The US Open has begun ... and that means time to have the old Wilson re-strung, and start practising our own terrible serves and backhands! At least while watching the Open we can dream – today we check out the Open action so far, so you can hopefully have a little punting success as you’re dreaming.

Serving Up on the Screens

There are quite a few interesting matches coming up at the US Open ... and some potentially lucrative punting opportunities! If you don't have 24 hours to spend glued to your television or computer screen, try to catch:

Roger Federer vs Andreas Beck: You’ll have to put a lot of cash on Federer to make any back at most betting platforms, with odds of 1.01 pretty common. But watch the match anyway ... you never know when he’s going to pull a move like in the photo above!

Dennis Istomin vs Rafael Nadal: Nadal is obviously the current favourite to win, but Istomin is placed at a respectable 5.0 on many platforms.   

Caroline Wozniacki vs Kai-Chen Chang: Another very one-sided game, with Wozniacki placed at 1.02 across most platforms and Chang set at about 26. Remember the lesson from Harrison vs Ljubilic, though... and watch the whole match if only for Wozniacki’s excellent form.

Ace Reporting

There have been some pretty neat US Open moments to report, despite being only 3 days into the action.

• Roger Federer’s ‘tweener’ – between the legs shot to Argentina’s Brian Dabul – has been nattered about all over the net. Check the top of the article, in case you missed it!
• Number 15 seed Ivan Ljubilic blamed his loss to up and comer Ryan Harrison (an 18 year old qualifier) yesterday on the heat. He was pretty philosophical about it (as far as tennis players can be), despite a ‘backhanded’ comment about play being cancelled at the Australian Open in Melbourne if the weather is too hot...
• Caroline Wozniacki has been the talk of the tennis blogs, with both the New York Times and ESPN dedicating a fair few words to her. She plays Kai-Chen Chang of Taipei today.

Tennis Tweeting

People are pretty excited about the upcoming US Open ... it probably says more about Twitter’s cultural status across different countries than anything, but there is far more US Open buzz than Premier League trash talk! Here’s what both the official channel, and the tweeting punters, reckon. BTW, both Andy Murray and Venus Williams are pretty avid tweeters themselves, if you're after an insider’s view.

--- Upset alert! @RyanHarrison92 tied 1 set all with Ljubicic. Also @andy_murray about to begin his first match. Watch both http://bit.ly/anvnpq (Update - Ryan Harrison ended up winningin 4 sets)

--- ArturoMedina04: @serenawilliams ey baby how r u doing? i'm very good watching the us open...now playing @clijsterskim i saw venus today, she played amazing!  (Sigh ... lucky these people get paid)

--- mirmirage: More awesome sports video: Federer's between the legs winner at the U.S. Open: http://bit.ly/dujDLu (expand) via @wired

--- tiznowzenyatta: Roddick gets his ass handed to him at the us open by a 18 year old.. Gotta love it

We're a few weeks into the English Premier League (Brits booting balls ... and not always badly!), and the odds are telling us that someone other than the big three (Chelsea, Arsenal and Man U) might actually get up there this time! The table tells a different story, though – so who’s your punting dollar safest with?

The Bookies’ Boot

Despite being far from the bottom of the table, Blackpool FC have some record low odds ... they are sitting at 10,001 with bet365, Bluesquare and Victor Chandler! Other than that oddity, we’ll just look at some of the stronger contenders. It’s surprising to see more than four clubs with odds under 100, but then again it is early days...

• Arsenal FC: 6.00
• Chelsea FC: 2.20        
• Liverpool FC: 26.00
• Manchester City: 9.00 (Surprise!)
• Manchester United: 3.25
• Tottenham Hotspur: 67.00 (But look for increases after Rafael van der Vaart’s transfer over from Real Madrid)

Upcoming games

We don’t have a batch of matches for another 9 days or so, and they’re mostly looking pretty one-sided  ... apart from a nailbiter between Wigan Athletic and Sunderland FC, where all 57 of the fans will be hanging off the edges of their seats ;-)  Check out the full match list– could be some good punting to be had!

