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Manifesto on the Serena Williams fiasco last night. Rant. Facts.

1) Serena was warned for off court coaching. She told the ref she accepts the decision but that she wants to make it clear she doesn`t cheat and that she doesn`t agree with the decision (after the match Mouratoglu aknowledged he was coaching her).

2) Serena was given a second warning for breaking her racket, which resulted in a lost point. She started throwing tantrums, saying she doesn`t deserve this, that she never cheated, that she has a daughter, that the first warning was bogus, and she asked to receive an apology from the ump in a clearly threathening manner.

3) During the changeover Serena threw another tantrum calling the umpire a liar and a thief, asked again for an apology in an aggressive manner, and was handed her third warning which resulted in a lost game. She procedeed to call the officials to come in, complaining that she`s being treated unfairly because she`s a woman.

All decisions by Carlos Ramos, the umpire, were correct. One can argue that maybe the umpire could have looked the other way in a Grand Slam final, and I might agree. But that would only mean bending the rules in favor of Serena.

At the press conference, Serena took it upon herself to be a spokesperson for all the women who are persecuted and discriminated in tennis. That is why she did what she did. She is a fighter.

Media ppl comparing this situation with McEnroe and Nastase are purposely creating a false narrative, manipulating the public to advance their agenda. First of all, McEnroe and Nastase played 30/40 years ago. Secondly, they lost plenty of points, games, or even matches. Yes. 40 years ago Nastase was kicked out of the court for unsportsmanlike conduct. McEnroe suffered as well.

Ppl shouting that male players get away with more. These ppl have no idea what they are talking about, they just regurgitate what Serena and the media are saying.

Yes, there are male players who get away with more. There are also male players who don`t get away with less. Just like there are female players who get away with more, and there are female players who don`t get away with less. It`s not an exact science.

Also the rules change year after year, so don`t give me examples from 2014. Oh, but you just provided examples from 1972 with Nastase. My bad.

In 2009 Serena threatened to shove a ball down a refs throat, among others, and she was a hero (was given a 10.000$ fine), just like she is made to be today. In 2017 Fabio Fognini called a referee a bitch, and was suspended for 2 Grand Slams, plus a 96.000$ fine. #sexism

This is a sport in which women earn as much money as men do, even though women work less and create less revenue.

You have the nerve to call Sexism? Yes. Tennis is sexist against men.

Anybody suggesting otherwise is dumb, brainwashed or has an agenda. I just don`t see any other possibility. Feel free to enlighten me in the comments. I would love constructive talk on this topic.

Also, fuck Billie Jean King and all the other ignorant millionaires which praise equality and feminism despite not even knowing what those terms really mean. I swear, I am the first to respect sports champions, but at the same time it makes me sick to my stomach to see some of them spew out ignorant opinions just to be on track with the cable network that rounds their millions.

It`s easy to praise positivity from your villa when thousands of animals are skinned alive daily, children die of hunger with the same frequence, and suffering is ever present in the world.

Not even mid class ppl like me can understand the suffering which is going on in the world, but these fat cats tell us we should be all happy and positive. Some of them do it just to get an extra pay day from the liberalist media. Horrific!

Don`t kid yourself. What Serena Williams did last night goes as far as to have social and political implications. People are jumping at eachothers necks on social media. It is all hate. Pure hate.

Why do you think the vast majority of the West agrees with Serena, while the vast majority of the East is disgusted with her?

a) western people are just so much smarter
b) eastern people have not yet been brainwashed by the media

Keep listening to bbc, espn or cnn. The bubble might burst, and god bless all of us when it does.

I have not said a word about Naomi Osaka so far. And guess whose fault it is? How can a champion like Serena live with herself knowing she took away Osaka’s glory just so she can throw another tantrum? It takes a special kind of character to not care about this.

Serena Williams should be fined heavily and banned for at least a couple of months. Like Fabio Fognini. Now that would be justice and equality.

Just some quick thoughts about Round 1 of the 2018 US Open, men`s draw. Give the podcast a listen for a short discussion and a few betting suggestions. Hopefully we will start the Open strong!

With the Rugby Championship right around the corner, I`m talking about why I think rugby is the best sport for betting in our new podcast.

