TQ's A-Z / Tareq Quiroz / 03 March 2008 /

Dementieva, Fiorentina, Ochoa and Loeb all make TQ's A-Z as we look back at last week's world of sport

A is for Almagro. Spain's Nicolas Almagro went loco down in Acapulco as he won the Mexican Open with a superb win over David Nalbandian in the final. It was Almagro's third ATP Tour title and in this kind of form he will be feeling confident of adding to that total during the clay court season. This week's big ATP event is the Dubai Championships, where Roger Federer is the market leader at around [2.1].

B is for Besiktas. The Turkish Super League is one of the most closely contested leagues you will find anywhere. With ten games to go just one point separates the top four teams. Besiktas are current leaders after their top of the table win over Galatasaray at the weekend. Check out the league Winner market if you think you can find the team that will finally take the title.

C is for Cloudy Lane. The Donald McCain trained Cloudy Lane stormed to victory in the Grimthorpe Chase on Saturday. The eight-year-old is in great form and is well fancied for this year's Grand National. Check out the Antepost market for the National, where Cloudy Lane is the market leader at current odds of around [8.2].

D is for Dementieva. Elena Dementieva overcame Svetlana Kuznetsova in a great final at the Dubai Championships. It was Dementieva's ninth tour win and a very sweet one for the Russian who has struggled with her serve for a long time. The WTA Tour's main event this week is the Bangalore Open. Check out the market where Serena Williams is the current favourite.

E is for Els. The Big Easy swept through the field on the final day of the Honda Classic to record his first PGA Tour victory since 2004. Els produced a superb final round 67 to secure a one shot win over England's Luke Donald. This might just be the catalyst for a great year for Ernie. He is scheduled to take part in this week's PODS Championship where he is current market leader at odds of around [10.5].

F is for Fiorentina. Juventus slipped to their second home league defeat of the season at the hands of Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon. A last minute Osvaldo strike was enough for a 3-2 win and puts Fiorentina just a point behind third placed Juve. Check out the Top Three Finish market for Serie A for all the latest prices on that battle.

G is for Giorgios Samaras. It was a busy week for the Scottish Premier League sides and Celtic kept up the pressure on Rangers at the top with two good wins. Samaras was the man of the moment for Celtic as he netted a goal in each of their league games to stake his claim for a starting place. Rangers still head the market for the league Winner with Celtic second best at current odds of [2.4].

H is for Harlequins. A rousing second half performance saw Harlequins claim the scalp of league leaders Gloucester in the Guinness Premiership clash on Sunday. Aided by some wayward kicking from their opponents, Harlequins were able to secure the win with a lat try from George Robson. With the play-offs still a possibility Harlequins may be worth a look in the Outright Winner market currently on site.

I is for Impressive. Leeds Rhinos never fail to impress when the chips are down. They have a big game mentality and that was never more apparent than on Friday when they claimed the World Club Challenge trophy with an 11-4 win over NRL winners Melbourne Storm. Difficult conditions made fluent rugby impossible but the Rhinos were just too strong defensively for Melbourne. Also with a maximum return in the league, Leeds will prove very difficult to catch. Check out the Regular Season Winner market if you think they can run away with that too.

J is for Jaws. Having missed out on this year's Premier League, Colin Lloyd has finally got the desire back in his game. His upturn in form continued on Sunday as he scythed through a top quality field in Brentwood to secure the UK Open Regional Final. The man they call Jaws is definitely back and is one to watch in the televised events as the season progresses.

K is for Klose. Bayern Munich secured a vital away win at Schalke on Saturday. Miroslav Klose was the star of the day with an early goal that was enough to claim all three points. The lead at the top is only four points but things are looking good and they are now as low as [1.28] in the league Winner market.

L is for Lorena Ochoa. World number one Lorena Ochoa destroyed a high class field to win the HSBC Women's World Champions tournament by an amazing eleven strokes. Annika Sorenstam was left trailing in her wake as the Mexican showed just how tough she is going to be to beat this season. Watch out for all the upcoming Women's golf markets.