The Official Table

There are a couple of striking differences between the bookies opinions and the official table of points so far. Are some clubs maxing out their mojo early? Here’s the top 12 clubs in the official Brits Booting Balls story so far:

All clubs have played 3 matches to date:

1. Chelsea, 9 points
2. Arsenal, 7 points
3. Man Utd, 7 points
4. Aston Villa, 6 points (Bookies odds between 126.00 and 501.00)
5. Bolton, 5 points
6. Birmingham, 5 points
7. Wolverhampton, 5 points (Bookies odds: 7501.00)
8. Newcastle, 4 points
9. Man City, 4 points (The bookies strongest contender outside the big 4 is sitting at position number 9...)
10. Sunderland, 4 points
11. Tottenham, 4 points
12. Blackpool, 4 points (Does that really deserve 10,001.00 odds?!)

Twits and the Brits

The Twittersphere has plenty to say about the Premier League ... we’ve siphoned off some of the most intelligible, original and meaningful here, along with an unexpected little bonus!

--- (HOT OFF THE TWEETPRESS!) JBruma: I can confirm that I have signed a new four year deal at Chelsea!

--- gfish3000: Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, wants to play soccer for Manchester United... http://yhoo.it/buEslp

--- OfficialFaceKIG: Man city's owner looks like a joker, the joke of it is they think they can win the premier league this season? GIGANTIC statement lol...

--- juventusoffside: EPL fans are angry folk. RT @cahiers_dusport: Ach, remind me to never Tweet about the Premier League again. Thanks. Not worth it.

For the 'other' 30 national soccer teams, it's all over. It has come down to a match between Don Juan and the Flying Dutchmen! Who will win? Everyone has an idea - today we preview the final match as well as checking out the last of the funny and fascinating World Cup reporting and Tweetage.

Which team has the craziest fans?

World Cup Finals preview: Spain  vs Netherlands

Spain:             1.95 - 2.11

Netherlands:    3.5 - 4.0

What history says:

In their past World Cup matches, Netherlands have a 4:3 edge over Spain, with 1 drawn match. However, Spain are the more prolific goalscorers, with a total of 12 to Netherland's 10. Netherlands are coming off a 24-match unbeaten streak, also.

What the Daily Mirror says:

Of the nine experts (although to be fair, one of those nine is an octopus) gathered by the Daily Mirror in England, eight of them say that Spain is going to win. Xavi, Iniesta and Villa are predicted to be the men of the match and possible goalscorers.

What Paul the Octopus says:

Paul the Octopus, housed in Oberhausen Aquarium in Germany, has picked Spain to win the World Cup. His deductive methods are unknown, but he communicates by eating mussels out of box labelled with the flags of countries about to play. He also predicted around 70% of Germany's results in the 2008 European Championship.

Reporter's Cup

• There will be a solar eclipse at the same time as the World Cup final. Unfortunately it will only be properly seen in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.
• The reporters who were saying (before the World Cup) that they expected no problems with violent altercations in South Africa are now busy gloating. Thankfully, nobody died, was kidnapped or seriously injured.  
• In the European Championship 2008, the Polish prime minister threatened to murder Howard Webb, the referee for this World Cup finals match fpor awarding a last minute penalty to Austria.

Tweeter's Cup

We've already got plenty of conjecture on who will win. Tpoday we just soak up the virtual, Twittified excitement!

--- ChrisEFrost: RT @TheOfficeSweep: Should be an exciting #worldcup final between #esp and #ned. Its certainly a final of 1sts! http://qck.ly/bo

-- melmelet: RT @HomerJSimpson: The vuvuzela is the world’s most annoying horn and Bart won’t stop playing it! I’ll kill the international spirit of peace! #worldcup

--- Age9126: note to self- take a nap BEFORE #worldcup final tomorrow

--- G7SEV: #WorldCup final tomorrow! Can.... Not.... Wait..... for the non football fans, you wouldn't understand... carry on.

Soon enough, when somebody mentions South Africa we will once again think of Nelson Mandela rather than football ... when a fly buzzes past our ear we won’t instantly reach for the remote control to turn down that horrible vuvuzela tune ... and in Australia, sports journalists will be reporting on AFL instead of the Socceroos once again.  So today we take a quick look back at the semi-finals and the match for third place, prolonging the excitement and sense of history a little longer.

