Williams began the game as the outsider according to the Tennis Betting but cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory in just over an hour to secure her seventh victory in eight games against the Belarusian.

She won the first set in 26 minutes and broke the world number one in the second game of the second set, which ultimately proved crucial.

On her way to an impressive victory, the 30-year-old American hit 26 winners – including 14 aces – to win the 41st WTA title of her career.

“I think Victoria is the player to beat,” Williams said afterwards. “She has won I don’t know how many tournaments this year alone. That’s an amazing amount. So if you look at the stats, you just have to put her up there as the player to beat.”

Williams has now won all 13 of her matches on clay this year, losing just one set in the process – to Caroline Wozniacki in the third round in Madrid.

The American has not quite hit the heights of her early career in recent seasons and her French Open 2012 Odds reflect this. But the manner of this victory suggests she may be fighting her way back to her best.

Williams now turns her attention to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome where nine of the world’s top-ten players are taking part. She is seeded nine but on current form is widely expected to reach yet another final in the last tournament before the action gets underway in Paris.

The American will be chasing her second French Open title following her solitary success at Roland Garros in 2002.

Much of the build-up to the visit by the South African Conference leaders to Australia was dominated by NSW improving on their defeat by derby rivals, the Brumbies, in Canberra, last weekend.

The win meant the Bulls secured a seventh consecutive victory over the Waratahs, leaving the Sydney club 12 points behind the Brumbies, ahead of a difficult two-game tour of South Africa.

“It was a terrible result for us. We wanted more out of that game than that, and we are going to have to live with the consequences”, said Elson, who saw his side surrender a 24-20 lead with just three minutes remaining. “They played very good field position at the end.”

Waratahs head coach, Michael Foley, added: “I thought for large parts of that game we did exactly what we wanted do to, and had good control against a side that was obviously very fired up about their performance, last week.”

The Waratahs now risk being overtaken in second place by the Reds, and Foley said it was essential players’ heads did not drop, because he could not afford any passengers in South Africa against the Western Stormers (May 20) and the Free State Cheetahs (May 27).

He said: “All that matters for us now is to recover from the disappointment and to prepare well for next week.”And when we get into next week’s game, make sure we’ve dealt with the details in preparation that allows us to control the things that we can control.”

The Waratahs have announced a 26-man squad for the upcoming two-match tour of South Africa, which includes Wallabies winger, Drew Mitchell.

Bet sure to place your online bets before the first kick, or catch up on your favourite sport with the best rugby previews.

The American is set to miss this year’s Betfair French Open after the American being struck down by a hamstring problem.

The former world number one has been forced to withdraw from both the Madrid Open and Rome Masters due to the injury and may not be able to take his place in the draw at Roland Garros.

Roddick has struggled in the past on clay, with his best effort in Paris coming back in 2009 when reaching the fourth round.

But the American, with his battling nature, will not want to miss out on a Grand Slam event and will look to prove his fitness before the end of the month.

The US could be without two of their top players in Paris, with Mardy Fish also struggling for fitness.

World number nine Fish withdrew from the Madrid Open and is in danger of losing his place as US number one, with John Isner just one place behind him in the standings.

As for Roddick, he has slipped to 27 in the world and it looks like his best chance of a return to top-20 will be a successful grass-court season.

The big-serving right hander will be keen to make an impact at Wimbledon, a tournament in which he has finished runner-up in on three separate occasions. Thought the current Betfair Wimbledon betting suggests his time has passed at SW19.

It looks like they might be a long wait for another American victory at the French Open, which this year is due to begin on May 27.

The last US player to lift the trophy at Roland Garros was Andre Agassi, who was successful back in 1999.

Clement had been confident prior to the feature Group 1 event that his charge would run a big race, having never finished out of the first two in good company, since the second of his nine racecourse appearances.

Winner of last season’s Group 1 Criterium International at Saint Cloud, in October, on testing ground, the easy underfoot conditions were also expected to help the son of Turtle Bowl, who had made a winning reappearance, this term, at Maisons Lafitte, when landing the Group 3 Prix Djebel by a neck from the smart Abtaal.

