Daniela Hantuchova successfully defended her PTT Pattaya Open title by coming back from a set down to beat Maria Kirilenko 6-7 6-3 6-3.

The 28-year-old Slovakian needed more than three hours to claim the title in Thailand as Kirilenko, who almost exited the tournament in the first round when she was forced to save a match point before beating Casey Dellacqua, pushed her all the way. Fans of Betfair tennis will have been impressed.

Hantuchova had cruised into the final without dropping a set but Kirilenko set the tone for the first set by breaking the number three seed’s serve in the first game. Although Hantuchova broke back, Kirilenko peaked again in the tie-break, eventually winning it 7-4. Those looking at betting websites need to bear this in mind.

Hantuchova showed her class in the second and third sets though as she claimed her fifth WTA title, following her previous successes at Indian Wells in 2002, Indian Wells and Linz in 2007 and in Pattaya last year.

“I’m happy to defend my title – it was the first time I’ve defended a title in my career, but it’s better late than never,” Hantuchova said after her victory.

“Maria and I both wanted to win the title. She played so well and put a lot of pressure on me. Even after I lost the first set I kept fighting and never looked back, and I think I was also luckier. Maria is a great player and a great person too.”

Meanwhile, in the doubles, the top seeds Sania Mirza and Anastasia Rodionova were involved in another long game, eventually beating the number four seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan 3-6 6-1 10-8.

It was Mirza’s 13th WTA doubles title and Rodionova’s fourth.

Former world number one Arantxa Sanchez Vicario has revealed that she has lost all the estimated £45million she earned during her tennis career.

The 40-year-old has accused her mother and father of losing her fortune and, as a result, does not speak to her parents or her three siblings. Fans of tennis betting tips will be shocked by the revelations.

The four-time Grand Slam winner has revealed her frustrations in a book, in which she says her father in particular exercised tight control over who would train her and other aspects of her career, as well as her winnings.

She has said that she received a monthly payment from her father who she trusted to invest the rest wisely.

“I never doubted that my father would manage my assets in the most efficient and beneficial way,” she wrote. “But they have left me with nothing and I owe the tax authorities. How can it be that everything I achieved has vanished, that it does not exist?”

Sanchez-Vicario retired in 2002 after winning the French Open three times – in 1989, 1994 and 1998 – and the US Open in 1994.

She also won 10 more doubles and mixed doubles titles at Grand Slams as well as helping Spain win the Fed Cup on five occasions. Those looking at the Betfair online betting will know how good she was.

Sanchez-Vicario was beaten in two Wimbledon finals – in 1995 she lost 4-6 6-1 7-5 to Steffi Graf and 12 months later succumbed to the German 6-3 7-5.

She also lost two Australian Open finals – in 1994 she was crushed by Graf 6-0 6-2 and in 1995 she slumped to a 6-3 6-2 defeat to the French player Mary Pierce.

Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain Judy Murray was proud of her team after they beat the Netherlands 2-1 in their latest Euro/Africa Zone Group I match.

British number two Anne Keothavong lost 6-3 6-7 6-3 to Bibiane Schoofs before Elena Baltacha brought GB level by beating Michaella Krajicek 6-3 6-3.In the deciding clash, doubles duo Heather Watson and Laura Robson won 7-5 7-6 against Kiki Bertens and Schoofs. Those looking at the Betfair tennis will have been impressed.

“I am absolutely delighted and very, very proud of them – it was a fantastic day,” said Murray.”It was a tough match for Anne first up. It was very windy, and very tricky against an opponent who was playing very well.”She was very close and there wasn’t very much in that one at all, and going into the second singles one down, ‘Bally’ really rose to the occasion.”

Great Britain need to win their group if they are to qualify for the World Group play-offs and they are on course to do just that after opening their campaign with a 3-0 victory against Portugal.

They play Israel in their final pool match and, if they win that, they will feature in the promotion play-offs. People betting online should remember this.

The format of the competition sees 15 nations form four round-robin pools, with the nations that finish top in each pool going through to the promotion play-offs.

The two winning teams will go through to the World Group II play-offs, while the bottom nations contest the relegation play-offs to decide which two teams are relegated to Euro/Africa Group II.

Serena Williams produced another dominant display in Melbourne as she secured her place in the last-16 of the Australian Open, crushing Hungary’s Greta Arn in under an hour. The five-time champion may not be at her best yet – following such a long spell of inactivity due to injuries – but the American has reached the latter stages of this Australian Open without breaking too much of a sweat.