Uruguay          2:3       Netherlands

There was a fantastic distribution of goal kickers as well as goals across the span of this match - the semi-finals atmosphere combined with netted ball after netted ball made it a real thriller! Sneijder, Robben and Van Brockhurst scored for the Netherlands, while Forlan and Pereira's two goals were definitely earned ... but not enough to get Uruguay to the finals.

Germany         0:1       Spain

This match was pretty empty until the 74^th minute, when Carles Puyol's single goal of the match tipped the balance in Spain's favour. This was a repeat of what happened to score Spain the European title over Germany two years ago ... I'm willing to bet Joachim Low specifically works a counter to this strategy into his own game plan next time around!

Uruguay          2:3       Germany

With only 8 minutes left, this goal-fest of a match was brought to a close by Sami Khedira. Mueller and Jansen also scored, and Cavani and Forlan worked hard for Uruguay ... but to no avail. 

Did You Know?

And I thought soccer was all about the glory! Wikipedia recently enlightened me that every team exiting the World Cup, at any stage, will actually get a pretty sizable payout. The distribution is as follows:

• $8 million – To each team exiting after the group stage (16 teams)
• $9 million – To each team exiting after the round of 16 (8 teams)
• $14 million – To each team exiting after the quarter-finals (4 teams)
• $18 million – Fourth placed team
• $20 million – Third placed team
• $24 million – Runner up
• $30 million – Winner

All teams that don't make it past the group stage still get a consolation prize of $1 million.

Tweeter's Cup

Bless their twitty little typing fingers... apart from the ones that are still falsely claiming the vuvuzela was banned so that you will click on their links.

--- FredericoJota: Congratulations, Uruguay! #worldcup

--- EdwardMonton: As the World Cup comes to a close, keep the memories alive with Vuvuzela's Greatest Hits... http://twitpic.com/246pba #worldcup #vuvuzela

--- ninamania: RT @MrsStephenFry: FIFA #worldcup Joke 1: Question - What do you call an Englishman in the World Cup Final? Answer - Ref.

--- wisamarta: PETA urges people to free Paul, psychic octopus http://goo.gl/fb/8MUoz #worldcup

The quarter finals are well and truly here ... and unlike the UEFA Champions League, which seemed to take forever, the World Cup is buzzing past like a speeding vuvuzela! Here are the matches you have to look forward to, as well as some highlights from the reporters and public. Everyone's got an opinion ... today we check out some of them!  

World Cup quarter finals match: Argentina vs Germany

Argentina:       2.2 - 2.38

Germany:        3.0 - 3.4

The statistics are in Argentina's favour for this match. Will the big blondies finally be knocked out of the competition? The Aussies and English would certainly be glad to see that ... but the odds tell us that it will be a close call.

World Cup quarter finals match: Paraguay vs Spain

Paraguay:        8.0 - 9.0

Spain:              1.46 - 1.53

These two teams have met only three times before, with Spain winning one encounter and two draws. Commenters are reminding us to remember that the Netherlands beat Brazil ... so this could actually be a nice little earner for those will to put a bit down on Paraguay! Spain has not lost to South American opposition in the World Cup since 1986. Will this be a record-making match? 

Reporter's Cup

There's been some pretty interesting sideshows at the World Cup over the past couple of days! Pot, Paris Hilton, and pending retirements - here are the gory details.

• Javier Aguirre has quit as the coach of Mexico's national team, after Argentina ousted the Mexicans in the round of 16. It's the fifth successive time that Mexico has made it to the Round of 16, but not past it.
• Arjen Robben's 'clever corner routine' didn't go down too well ... he's being advised to either not attempt that sort of thing, or at least get it right!
• Paris Hilton was arrested outside Nelson Mandela Stadium for possession of marijuana. Bummer, dudette.

Who'll win the 2010 World Cup?