M is for Mark Brown. Kiwi Mark Brown hit a golden run of birdies on the back nine of his final round to plunder the Johnnie Walker Classic. Trailing by seven shots during that final round he produced the goods when it mattered the most. Brown is scheduled to play in this week's Malaysian Open, where Nick Dougherty is the likely market leader.

N is for Norway. The world's top biathletes were in Korea last week and the expectant crowd were treated to some great performances. Possibly the most exciting was Norway's win in the mixed relay. Just over 4 seconds separated the first three home in the final event of the week. The biathletes now head off to Russia for the penultimate event of the season. Check out all the markets available for this week's races.

O is for Opening Partnership. Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie set a world record opening partnership with an enormous 415 in the second test against Bangladesh. Both batsmen secured double centuries as South Africa wrapped up a comfortable win. The first ODI in the series is played on Sunday, with SA clear favourites at [1.17] in the Match Odds market.

P is for Phil Taylor. The Power was back with a bang last week. After a couple of defeats in the Premier League he shrugged off all the criticism to demolish Wayne Mardle 8-0 and bring himself firmly back into contention for the play-off places. This Thursday sees the match we have all been waiting for, Taylor v Barney. Check out all the latest prices, where there is nothing to choose between them in the Match Odds market.

Q is for Quagliarella. Fabio Quagliarella was the man who broke the deadlock as Udinese secured a much needed 2-0 win over Atalanta. The three points keep Udinese in sixth spot and well in touch for a UEFA Cup spot. Keep an eye out for a good end of season run from Udinese.

R is for Robinho. Brazilian striker Robinho got Real Madrid's title charge back on track with a couple of late goals to help Real to a 3-2 win over Recreativo de Huelva. With Barcelona going down 4-2 at Athletico Madrid the lead at the top is now back up to five points in favour of Real. It is still all to play for with Real Madrid heading the league Winner market at current odds of [1.48].

S is for Sebastien Loeb. World Champion Sebastien Loeb was back on the winners' rostrum with a hard fought win in the Rally of Mexico. His 38th Rally win was enough to pull him within one point of Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen. Watch out for markets on this month's Rally of Argentina.

T is for Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar was at his imperious best as he smashed 117 off 120 balls in the first game of the Commonwealth Bank Series. That magnificent knock was the inspiration behind India's six wicket victory over Australia. The second game takes place on Tuesday, with the Aussies clear favourite to level the series at [1.41] in the Match Odds market.

U is for Utrecht. League leaders PSV were brought crashing down to earth on Sunday. Despite taking an early lead they were surprisingly beaten 3-1 by FC Utrecht. This result has given renewed hope to Ajax, who are now just six points behind them. PSV are still clear market leaders at current odds of [1.27].

V is for Victory. The only thing the Houston Rockets know is the sweet smell of victory. A 103-89 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night was their 15th straight win. A team clearly full of confidence they are certainly worth following in the coming weeks. Check out the latest odds on their bid to extend their unbeaten run when they host Indiana on Wednesday.

W is for Wigan Warriors. Brian Noble's Wigan side are looking like a decent side at the start of this season's Super League. A well deserved win over Bradford on Saturday showed that they are a team to be reckoned with in what will be a long hard season for all. With players still to come back they well be worth supporting in the Grand Final Winner market at current odds of around [8.0].

X is for X-Rated. Real Madrid may have extended their league at the top of La Liga but the match was tainted by three red cards! Real's catalogue of top stars do attract a fair share of rash tackles and it is certainly worth looking at the Sending Off? market for their Champions League match with Roma on Wednesday evening.

Y is for Yakubu. Often maligned for his work rate, Yakubu can never be accused of not being a natural goalscorer. The Yak was at it again on Sunday as netted a brace to sink high-flying rivals Portsmouth. It seems that the race for fourth is attracting as much attention as the race for the title and Everton currently lead the way in that department. Check out the Top Four Finish market for the prices of all the contenders.

Z is for Zalayeta. Marcelo Zalayeta was the toast of Napoli on Sunday evening as his early goal was enough to give them a 1-0 win over table topping Inter Milan. It was Inter's first league defeat of the season and there are some signs that the machine is beginning to malfunction. Inter are still as low as [1.2] in the league Winner market if you think this is a sign of an impending form slump.

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