Steve Johnson

Other winners the last 2 weeks included:

Radek Stepanek, Adrian Ungur (2nd title), Dusan Lajovic, Joao Sousa, Matthew Ebden, Julian Reister (2nd title), Mikhail Kukushkin and Oleksandr Nedovyesov

Jun 17 2013

ATP Picks: ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Eastbourne

Topshelf Open

A welcome pit stop before Wimbledon, this Dutch tournament was won by David Ferrer last year and he goes for a 3rd title here. There isn’t too much grass court pedigree here except John Isner and Marcos Baghdatis, but who really has had that much experience with so few grass events on tour?

Dutch tennis is coasting right now. De Bakker is bakk from injury, Haase is regaining form and Igor Sijsling has put some good results together. No Richard Krajicek on the horizon however.

Rosmalen-Tennis-Tournooi-Satdion-1

Let’s break it down:

ATP Level: 250

Surface: Grass

Defending Champion: David ‘The Wall’ Ferrer – Has a 12-1 record here but gets a tough opener against the seasoned Xavier Malisse.

Nasty Floater: Michael Llodra – Dangerous lefty gets fellow Frenchie Benoit Paire and could be an upset.

Veteran Watch: Nicolas Mahut – The French serve-volleyer knows how to hold serve. Just ask John Isner.

Young bloods: Robin Haase – At home and has big enough game to do well on grass.

Slumping: Marcos ‘The Bagman’ Baghdatis – A new coach but the results stay the same.

On Fire: Stan Wawrinka – With a title this year and good results on clay, can he make an impact on the grass?

My pick: David ‘The Wall’ Ferrer – Odds on to picks up a hat-trick of titles here

Did You Know? Dutch winners include Richard Krajicek winning in 1994 and ’97 and Sjeng Schalken clinching back-to-back wins in 2002-03. The all-time singles champion is Australia’s Patrick Rafter who won 3 titles (1998-2001).

AEGON Championships Aegon International

The British summer grass season ramps up in bucolic Eastbourne. Andy Roddick bookended his career with the title last year beating former champ Andreas Seppi  who has a 13-5 record here.

The rest of the field is strong with some big servers including the biggest of the lot, Milos Raonic. Brit James Ward, gets a wildcard and gets to play one in Bernard Tomic. A tough draw for him.

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Let’s break it down:

ATP Level: 250

Surface: Grass

Defending Champion: Andy Roddick – Retired.

Nasty Floater: Feliciano ‘F-Lo’ Lopez – Very tough to beat on grass and could make semi-finals with ease.

Veteran Watch: Radek ‘The Worm’ Stepanek – Back from injury and his serve-volley game should do well.

Young bloods: Bernard Tomic – Has proven himself on grass before and his slice can open up plenty of chances.

Slumping: Alex ‘The Dog’ Dolgopolov – Another player with the kind of slice to fox plenty on grass. Needs some wins.

On Fire: Phillip Kohlschreiber – Comes in off the back of playing Halle and knows how to play on the turf.

My pick: Milos ‘The Rocket’ Raonic – With his shoulder cannon, it will take a hell of a returner to clip him.

Did You Know? Formerly a women’s event, this tourney used to be played in Nottingham.

Watch: Eastbourne Uncovered

Thanks for reading and check back next week for more picks and amusement!