How long is a piece of string? We don't really know the answer to either question ... but we do know who the bookies reckon will win World Cup 2010. Since we missed out a few :

Argentina        4.50 - 4.75

Germany         6.25 - 7.0

Holland           3.0 - 3.25

Paraguay         41.0 - 56.0

Spain               3.25 - 3.25

Uruguay          9.0 - 13.0

Tweeter's Cup

You can certainly not dispute that soccer stirs the emotions, both for the shirt-headed, screaming, crying players and coaches ... and the fans! We get to experience the fans' emotions I writing though, through the (black?!) magic of Twitter:

--- MerinBenjamin: Felipe Melo shouldn't have lost it.. #World cup not the same without ma Brazil now :( :(

-- MayhemtheMC: Ghana & Brazil Lost today :( disappointed #world cup

Jul 2, 2010 10:53 PM GMT

--- jasaretta: This habit of choreographed dancing after a goal at the #world cup really needs to stop.

--- DeganeS: GYAN! what a miss #world cup #gha #uru SUAREZ what a gesture! he took one for the team, anyone would have done the same thing in situation

--- emjaymaxwell: It's a shame that all the good teams are being sent home #world cup

Nana na na ... nana na na ... heeeeeey! You know the rest. It's inevitable that just about every team (all except one, to be precise) will be knocked out of the running for the World Cup at some stage. Yet it still never fails to surprise - and maybe hurt just a wee bit - when the big guys and our favourites get knocked out. Today we check out the events that led to the cheers and tears in the round of 16 for World Cup 2010.

Uruguay          2:1       Korea Republic

Korea dominated possession but certainly didn’t dominate goal scoring. They also dominated yellow cards ...

USA                 1:2       Ghana

Much has already been said about this match, in football circles and the mainstream media! The USA were the better team on stats, although they did get 3 yellow cards to Ghana's 2. Andre Ayew from Ghana was elected man of the match.

Netherlands     2:1       Slovakia

Netherlands have now won all 14 of their matches so far.

Brazil               3:0       Chile

Chile had plenty of shots and plenty of possession time, but unfortunately not plenty of goals.

Argentina        3:1       Mexico

This game outcome led Javier Aguirre to quit as Mexico's coach. People are describing it as a very fair match, with a couple of unlucky goals from Argentina.

Germany         4:1       England

Goal powerhouses Germany did it again! This was a pretty predictable score, actually ... but poor England are suffering in the press.

Paraguay        0:0       Japan

Paraguay won on penalties, after a fairly even possession-shots match. Japan did cop four yellow cards though ... nasty!

Spain               1:0       Portugal

The parent has knocked their child out of the World Cup at their own expense. A sad but predictable result.

Tweeter's Cup

The World Cup's really getting into people's heads now...

--- finestcom: thought he had a #vuvuzela in his kitchen but turns out it was a fly, too much #World Cup?

--- taxhelprightnow: #BRA, #PAR, #URU are my favorite soccer teams in the #World #Cup I hope one of them get to the finals =) Go South America!

--- DanielaFSU: is wondering how many times today i've thought about #Harry Potter and/or the #World Cup... it's probably pretty sad

The 2010 World Cup's upcoming matches are looking a lot less messy, now that many of the long-odds teams such as Australia and New Zealand have been cut from the lineup. A few pundits have noted that figuring out who will go through to the Round of 16 in the World Cup is easy ... as long as you have a Masters Degree in Pure Mathematics! So it will be a relief for those of you who like to enjoy sport without actually having to work your math-muscles, that we are now at the stage of World Cup 2010 where if you win a game, you stay in ... if you lose a game you go out. Simple! Today we check out the matchups for the (mostly!) upcoming Round of 16.

World Cup matches 26^th of June

There were no shocks in the first two (already played) matches of the Round of 16 - Uruguay knocked out the Korean Republic 2:1 (who truthfully, did extraordinarily well to get to the Round of 16), and Ghana beat the USA 2:1.

World Cup matches 27^th of June

Today we have Germany playing England ... two strong teams, but in the Round of 16 only one can go through. England has a slight advantage in the stats, but their performances in the Knockout stage left a lot to be desired. Argentina also play Mexico in a game that may well end up drawing, as over 40% of these two teams' games have.