The experienced Arn had started the match positively but Williams’ superior power and quality soon took the contest away from the 32-year old Hungarian. Serena dropped only two games in her victory, controlling every aspect of the tie and wasting little time in wrapping up the 6-1 6-1 victory at the Rod Laver Arena. Those looking at the Australian Open tennis betting will have been very impressed.

While Williams admitted she was pleased to have reached the next round, she was quick to make it clear that she didn’t feel anywhere near her best yet in this tournament – an ominous sign for the 13-time Grand Slam winner’s rivals. People following the latest tennis odds should bear this in mind.

In only her second tournament since last year’s US Open, Serena’s form will have made a clear announcement to those that had written off her chances at the season’s opening Grand Slam. The 30-year old will now take on Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in the next round, where Williams will once again go into the clash as the favourite.

“I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m trying to play through it,” he said.

“I’m really rusty – I’m just trying to play through the rust.”

Williams will now have to be viewed on as now being one of the stand-out favourites to claim the first Grand Slam of 2012. She may have started the tournament as the 13th seed but that was always a false position for the woman who has tasted victory at Melbourne Park on five occasions.

Roger Federer eased through to the second-round of the Australian Open this week showing no signs of the back injury that he had been struggling with in the run-up to the season’s opening grand slam. The 30-year old saw off the challenge from Russian qualifier Alexandre Kudryavtsev with a fairly routine 7-5 6-2 6-2 straight sets victory inside the Rod Laver Arena.

The four-time champion took a few games to find his rhythm inside the first set; Kudryavtsev looking comfortable and relaxed as he matched the former world number one. Federer’s experience began to show towards the end of the opening set, however, and the Swiss star finished strongly to take a 1-0 lead. Anyone looking at the Betfair Australian Open betting odds will have been impressed.

The second and third sets were different stories from the first, with the 172nd ranked Russian left chasing shadows as Federer began to turn his performance up a level. The 16-time grand slam winner wrapped up the victory inside 98-minutes, although, just as important for Federer, will have been that he was able to get through the match without any flare up of his recent back injury. People who Bet on Tennis online will have been keeping an eye on his fitness.

“The injury was no problem, I’m happy to be 100 per cent fit. I’ve been this way for three or four days. It’s a good thing,” he said.

The 30-year old will now take on Andreas Beck in the second round, and the German will be in no hurry to take on a Federer who looks fully fit and raring to get back amongst the major titles.

The 2010 Australian Open was the last time Federer tasted grand slam glory and the Swiss maestro will be desperate to prove to so many that he is far from finished yet.

At this stage in his career, Federer will know his chances of adding to his stunning collection of titles are perhaps drying up. In this sort of form, however, this could well be Federer’s chance to once again lift the Australian Open trophy.

With the Australian Open now just a matter of days away from starting, Britain’s top three female players have experienced mixed fortunes as their final preparations for the Melbourne Grand Slam wind down.

Heather Watson will perhaps be the happiest of the trio after suffering a narrow, and very unlucky, defeat to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the Hobart International, the Brit letting a number of match points slip to end the match 7-6, 3-6, 7-6. However, with Watson showing some glimpses of form in her fourth match within the space of just seven days, she won’t be minding too much that she’s recently slipped down the world rankings to number 106 after missing an Auckland tournament through injury. People looking at the Australian open 2012 betting should remember this.

Meanwhile, the top ranked Brit, and the woman ranked number 53 in the world, Elena Baltacha, lost in the first round of the Hobart International, with Irina-Camelia Begu getting the better of her, with world number 75 Anne Keothavong not even getting through qualifying for the traditional Aussie Open warm-up event in Sydney. Those following the latest tennis betting odds need to bear this in mind.

With a number of the top women in the game currently not enjoying too fun a time, Venus Williams pulling out of the Australian Open through fitness issues, and Sam Stosur losing in the Hobart event to Francesca Schiavone, the British trio could well be about to be presented with one of the best chances in recent years to progress through qualifying and into the latter rounds of the Grand Slam event, but with such indifferent form in the immediate build-up, it looks likely that Britain’s hopes will land firmly, as usual, on the shoulders of poor old Andy Murray!

2011 was considered the best ever season on the ATP tour and there is no reason why 2012 cannot be just as good. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray are the strongest group of elite players imaginable and one of these men will get their year off to the perfect start by winning downunder.

Rafael Nadal’s injury against David Ferrer prevented the big four filling the semi final spots in Melbourne this year and it would take a brave punter to bet against them doing just that next month, despite the tricky opposition posed by Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Bernard Tomic is the man to avoid in the opening round. People looking at the Australian Open Tennis Betting should bear this in mind.

Murray is getting only marginally closer to a maiden slam, but those who question his credentials at this level should remember that he is being asked to open his account some modern legends. These rivals were able to win maiden slams against lesser players and Murray knows that he might need to reach the standard Djokovic reached in 2011 to make this breakthrough.