The 3rd Slam of the year, Wimbledon, will start Monday, 2nd of July and will have the men final July 15th. I will look into the draw and analyze a bit some betting opportunities for you guys.

Playing conditions are usually medium-slow at for a grass and as expected the results of big servers and serve/volleyers in recent years are bad and very bad. The CPI (Court Pace Index) rating from Hawk-Eye is 37.0, which puts the tournament in the ‘medium’ category. Weather-wise, the forecast looks very good compared to the past years, with an average of 28°C for the entire next week, and few rain chances.

Federer is the top seed for the men draw, despite being no. 2 in the ATP rankings and will have following possible path to the final:

R1: Lajovic
R2: Bonzi/Lacko
R3: Karlovic/Mayer
R4: Coric/Mannarino
QF: Querrey/Anderson
SF: Cilic/Dimitrov
F: Nadal/Djokovic/Murray

Nadal’s road to the final look a bit harder and bumpier at first glance:

R1: Sela
R2: Kukushkin
R3: Cecchinato
R4: Schwartzman
QF: Delpo/Goffin/Murray
SF: Thiem/Zverev/Djokovic
F: Federer/Cilic

There have been a few grass tournaments in this short swing and the winner names are as follow:

Stuttgart: Federer d. Raonic
Hertogenbosch: Gasquet d. Chardy
Halle: Coric d. Federer
Queen’s: Cilic d. Djokovic
Antalya: Dzumhur d. Mannarino
Eastbourne: Mischa Zverev d. Lacko

Looking at the names we can see some familiar names (like Federer, Cilic, and Raonic), but some surprises too (Coric, Chardy, Gasquet, and Dzumhur). All these players have shown some form during these 3 weeks prior to Wimbledon.

Price-wise in the outright market we have a clear favorite (Federer @ 2.88) and then we have a bunch of 3 guys with almost same chances (Djokovic @ 6.50, Nadal @ 9.00 and Cilic @ 8.50). The next 5 players are priced between 21.00 and 26.00 and those are Zverev, Kyrgios, Delpo, Raonic, and Murray.

The Swiss Maestro is a fair favorite for the title, and despite taking time off (like last year) during the clay season (3 months) and lacking some match practice he is the guy to beat. He is the title holder and public favorite too. His Stuttgart road to the title was rather hard (as expected after a long time off), losing sets to Mischa Zverev and Kyrgios during. The Halle road was even harder, looking at the results. He has lost set to Paire (saved match points in the deciding set tie-break too) but also struggled against Ebden and Kudla. The final was a match to remember for the eventual winner, Borna Coric. Federer played “pale” and didn’t look good at all during the match. Maybe the time off, or the two consecutive tournaments were too much for the 37-year-old champion. His stats weren’t that good neither during the Halle week, with a little above 100 serve-break combo.

Novak Djokovic, the second favorite in the eyes of the bookies, had a hard road from injury. the Queen’s week was very good, in my opinion, despatching Millman, Dimitrov, Mannarino, and Chardy in straight sets. He lost the final eventually to Cilic after missing match point on return and a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set tie-break. That one was very ugly, as I have tipped Djokovic to win the tournament @ 6.50 back then. His stats on grass during the last year are good to say least, having a 123,6 combined ratio, also amazingly a 114.1 ratio during all his Wimbledon matches. His last wins here were in 2014 and 2015 when he defeated Federer in both of the finals.

Marin Cilic is a great prospect for this year’s tournament and has a great grass court record in his career (75 wins and 26 losses). His results during this grass season were good, having won the only grass tournament, in Queen’s, defeating Djokovic in the final, after saving a match point (service winner). His results in Wimbledon are usually okish for his level, with at least QF in the past 4 years and reaching the final last year (lost to Federer). His performance in the last year’s final was disappointed as he was unable to fully compete, having an ugly foot blister that limited his movement a lot.

Rafa Nadal has won twice Wimbledon, but both times back in the day (2008 and 2010). HIs recent results at Wimbledon are sub-par performances, losing to Muller in R16 (in 2017), to Brown in R2 (in 2015), to Kyrgios in R16 (in 2014), to Darcis in R1 (in 2013) and to Rosol in R2 (in 2012). His grass matches this year are almost nonexistent as he decided to skip all pre-Wimbledon tournaments (he played two Exhibition matches on grass, lost to Pouille 7/6 7/5 and won against Ebden 7/6 7/5).