World Cup matches 28^th of June

Today the Netherlands play Slovakia, and while Holland has much shorter odds to win the entire World Cup, they don't have the best record against the Slovakian team. Brazil will also play Chile, and odds and stats say that it will probably be a clean sweep by Brazil.

World Cup matches 29^th of June

If Japan manages to stand up against Paraguay, there'll be a lot of happy punters ... though it isn’t likely! In the main game of the day, Spain has twice as many goals and three times as many match wins as Portugal in their World Cup head-to-head record ... but there have been 12 draws.

Who'll win the 2010 World Cup?

Well, we haven't quite got the Delorien repaired yet to go grab that books of sports results from the future! Neither is Wikipedia obliging publishing such information, though you can find out just about anything else on there. Here are the current bookies odds (and also our best guesses!) on who'll win the 2010 World Cup.

Argentina        5.0 - 6.0

Brazil               4.0 - 4.33

Chile                41.0 - 51.0

England           10.0 - 12.0

Germany         11.0 - 15.0

Ghana              23.0 - 26.0

Holland           7.5 - 8.0

Japan               81.0 - 101.0

Mexico            61.0 - 81.0

Paraguay         34.0 - 46.0

Portugal           21.0 - 23.0

Slovakia          151.0 - 251.0

Spain               5.0 - 5.5

Uruguay          11.0 - 13.0

Tweeter's Cup

A few good ones that we couldn't resist including:

--- sreevass #worldcup has created a record high tweet rate of 3283 tweets/second #omgfacts @omgfacts

--- jelanigreenidge RT @davidlerner75 I think I just heard a vuvuzela being blown in B-natural. Tune that thing! #worldcup Dude that's hilarious.

--- CaptDankMorgan #worldcup .... #usa lost & i hope you're finally happy #fifa officials

The vuvuzelas will be buzzing their last in the Group stage of the 2010 World Cup very shortly. Unfortunately, they'll probably just go on to buzz throughout the Round of 16, starting in 3 days time! At least that means there are far fewer matches to catch up with, and we have more opportunity to get emotionally involved with the upcoming matches, and far more sleep. Here are the expectations from 3 of the fascinating or home-grown matches in the last 3 days of the World Cup soccer Group Stage.   

Match of the Day June 23^rd : Australia vs Serbia

The Aussies haven't before met the Serbians in a World Cup match, and given that some betting agencies are putting the Aussies odds of winning at better than the Serbs, there'll be some hope here.  

Top match comment:

"Serbia has an awesome defence and nicely proportioned attacking force. Australia is a tough opponent, though their team is very old and not competent to make the same miracle as 4 years ago."

Betting odds(to win the Cup):

Australia: 3.3 - 4.6

Serbia: 1.8 - 2.0

Draw: 3.2 - 3.8

Match of the Day June 24^th : Denmark vs Japan

Another fascinating match coming up today ... Denmark and Japan are pretty much even in the bookies' opinions, they don't have a World Cup record to taint our opinions, and both have lost at least two out of their last 3 matches. Neither side might be going through - but this will still be fascinating to watch!

Top match comment:

"1-0 for Japan on this one. It may be a little harder than the Cameroon match but I'm sure the Samurai Blue's got this one"

Betting odds:

Denmark: 2 - 2.28

Japan: 3 - 3.75

Draw: 3.05 - 3.45

Match of the Day June 25^th : Portugal vs Brazil

Both Portugal and Brazil are coming off the backs of quite a few wins into this, one of the last matches of the Group Stage. It's likely that whichever way this match goes, both teams will advance ... so you'll always be rooting for a winner. Chgeck the odds if you're looking to be a winner though!

Top match comment:

"It was a bad idea to pair up these two teams. One mother, the other their child. Nevertheless, both will play so damn well!"

Betting odds:

Portugal: 3.5 - 4

Brazil: 1.8 - 2.38

Draw: 2.75 - 3.3

We have settled into the swing of the World Cup now ... re-learned how to program the DVD recorder so that we don't have to get up at 4am, and learned to mute the insane buzzing noise of the vuvuzela and re-familiarised ourselves with the competition format and progression rules. We've had a few surprises, upsets and controversial results in the second week of the World Cup's group stage - here's an overview of what's happened, and what is to come.