The Scot might not be quite ready to beat two big guns in one major, but I fancy him to edge out Djokovic in the top half of the draw, as he gave as good as he got against the Serb this year after being overawed in the Aussie Open final. Murray ended the year in better form. Fans of Mens tennis betting at betfair will be keeping an eye on him.

Federer is again the man to back in Melbourne. He was not himself last year but has an enviable record downunder and if he does meet old foe Nadal in the last four, the elder player’s crushing win in the Tour Finals in London will be fresh in the memory.

A Federer victory would be popular and there is no doubt he is capable of going all the way, despite his patchy recent record in slams. Murray might well beat him in a slam final in the next couple of years, but it will be a familiar story of disappointment if they meet in the final downunder next month.

The Association of Tennis Professionals have named former player Australian Brad Drewett as the head of the governing body after he was voted unanimously for the role by the board. He will take up the position as executive chairman and president.
Drewett will replace American Adam Helfant who chose not to renew his contract with the ATP after a three-year stint.

The board narrowed down the applications down to two and had to choose between Drewett and the ATP CEO Mark Young.  The former world number 34 was the man who the board agreed on and will begin his role on January 1 on a three-year contract. Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek also applied for the role but withdrew his application last month.

The Australian is currently in charge of the Asian division and will move from Sydney to be based in the London office. People placing online tennis bets should bear this in mind.

The 53-year old enjoyed a 12 -year professional career in which he won two singles titles and represented Australia in the Davis Cup. He also won two junior Australian Open titles in 1975 and 1977.

15-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer is the Player Council president and has given his backing to the new appointment.
“Brad is a very experienced executive and has been an effective leader within the ATP for many years. He understands the global nature of the business as well as the complexities of dealing with all of the Tour’s stakeholders,” he said.

Drewett has been a prominent figure with the ATP with roles including head of the International Group and tournament director of the ATP World Tour Finals in London

David Ferrer is the forgotten man at the top of the men’s game. A world number five with 11 singles titles to his name should receive more recognition, but the Spaniard’s unflashy, counter-punching style – he is known as ‘the grinder’ – and low-key personality make him an afterthought for many punters.

This should not be the case at Melbourne. The Spaniard reached his second major semi final downunder in 2011, beating an injury-affected Rafael Nadal in the quarters before taking the opening set in the last four against Andy Murray. Anyone with a Australian Open Tennis Free Bet should bear this in mind.

Ferrer is proficient on hard courts – his other appearance in a major semi final came at Flushing Meadows – and always arrives at Melbourne in good shape having won in Auckland twice, including in 2011.

He has had his moments against Murray and Novak Djokovic, holding as he does respective head-to-head records of 4-5 and 5-6, with wins against the pair at the Tour Finals last month. Four wins from 17 against Nadal and 12 defeats with no wins versus Roger Federer suggest victory at the Australian Open is a step too far. Anyone looking at the Betfair tennis odds should remember this.

However, Ferrer is the most consistent performer outside of the big four and is the man most likely to take advantage if injuries and illness blunt the stars’ threat, as was the case for Nadal in Melbourne last time around and for Nadal, Murray and Djokovic in London.

Ferrer makes his opponents run all day, possessing a fine return of serve and boundless energy. A seventh consecutive last 16 appearance at a major seems guaranteed and he going a round or two further is a decent bet.

It has been 28 years since a Frenchman won a Grand Slam title, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is threatening to end that long wait.

The 26-year-old has shown in recent years that he is getting closer to the dominant top four and this year’s Australian Open may offer him his best chance of success to date.

Many pundits have felt for several years that Tsonga has the ability to win one of the big four events, but have questioned whether he has the mental strength and consistency. Those looking to place a tennis bet on Australian Open action should remember this.

A Wimbledon win over Roger Federer, having been two sets down to the Swiss ace, made some people change their mind and an appearance in the ATP Tour Finals confirmed his improvement.

Tsonga will undoubtedly take heart from his displays towards the end of the year – winning in Austria in October, one of two ATP titles to his name in 2011.

The other tournament win came on home soil in September, when he defeated Ivan Ljubicic in the final, with both tournament wins coming on hard courts.

He reached six finals in the year and the Frenchman will head to Australia eyeing a long run, especially after previous success in Melbourne. People looking to bet on tennis online for free should bear this in mind.

The world number six was an Australian Open finalist in 2008, also reaching the last four in 2010 and the quarters in 2009.

With early departures at the World Tour Finals for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray and injury question marks, Tsonga’s chances look even stronger.