Williams again puts the doubters in their boxes with another Slam

Williams is way too good for the rest

Serena Williams firmly put the haters back in their little boxes last night with a convincing three set victory over Victoria Azarenka. Yes Azarenka tried and yes it wasn't quite the cake-walk that I had predicted, but in the end a crushing 6-1 in the final set showed just how effective Serena can be when the eight ball is starting to cover her. The truth of the matter is, which the so called 'experts' (especially of Twitterland) will fail to grasp, is that Serena Williams is by far better than anyone else in the field; even Victoria Azarenka. This is a crushing decisive statement but it highlights just how lop-sided the women's game has become.

After the match we had the usual trotting out of lines such as 'How good is this women's game?' etc, but most people have failed to understand that what was meant to be, was.....in that when Serena decides that she wants to win, she will win. It is that simple. It doesn't matter which game players like Azarenka bring to the table, when it hits the fan, Williams has two or three gears which the other players can only dream of finding. Forget Cincinnati as tipsters/punters/experts would remind us for the millionth time, this is Grand Slam terrain, and what Williams has is an entire arsenal of experience to win the match when the going gets tough.

Williams in Cincinnati could barely be bothered and she still reached the final. I felt there were several issues with her that week, mostly it seemed mental ones. Not that she doubted her game, but just cloudy thinking whatever was going in between the ears. The worst thing Azarenka could have done was beat her there, Serena would have been far more vulnerable winning that and lowering her guard. Williams even said herself that the Cincinnati loss was the injection of energy she needed and to remind her that success has to be worked at and that the feeling of losing is a nasty one.

Serena's problem most of the time is that of sheer boredom and disappointment that she barely gets a game anymore. She has a nasty habit these days of winning the first set and then totally taking her foot off the pedal. But then again who can blame her as she leaves a trail of carnage over most opponents even those ranked around her. For her these days, with all the wins and the money, it's more about the match itself in the Grand Slams, than anything else. What she needs to get her to the highest level is a match and to be matched. It's only when this happens does Serena take it the level that the other women just cannot even dream to get close to.

What you'll have trumpeted over the next few days is a plethora of pundits and column inches dedicated to how well the other girl did. Well that's just fine, but don't kid yourself that the race is getting closer. It is not and Boris Becker alluded to as much. Matches are decided purely from the racquet of Williams and nobody else.

Stosur v Petrova

WTA Aegon International, 1.30pm.
Petrova, 1.91.

WTA Treble

LOST
WTA Treble
£20, Bartoli, Kanepi, Stephens, 2.81 (Bet365)

Simona Halep v Jelena Jankovic (Bet 13)

WON
WTA Rome, @2pm.
£20, Simona Halep, 2.38 (MarathonBet)

Halep's recent surge in form has been nothing short of remarkable. She beat Radwanska, and then yesterday beat Vinci, two very impressive scalps. She has a good first serve, good solid ground strokes, can vary the tempo of the game and doesn't seem to miss much. I really do think that this is a key match for her, can she make the step up from being comfortable early in tournaments to being a big name under the spotlight?

Jankovic dismantled Li Na in epic style yesterday, but Na was truly atrocious. And by atrocious, I mean truly, truly atrocious. I think it was something like 60 odd unforced errors and she really did struggle to keep the ball in the court. Jankovic is good, don't get me wrong, but Halep has the staying power, resilience and youth on her side to go the distance in any match. Halep I believe, also has that 'bottle' factor that I look for when betting. She will never give up. I am really looking forward to this match.

Simona Halep v Roberta Vinci (Bet 9)

LOSS
WTA Rome, @ 11.30am.
£20, Roberta Vinci -1.5 games, 1.83. 

First off, the average odds across the board has this as 2.10 Vinci to 1.66 Vinci. By adding in the -1.5 for Vinci we immediately give ourselves better value, 1.83. Now, the only way Vinci can lose this bet on the handicap if she wins is a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, which is highly unlikely. Women cannot hold serve for shit generally and also buckle under pressure much more in the closing stages of sets. So I've settled for 1.83.

Onto the actual match. Vinci had a few problems in her last encounter with Burnett, but came through it in straight sets nevertheless. She's lost two out of her last 11 matches on clay and I think more good performances will come. Halep has a decent enough clay record of late, but she has played those ranked well down the pecking order. The class of Vinci should come through in straight sets here, possibly around the 6-4, 6-3 mark.

ANALYSIS

What an amazing performance from the person I backed against! Is it too early to suggest that Halep could go up the rankings quite swiftly in the next few months? I'm not so sure it's a no. Vinci wasn't brilliant, but she dug in and did what she could, but Halep looked in complete control. She has a lovely variety of shots, a good solid serve, doesn't buckle under pressure and appears to have fitness in masses. A terrific performance.

Carla Suarez Novarro v Romina Oprandi (Bet 6)

LOSS
WTA Rome, 3.10pm.
£20, Oprandi, 2.12.

I feel a little uneasy about backing against one of my safe bets in Novarro, but I feel the demolition by Oprandi of Pavlyuchenkova tips the scales in her favour. Let's have some background. In Portugal Oprandi won three games including a defeat of Kuznetsova before being derailed in three sets by Pavlyuchenkova. After winning the first set 6-0, she lost the next two 6-3, 6-1. Most players may have crumpled after that, at least for a few matches or so, but in the very next match she drew Pavlyuchenkova again, where she demolished her opponent 6-2, 6-0. This shows not only that she is in great form, but that she is developing a mental toughness.

Suarez Novarro is a fine player and I like her a lot, but she's lost 2/4 (including a straights loss to Pavlyuchenkova), and won the last match 2-1 v Petrova which lasted two and a half hours yesterday. Whilst she is a battler no doubt, I feel at 2.12 Oprandi is plenty value here.

Who'd you back?