The other set of players with slim chances are Delpo, Zverev, Kyrgios, Murray, and Raonic. Kyrgios and Raonic are made to play on grass and their suited aggressive, serve-orientated game-style should make them reach at least QFs in Wimbledon. BUT, Kyrgios has almost entire year physical problems (combined with some mental issues too) and is unable to rely too much on his body, while also relying too much on tie-breaks played. He has dreadful return stats (under 10% break of serves) and that is really too low for even wanting to achieve something notable in any Slam. Raonic reached the SF back in 2014 and the final in 2016, which he lost to Murray. His last losses at Wimby were to Kyrgios, Federer x2 and Murray, which can be assessed as really good opposition. Del Potro has a good grass record, but his Wimbledon performances really let everyone down in the past years, managing to reach only one SF back in 2013, and early exits in 2016 and 2017 (to Pouille and Gulbis). Zverev’s record in Slams is well-known and as long as he cannot focus entirely on the matches and winning easy first rounds he has absolutely no chance in getting close to any semi-final. Remember Roland Garros, where he needed 5 sets against Lajovic, Dzumhur, and Khachanov, just to lose easy to Thiem in the QF.

Looking at the draw now, make us realize that the Goddess Fortune worked in favor of Nadal, but let’s be honest for a bit… Somebody might do a Brown or a Darcis on his way to the final stages. His lack of grass tennis recently and his body cannot do well enough on this low bouncing surface.

My conclusion is that we have two contenders that might be worth taking into consideration.

The first one is Cilic (@ 8.00) and the second one is Djokovic (@ 6.50).

Cilic’s road to the title should be as follows:

R1: Nishioka
R2: Pella/Kubler
R3: Krajinovic
R4: Raonic/Pouille
QF: Isner/Tsitsipas/Dimitrov
SF: Anderson/Coric/Federer
F: Djokovic/Nadal/Murray

Djokovic’s path to the final should be as follows:

R1: Sandgren
R2: Zeballos
R3: Edmund
R4: Verdasco/Thiem
QF: Kyrgios/Zverev
SF: Delpo/Goffin/Nadal
F: Cilic/Federer

My two picks for this year’s Wimbledon will be Cilic (8 units @ 8.00) and Djokovic (6 units @ 6.50). Each have shown both consistency and good morale in the past weeks, while their results at this particular Slam were good.

Quarter 1 will have Federer, Anderson, Coric, Gasquet, and Querrey as best contenders.

Quarter 2 will have Cilic, Raonic, Dimitrov, Isner, and Pouille.

Quarter 3 will have Djokovic, Kyrgios, Zverev, Thiem, and Nishikori.

Quarter 4 will have Nadal, Del Potro, Murray, Goffin, and Shapovalov.

With the 2018 World Cup less than 30 hours away, all the up to date information, as well as the official squads ↗, are now at our fingertips – so this is the best moment to take a quick look at what to expect over the next month from a betting perspective.

Will Brazil win the World Cup?

No. Brazil (odds 5.00) is the favorite according to every bookmaker out there (Germany a close second) but, as it is always the case with the Selecao, they are overrated ahead of the World Cup.

The stats might be on their side (one loss in the previous 21 games) and the projected lineup is top class, but this doesn`t look like a World Cup winning team to me. It is a team filled with technically gifted forwards, and the defense is rock solid, but the midfield (Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho) lacks creativity and that is always a big no-no. The likes of Neymar will not get as many good balls up front as they would like and, speaking of Neymar, will he be at his best after his injury? There`s also some lack of depth in the squad (again, especially in midfield), and most notably the team is devoid of a real leader. In fact, Brazil is one of the only teams in the World Cup which at this moment doesn`t have a designated captain. Brazil hasn`t played a major final since 2007, when they won Copa America, and does not have the winning DNA it once had. Look for the Selecao to be vulnerable against more direct and ‘no-nonsense’ kind of teams like Germany.

Can Germany repeat as World Cup champions?

