Sports Desk

Australian Open Tennis
“Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated.” These might be the sentiments of Roger Federer as he looks back at a year in which he won his French Open to complete a career Grand Slam and claimed his sixth Wimbledon title.

As with any dominant champion, the pens are waiting to be drawn for his career obituaries. You may have even seen a few eulogistic pieces suggesting a decline and although undoubtedly premature, Federer’s brilliance isn’t as ubiquitous as it once was. If it was, then the drugs authorities shouldn’t be testing him for drugs, they should be testing him for immortality. He may still have the tools to produce some of the most exhilarating tennis we’ve ever seen, but we may have to get used to seeing it less often. Throughout the years of his greatest dominance (2004 to 2008) Federer won more than 90 percent of all his matches, bearing in mind that that figure is lowered by a disappointing 2008 when he was suffering from mono and its after effects . In 2009, his win percentage dropped to 84 percent.

The difference may seem slight, but it roughly translates into Federer losing twice as many matches (12) as he did when at the peak of his powers, and each defeat effectively represents an early exit from a tournament. It’s something to consider when looking at the Australian Open, and beyond that, the tennis season in general. His remarkable career means the odds compilers need to keep him on side, but the Federer of 2010 may not warrant such a short price. Backing the world number one was never likely to make anyone rich, but with the inescapable ravages of age taking hold, caution needs to be advised. He might still be the best, but he’s undeniably closer to the pack than he has been for much of his career.

Six Nations Rugby 2009
Heading in to the penultimate rugby Six Nations Championship before next year’s World Cup, theoretically teams should be beginning the process of fine tuning, but the Autumn Internationals proved that most of the northern hemisphere nations are still way off the frequency. Although the southern hemisphere teams generally highlighted a gulf in class, they thankfully won’t be around for a springtime reprise of the torture.

Ireland came out of the November internationals with the most credit, and perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the unbeaten program was the fact they rarely played at their optimum. They struggled for large parts against Australia, found Fiji difficult to shake off, and needed some resilient defending to keep out the Springboks. They head into their defence of the Six Nations with confidence and more importantly the room for improvement. Tricky trips to Paris and London mean that the odds for another Grand Slam look too skinny, but the 3/1 available for them to win the tournament has some appeal about it.

France are once again the main danger. Les Bleus have chopped and changed for much of the Lievremont era, but with the World Cup gradually coming into view, the time for experiments is coming to a close. We can expect a more settled France than we’ve become accustomed to, and with talent rarely in doubt, the continuity will make them a force to be reckoned with. As always, the short price and inconsistency makes them difficult to side with as a backer.

For years, Italy have been surviving mainly on moral victories occasionally augmented with an actual victory, but there were hints against the southern teams that they were making real progress. They gave the All Blacks a bigger test than had been expected, and performed commendably against South Africa. The confidence gained from displays like that might just set the bar higher than they’re used to. England and Scotland are at particularly uncertain junctures in their history and must visit Rome. It’s likely that the Italians will be without talismanic captain, Sergio Parisse, due to injury. That’s a big blow to aspirations of claiming a famous pair of scalps, but they might still have what it takes to take advantage of low ebbs for both the Thistle and the Sweet Chariot and, most interestingly from a betting point of view, they should be a good price to do it.