 Punters' Cup

There have been a couple of subtle changes in World Cup betting odds based on the outcomes of the Group Stage matches so far ... subtle, but telling! Here's how the only numbers that matter are currently looking:

• Spain are no longer clear favourites - they are currently placed pretty evenly along with Argentina and Brazil at around 5.50 - 6.0
• North Korea is now the only team with odds above 1501.0 ... some places are offering 2001.0 to 1
• Australia's odds have lengthened to around 750 at most betting centres, although some sports books are still offering 101.0
• Two of the biggest teams that are actually seen to be living up to expectations are Argentina and Holland ... hint, hint!

 Reporter's Cup

Wooo ... people are getting angry at some of the controversial and disappointing occurrences in the World Cup! Here's what they're reporting:

• Many Tweeters are reporting the vuvuzela has been banned. Not yet ... they are just trying to get you to click their links. Don't fall for it!
• The referee in the recent US-Slovenia match that failed to award a goal to the US where many feel it was due is likely to be dropped by FIFA for the remainder of the tournament ... although there is no recourse for the US.
• Patrice Evra,  the captain of the French team, described their 2-0 loss to Mexico as a 'punch that we never saw coming'. Nicolas Anelka has been discharged from the French team after making, and then refusing to apologise for, a massive verbal rant at the Mexican captain.
• The final round of World Cup group stage matches is considered at highest risk of match fixing, and will be scrutinised by FIFA.

Tweeter's Cup

Since I don't speak Spanish, Italian, French or Japanese, I can't guarantee that these are the funniest, most relevant and thought-provoking World Cup tweets available. But they would have to come close...

~~~ patsch06 RT @Rove1974: Why can't we just win? Now I have to use maths to work out if we can make it or not. Maths! This is sport for crying out loud! #worldcup

~~~  _ abeer61aj RT @theunlikelyfan: I am the guy at the barbecue/party forcing you to talk about the #WorldCup. Three more weeks is all I ask. Shhhhhh. Just give me this.

~~~ ScoreHints #WorldCup #Sweden Only want to watch the delayed telecast if your team wins? WWW.SCOREHINTS.COM

~~~ serenosaur Will probably miss #worldcup tomorrow due to #warriordash! I can't wait to get my viking hat! >:D

We're certainly in the thick of Cup fever now ... holed up under blankets on the couch, awake at all hours of the night, and with a massive fever ... a fever which comes from getting hot under the collar yelling at the television, anyway! Today we check out some of the highlights of the next 3 days matches, and make some bold (and some not very bold!) predictions.

Match of the Day June 20^th: Italy vs New Zealand

These two teams have met only once before and it was actually a pretty close match ... Italy scored 4 goals, but New Zealand scored 3. Barrack for them today - it may well make a difference!

Top match comment:

"I think Italy will come on to the pitch overly confident and be struck by an amazing kiwi team out of nowhere 2-1 to kiwis!"

Betting odds:

Italy: 12.0 - 19.0

New Zealand: 1001.0 - 2001.0

Match of the Day June 21^st: Portugal vs North Korea

In a match with similar history to the Italy-New Zealand lineup above, these two team have met before in a relatively close matchup - but have a massive disparity in odds. Ronaldo's telling everyone not to count Portugal out ... but we feel betting on this World Cup match could just be a great investment!

Top match comment:

" The return of 1966 World Cup."

Betting odds:

Portugal: 26.0 - 29.0

North Korea: 1001.0 - 2001.0

Match of the Day June 22^nd : France vs South Africa

France has won two of the matchups for this pair, with one left over as a draw. However, South Africa has that home court advantage, have won 3 of their last games and are riding on adrenaline...

Top match comment:

"Watch S. Africa win this one... I expect S. Africa to advance to the round of 16. France... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!?"

Betting odds:

France: 15.0 - 29.0

South Africa: 126.0 - 151.0