The run gave connections plenty of confidence that he would have every chance at Newmarket, while cutting his odds with the bookmakers. Find great odds on horse racing at Bet Victor.

Given a fine ride by the outstanding, Olivier Peslier, French Fifteen was held up towards the rear of the stands side group at HQ, before being delivered with what, on most occasions, would surely have been a perfectly timed challenge, just inside the final furlong.

However, the hot favourite, Camelot, a horse who could turn out to be a very high-class performer, eventually kept on just the stronger on the uphill run to the line, to score by a neck, the pair coming clear of another French raider, Hermival, who was first home on the far side to finish third overall.

A crack at the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot over a mile, or a step up to 10 furlongs for the French Derby at Chantilly, could be next on the agenda for French Fifteen, who looks sure to pick up a top grade win before too long, after such a fine effort in defeat on the Rowley Mile. Place a bet on racing on www.betvictor.com.

With his new coach Ivan Lendl being a two time winner of the French Open, this could be a huge help to Murray’s chances on clay and he kicked off his clay court season with a stunning straight-sets victory over Viktor Troicki to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Murray received a first round bye, and has now sealed his place in the last 16 of the ATP 1000 event and laid down an early marker in the process courtesy of a 6-0 6-3 triumph in only 67 minutes.

It is a perfect start to his French Open warm-up campaign, and he looked in full control from the first serve. He broke Troicki’s serve in the first game of the match after a cute drop-shot had helped open up three break points, of which he took the third when the Serb swatted a forehand wide and he never looked back!

Usually it takes Murray a couple of matches before he gets used to the surface but he moved well around the clay and looked like he had been playing on it all year. Regardless of how well he does in the tournament he will have at least 5 weeks in the run up to Roland Garros where he can work even more on fine-tuning his clay game. He is already looking very comfortable, which are promising signs for him for the rest of the summer!

Please visit http://betting.betfair.com/tennis/french-open/ for latest Betfair tennis betting odds.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello announced via Twitter – it seems that everything gets announced via that medium these days – that the roster limit will be officially expanded to that 90 strong number. What that means is that another 320 players will get a chance to win a place on an NFL 53-man roster via their efforts during the offseason programme or training camps. Of course it means that it gives all of those players a chance to turn down an NFL career – although we doubt that will happen.

The change was made rather quickly and it’s rather unclear how it was made away from the confines of an owners’ meeting, now approved the change will become a bylaw rather than a formal rule. The increase from 80 to 90 players allowed on the roster will result in a decrease in the number of players allowed after the third preseason game when the numbers will revert to the original 80 and then a drop will be made from 80 to the 53 man rosters after the final pre-season game, that will of course flood an already overcrowded market with 864 players a week before the start of the regular season.

Still the increased opportunities that this will bring may see some talents that were missed in the draft or free agency come to the fore, it has been known to happen.

For those looking to bet on NFL or place NFL bets, it is important to follow the developments of this story.

What will new general manager Rick Spielman do? – he could and this is probably the lesser option trade away that #3 pick in exchange for some attractive draft choices especially as the Vikings need more than one star to fix their woes but in reality who is going to offer those and can he make them work. What Spielman has to assess is the long game here and harsh as it may sound it’s going to take at least a couple of years to get Minnesota back on track after 6-10 and 3-13 seasons that have seen the talent and leadership ebb away from the Vikings.

It has to be faced that the NFC is competitive to say the least and you need to be able to dominate at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball – in the past the Vikings have been able to do this but they have regressed perhaps more on the “O” line than the “D” line, where offensively they have to block some of the top pass-rushers in the NFL and that probably makes it the main priority to fix on the team. This is why most people predict Minnesota will take USC left tackle Matt Kalil at #3.

But, wait, just wait, the Vikings are also in a hole with regard to their skill players with their two main assets Percy Harvin being extremely fragile and Adrian Peterson their star running-back having to start the season coming back from a torn ACL at the end of last season. The Vikings have many offensive issues to sort out this summer. The team can address some needs in the draft, but not all of them – it will take time.

