emmsie69 wrote:

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Ace Ventura wrote:

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Julia Carrot wrote:

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PaulM wrote:

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Brilliant! I really didn't expect that third set - she'd invested so much fight and energy to get that first set and save so many break points in the second before Zhu finally got in front that I thought the Chinese woman would get a lift and motor on. But Harriet really dug in, attacked every point, and absolutely deserved the win. Even when there were a couple of sticky moments (missed a point or two for *5-1) she dusted down and moved on.

Really classy performance, delighted for her. Some beautiful hitting, lovely winner to finish it.

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 Sounds like you were watching a stream ?  I couldn't find one.

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Betting sites are covering quals, and thus, the usual dodgy sites like jokerlivestreams and the like will cover them. I've mentioned them a few times, so it'll come across like I'm a rep or something, but honestly, signing up to Unibet, depositing a fiver, and just watching their streams, not actually betting if you're against / don't like that sort of thing is really handy for a tennis fan. You can get the matches full screen, the quality is fine, you don't need worry about virus', your stream isn't going to cut off and you have to start scrapping around for another.

WTA qualifying coverage used to be few and far between, and only a few select tournaments would have streams, but since the turn of the year, I think Unibet has had qualifying coverage for every WTA event, and it's been a godsend. I had Harriet on my phone full screen last night and then casted it to my telly, and the quality was pretty much spot on, and had another match on the laptop.

 

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 How was she playing. I'm hoping that now she's had a few matches she'll start playing a lot better

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I did miss the vast majority of the first set, but I would say pretty encouraging. The usual fight that we've been so used to other the past few years was in full flow. Second serve possibly still a bit of an issue, and could be more be more punished by a bigger hitter, but she played very well. A lot of good rallies as Zhu was getting a lot of balls back, some that I wasn't expecting, and as PaulM mentioned, she did so so well to turn that third set around when it looked like it may be slipping away. She saved 2 game points, got the break back for 1-1*, and then was *1-4 up in the blink of an eye.

I'm not sure about this afternoon. I mentioned similar when Jodie drew her in Linz, but for me, Martincova is absolutely a top 100 player, in all but ranking (a lot of it it thanks to the system). You just need to see some of the names she has beaten since the restart, even if we take the recent Bertens win with a pinch of salt. She was #65 in the points gained in 2020 (or Feb 2020 to Feb 2021), her ELO rating is in the 70's, and while Dart-Zhu was pretty much 50/50 at the bookmakers, Harriet a very slight favourite in same case, some bookies are offering 2/1 (3.00) for Harriet to get the win today. Not beyond her, but it would be a very impressive win if she can do it.

I joined Bet365 using a gmail address - I don't get any spam from them, or that could have come from using that account. They did require some personal details though to set up the account. I don't remember ever having to put a bet on anything, and I rarely do - although I did triple my money from the Australian swing thanks to Fran.

Feeling a failure - can't seem to sort out verification on Unibet & can't find a jokerlivestream that I don't have to pay for, or download things that I don't think I'll want. Will have to make do with live scores & look forward to messages on here!

Andy, I know it's a little off-topic but it's relevant stuff - i.e. trying to watch live tennis.

I use Bet365 and have never received junk or spam email (I think I used my gmail account but can't honestly remember - but don't get any betting related spam on any of my emails - in fact, I very rarely hear from them at all - hence I can't remember which account I gave them!)

Yes, I think I had to give some personal info but can't remember (not much use this, sorry)

I use Paypal to fund it when needed. Which I like as being more private.

I had to fund it £10 to be able to watch live matches and I added an extra £20 to take it well over - I didn't want to put in £11, have a tiddly flutter and find I was below the £10 minimum for watching just before a crucial match). The rules might have changed now .....

So you don't have to come up with money when you bet, it just goes straight from your float.

You can bet as little as 10p which - as known - I rather like

Otherwise, there's nothing else to note - it's really very easy to watch (and very easy to have a little bet - or not - as you wish). They don't hassle you to add more money. You do get a few freebie offers but those come as messages on the site in your account, not via my email, so easy to ignore.

Only other thing to note - it doesn't work in France :( (it's blocked)

Thanks for the helpful comments on enrolling on Bet 365 - they have helped to allay a lot of my fears. Seems like not too many issues really.

I will be working while Harriet is playing, but like Emmsie said, it was great to have a proper write up on her match and I will be very interested to see how she does today, when I finish work at midnight (and to see how my favourite overseas player, Arantxa Rus fared against Bouzkova).

Hopefully Harriet is now beginning to arrest what started to look like a gradual slide down the rankings. Like others, I feel she has a real chance of making the top 100; I particularly like her battling attitude, which I think is indicated in how many long matches she has. She seldom gives up and whenever I have watched her play, I have come away feeling that she has a very solid all round game - go Harriet. Off to work now - it really isn't fair, as I would love to see this one!

Katie B has  also got a great draw in the first round and it will be interesting to see if she can win a match here - she very much needs the ranking points.

-- Edited by Andy Parker on Tuesday 23rd of March 2021 02:18:11 PM

I used to be an odd fiver footy acca with mates on a weekend type of person, and vowed never to have an online betting account, just in case (when a bit younger), until the 2014 World Cup where I opened my first one, Coral, and promptly had about accounts 14 a couple weeks later , to take advantage of all the intro offers. I am naturally a fairly tight and conservative (non politically) person, so would never have issues with regards to chasing losses, and to be honest, until Cheltenham last week, I could have counted the amount of bets I have had since the start of the pandemic on one hand, and still had fingers remaining, but I do still like to have a few options, in case I do go on to Oddschecker (more just for comparison) and see something that stands out (like say for Cheltenham).

As CD says, Bet 365 have most things covered, and is a nice, easy layout (IMO), so would be a good start, although Unibet does have the advantages of covering the WTA quals, as has been mentioned (a few times...), possibly exclusive as well. I'm not sure what the minimum initial deposit is for Unibet, it'll either be a £10 (max) or £5 - you can certainly deposit as little as £5 later on, and as long as there is a bit of money in the account, then you're good to watch. As said, I've had £5 in my account since Jan when I first noticed they were showing all the quals, and I still had £5 in it, right until last week when I lost £2 on Cheltenham, as I bet with Unibet for a particular race as the horse had the best odds, but my balance is £3 now, will be £3 for a long time to come, and I can watch any match that they are covering for no extra charge, so all good.

Apologies for those reading / lurking who are against this sort of chat, but they do cover streams for tennis matches, legally, and once set up, and used to it, straightforwardly, and really is a handy tool for those just wanting to watch a bit of tennis that they normally couldn't - I just hope there's no gambling industry employees lurking as guests, and the situation promptly changes .