Germany (odds 5.50) is rated as a close second favorite to lift the trophy behind Brazil, and you have to feel Die Mannschaft has a chance of winning a second World Cup in a row. They have the best depth and chemistry in the competition and, although their recent results in friendlies have been poor, they haven`t lost an official match since the 0-2 defeat to France in the Euro 2016 semifinals.

Germany`s fast, physical and direct approach is the way modern football should be played, and the Germans will hope that works to their benefit. However, Germany will be aware that no team has won two World Cups in a row since Brazil in 1962.

The other favorites

Spain is priced as the third favorite, but the Golden Generation of 2008 – 2012 has aged, and this is a flawed team. While still a force to be reckoned with, Spain seems a bit old and slow, while also lacking a clinical goalscorer (Morata and Costa neither seem to be in good form). But most importantly Spain has just fired coach Julien Lopetegui (as this article is being written), so this could have a bad impact on the team. All in all, there are too many questionmarks about Spain for them to be worth any kind of outright bet. In fact, placing bets against them might be a good idea, at least until the public and the bookies react to Lopetegui’s firing.

France enters the tournament as the 4th favorite and for good reason, as their squad is filled with quality players in their prime. They have the experience of reaching the final at Euro 2016 and head coach Didier Deschamps has been in charge for a long time, so the French will definitely be dangerous in this tournament, although odds 7.50 on them to win it all might be a bit low.

Argentina has one big problem – they are (by far) the oldest team in the World Cup, and that is never good news. What’s more, the players are mostly the same ones that failed time and time again to win a major trophy, only older. While this may be Messi’s last chance to win a World Cup, and he can never be written out, there’s not much reason for optimism regarding Argentina ahead of this tournament, and no logical reason to expect them to win it all.

Player for player Belgium can match any team in the World Cup, and they seem to be a more mature, cohesive unit under Roberto Martinez, who only lost one match from 20 served as head coach of Belgium – his first one. While the Belgians are yet to deliver on the big stage, many are blaming that on former coach Marc Wilmots. If you think Belgium has improved in terms of mental strength and chemistry, backing them to win the entire thing at odds 12.00 could be a good choice.

England is not much changed compared to the team that went out in the quarterfinals at Euro 2016 against Iceland, when there was the same excitement about this current generation of players. With an unproven defensive setup, the English might suffer yet another disappointing exit before the semifinals.

At odds 26.00 to win the entire thing, Portugal seems more like a dark horse in this World Cup, but their triumph at Euro 2016, Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s current issues give them legitimacy as a potential title contender, especially if they can win their group over Spain. Still, Portugal does not ooze with quality, and even their fairy tale run at Euro 2016 was rather lucky – as they won a single game in regular time in the entire tournament. It would be an upset to see them beyond the QF`s.

Dark Horses

Russia, Uruguay, Croatia, Poland and Colombia are other teams which could make some noise in this World Cup according to the bookmakers’ odds. Poland and Colombia (both in Group H alongside Japan & Senegal) will probably face England and Belgium in the next round. The same difficult task will await Croatia (likely to play France), and Uruguay (likely to play Portugal or Spain). As for the Russians, they will first have to get out of a group with Uruguay and Egypt before thinking about a potential Round 16 meeting with Spain or Portugal. All in all, the dark horses might not pose much of a threat here, Uruguay being the only team likely to reach at least the quarterfinals.

Other group stage bets

Egypt might be worth a shot to advance from Group A, as Russia has been far from impressive both long term and short term. The Russians have home court advantage, but are weakened by injuries. Meanwhile, Egypt could have Salah fit for the opening game against Uruguay, and he certainly should be fit for their game against Russia.

Iceland are still viewed as minnows despite proving their worth over two qualifying campaigns and an Euro 2016 tournament. They are legitimately one of the best teams in Europe and even if their group is very difficult (Argentina, Croatia, Nigeria), they should at the very least get the third place ahead of the African side.

Group G might be the most predictable, with Belgium and England having a clear advantage over Tunisia and Panama. While the two minnows will likely put up a fight, it`s hard to see any one of them getting close to qualification over the big boys – even with England being traditional underachievers in the big tournaments. Belgium first and England second seems like a potentially profitable option here.

• Visit Betdistrict for daily World Cup predictions from our editors and tipsters
• For the latest squads and other World Cup news check out our World Cup blog.