Defensively there are also issues, especially in the secondary where if the capable pass rush doesn’t get to the quarterback the secondary is porous at best; they only intercepted eight balls all last year. The secondary lacks vision, pace and the ability to make a play and if they were to address that area of the team then they would be headed towards taking LSU CB Morris Claiborne with the third pick.

So you can see that the decision for Spielman is not an easy one – this one draft is not going to fix the woes of the Vikings and he has to look at the bigger and longer picture to assess the talent pool both of next year’s draft and free agency.

We don’t think that they (the Vikings) are going to get the necessary offer for their #3 pick and the choice will boil down to Claiborne or Kalil, with the latter getting our vote as going part of the way to fixing a Vikings franchise which needs some real TLC right now.

For those looking to place NFL bets or to bet on NFL it is important to follow the developments of this story.

So are there are Bradyesque characters in this year’s talent pool? Well we would have to say yes, so here’s our take on some of the players that may slip through the net but you will be hearing more of in the future.

In the pass orientated NFL, more and more emphasis is being placed on the secondary and their ability to cope with multiple receiver sets and an onslaught of strong arm quarterbacks. Teams are looking for cornerbacks and safeties who can make plays and DeQuan Menzie of Alabama certainly fits that bill. Menzie looks to be a pure corner who has quick feet and an ability to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and we are sure a few teams will be looking out for him in the 2012 draft. Continuing that theme how about taking a look at Brandon Taylor of LSU – he’s a hard hitting safety who can make plays in coverage and is also adept at breaking up and stopping the run – he also has that game-changing ability to separate players from the ball.

This list was based on the idea of Tom Brady as the ultimate sleeper so it wouldn’t be right to ignore or exclude quarterbacks from the list and here’s one for you – Austin Davis of Southern Miss. Solid would be the word to sum up Davis who looks to be a good athlete who can run and pass and puts pressure on defences with his mobility. There are things that he needs to work on but the base and raw ability is there and he would be a good project for a team that has time to mould someone into an NFL quarterback.

Unfashionable positions are never drafted that high and we could put the role of fullback into that category of unfashionable and draft position, but that doesn’t mean we can’t include one here and Wisconsin Badgers Bradie Ewing has the right sort of stuff to make a success of a career in the NFL. He’s certainly a versatile runner, showing power and some decent pace as well as being able to receive the ball out of the backfield. He may well not go until the fifth or sixth round but he will go and be a very useful addition to any team.

Luck, Griffen III, Kalil and Claiborne may be the names people will be focusing on in the 2012 draft but further down the list will be some players that will be stars of the future let’s hope a few of our four make the grade.

For those looking to place NFL bets or those who want to bet on NFL should follow the development of this story.

2007 sees possibly the easiest example to illustrate our point. That year saw JaMarcus Russell taken as the overall first pick over Calvin Johnson and look where they are both now – Johnson is one of the outstanding wide receivers in the NFL averaging over 1100 receiving yards per year and a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Russell well he’s out of the game after a less than stellar career, one occasion when the No1 pick carried a heavy burden.

Another mismatch occurred in 2002 – David Carr vs. Julius Peppers. Carr carried the hopes and dreams of the new Houston Texans expansion franchise, but after five seasons and a record that read 22-53 the Texans finally gave up on Carr. Peppers on the other hand is one of the league’s premier defensive ends, averaging 10 sacks per season and having been selected to 6 Pro-Bowls in a 10-year career. On he retires Peppers looks sure to have a shot at the Hall of Fame.

Our last example comes from the 1994 draft when Dan Wilkinson was taken over Marshall Faulk. Wilkinson was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals at defensive tackle and while he had a long career it can only be described as average whereas Faulk had anything but an “average” career. After landing up with St. Louis Rams, Faulk became one of the most important pieces to “The Greatest Show on Turf.” His 12,279 yards rushing put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and showed another case when the number two pick in the draft is not necessarily the worst position to be in.

Andrew Luck and RG3 it’s over to you guys now.

Those looking to place NFL bets and to bet on NFL should follow the developments of this story.