16 Feb

After a day off yesterday (only missed out one good trading match between Serena and Petra) I annoyingly failed to get up in time for Morita's match this morning. After the afternoon kickoffs in Doha it didn't occur to me that Dubai would start really early in the morning!

Anyway, it was quite a good day, despite the disappointment of a sub-par display from Maria. Errors, poor body language, first ever loss in Doha. She's not playing Dubai next week so one has to question how serious she was taking this as her attendance was mandatory.

Not got the inclination to give detailed blow-by-blow as Dubai is starting early tomorrow and there's some potentially good matches. So early to bed for me.

14 Feb

I was going to title this entry "Screwed by Mandy Minella on Valentine's Day" as at one point it looked like she was going to beat Duque-Marino and leave me with a hole in the PL. But the RG Junior finalist and hometown player came good. At one point Mandy took exception to the crowd cheering a double fault and advanced towards them sarcastically  applauding, and I was fearful she'd get shot (it is Colombia after all) then Betfair would probably void the market.

A day for the pushers as the Mona bandwagon ran into the Danish Wall, the execrable Radwanska stifled Ivanovic, and Errani beat Dani (just). Oh for fast courts so the attacking players get better value for their shots. I fear the worst as tennis seems to be heading towards slower and slower courts, and interminable baseline rallies by players more concerned with just staying in the point rather than trying to win it. The slow nature of the courts makes the risk/reward equation too weighted in the pushers favour at the moment, and TV probably prefers these long rallies.

The QFs in Doha tomorrow present no opportunities for betting, so may take the day off depending what the Cali QF lineup looks like (they are still playing as I type, with Eugenie frittering away a 5-1 lead in the 3rd set).

13 Feb

 Not a bad day punting-wise but frustrating for viewing as several of the matches I wanted to watch were not on televised courts. Some chaotic matches, particularly Koukie vs Stephens, Koukie coming back from set and 1-4 down, then lead changing hands all over the shop in the 3rd set, then Koukie chucking away a 5-1 lead in the tie-break only to finally win it 7-5! Despite Koukie winning both her matches I've somehow managed to lose money on her #puzzled

Sad to see Simona having to retire with a lower back problem as she had looked in such good form a couple days ago. Also Maka retired, unwell after the Fed Cup weekend. Strange the bookies intel failed on that as the market sent her off favourite vs Petra. Just cannot understand the WTA and Fed Cup scheduling the weekend before such a big tournament.

The Betfair API died at 6pm so gave the later matches and all of Cali a miss. Had a small lay of Man Utd - was strange using the web interface again! How did we ever manage before the API?

12 Feb Mona

Today belonged to Mona Barthel who produced a stunning performance in the last match of the day. Even if you allow for Kerber not being at her best this was still a fine perf. It was good to see someone producing exciting attacking tennis given some of the dreary hours-long baseline pushing we seem to get so much of these days. I'd been a Mona sceptic last year, but not any more.

Why did the WTA and Fed Cup change the calendar and swap Paris and the Fed Cup ties? It seemed so sensible to have the Fed Cup the week after the Aus Open, with Paris afterwards. Now we have one of the biggest tournaments of the year, and a virtual mandatory, immediately after the Fed Cup. Hardly a surprise to see some players retirng and/or not at their best.

It was a case of one step forward, one back all day on the betting front until Mona not only lit up the court but lit up my PL! (There's still one match left in Cali later, but not sure if I'll have a dabble)

11 Feb Doha under way

Doha kicked off today with a Slam-strength field - of the top players only Na Li missing. Simona Halep played some awesome stuff here and Dubai last year, and she was in remarkable form today, brushing aside Olga "The Gov". I expect her to tear Ivanovic a new one. And what is that ridiculous excuse of a "skirt"? Nice one, Lacoste! Cornet wears the same, and I saw someone refer to it on Twitter as "stripper garb", not far wrong.

Had tuned in yesterday expecting to see LDL playing Tsurenko but instead was confronted by Torro-Flor playing Beygelzimer, a timely reminder of what the second day of Fed Cup can be like! An easy decision to keep the powder dry. There were some dramatic matches, Cepelova beating Bojo in over 3 hours, Sofia losing a set and 5-1 lead and looking out of it only for the unfortunate Ormaechea to collapse with cramps. Didn't see any of Sam vs Petra but by all accounts that was pretty tense chaotic stuff too. The atmosphere and tension made looking at today's matches pretty tame stuff.

Once again one disproportionate loss disfigured the PL, but unlike the one on Saturday I've no regrets over this. Many's the time Zheng has come back from the brink, and just as often I've watched A Rod discombobulate in jaw-dropping fashion. And it nearly happened today, with Zheng pulling it back from 0-5 to 3*-5 but just failing to hold serve. No way would A Rod have served it out had it gone 5*-4! So had no issues with holding on to the position to the bitter end.