Australian Open Betting / Sean Calvert / 20 January 2011 /

Sean bounced back yesterday with worthy winners so could a dark horse see off a fancied-American? And who is Venus' dress designer?

It was back to business as usual on Day Four of the Australian Open, with both Bernard Tomic and Petra Kvitova obliging in straight sets, to allow us a healthy profit on the day's wagers.

There are plenty of options to choose from on Day Five too, with several short priced favourites who could find things tougher than they'd like.

I like the look of Viktor Troicki to give Novak Djokovic some trouble, along with Kei Nishikori to test Fernando Verdasco and I can see Sergiy Stakhovsky taking out Tommy Robredo, but my main focus today is on Andy Roddick.

The American is a very skinny [1.16] to beat up and coming Dutchman, Robin Haase, and I wouldn't be adding that one to my list of potential multiples in a hurry.

Haase is one of my dark horses for 2011 and now that he's recovered from fairly major knee problems I can see him breaking into the top 40 or 50 this year.

Many UK tennis fans would have seen Haase at his best in a thrilling five setter against Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon last year, which is a clue to how good he could be and so far in 2011 he's showing good progression.

Haase lost a tight three setter to champion Stan Wawrinka in Chennai and another tight one to John Isner in Auckland before his two wins here in Melbourne, the latter of which was a solid victory over in-form Juan Monaco.

The Dutchman's big game can cause problems for an opponent who has faced nothing in his opening two matches and the safest bet to my mind is to lay the [2.0] about Roddick winning in straight sets.

A-Rod's recent Slam form has been poor, with losses to Cilic, Gabashvili, Lu, and Tipsarevic in 2010 and there's just a feeling that his body might be betraying him a bit.

It wouldn't surprise me if Haase won this one at a very attractive [6.8], but he will surely grab at least a set, so laying the 3-0 Roddick makes sense.

On the women's side, there are also a few potential upsets on Day Five, with Wozniacki, Sharapova and Henin looking far from secure as short-priced favourites, but the shakiest of all has to be another American whose body looks to be giving up the ghost.

Venus Williams scraped through her second round clash with world number 96 Sandra Zahlavova, bemoaning a groin injury and sporting a truly hideous dress that looked like it had been designed by a four-year-old who was having a bad day.

If you can bear to suffer another of Williams' foul creations tonight it should be the last time, as Andrea Petkovic ought to consign the 'Wonderland dress' to the recycling bin, where it belongs.

Venus's recent Slam record is distinctly average and, Wimbledon apart, she hasn't been a threat at the business end for a few years now and in her last two Slams, she's been beaten by players ranked outside the top-20.

Petkovic has risen to number 33 in the world rankings from outside the top 300 in two years and showed fine form in reaching the final in Brisbane in her most recent event.

Williams might struggle to win this in peak condition, but hampered, this one should go the way of the Bosnian-born German at a tempting [1.96].

Recommended bets:
Lay Roddick to beat Haase 3-0 at [2.0]
Back Petkovic to beat Williams at [1.96] Lay Djokovic to beat Troicki 3-0 at [2.0]

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