Tennis star is also good at kicking things

Taking time out of his busy schedule of looking grumpy and doing impossible-looking press-ups, Wimbledon hopeful Andy Murray sat down for a chat with Channelbee, the web TV station owned by Spoiler fan Tim Lovejoy.

Skip to [1.45] in the video to see Murray doing some extremely impressive keep-ups with a tennis ball. Isn’t it annoying how some people are naturally good at every sport?

[Spotted on OTP]

Did Slovakia’s finest sportslady enjoy a tryst with a Madrid star?

Up until January, Real Madrid’s Wesley Sneijder was married to lovely Dutch lady Ramona Streekstra. The dissolution of their relationship and Sneijder’s subsequent €6m divorce payout may have had something to do with strong rumours that the attacking midfielder was seeing Slovakian tennis star Daniela Hantuchová.

Sneijder denied any such rumours (and has since started a relationship with model Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen), but any excuse to draw attention to Miss Hantuchová’s bikini wearing abilities cannot be passed up.

Handsome meets angry at the home of English football

As part of a campaign intended to help raise awareness of malaria, David Beckham had the pleasure of playing football and tennis with Scotland’s grumpiest sportsman at Wembley on Tuesday.

The Spoiler doesn’t feel any more aware of malaria for watching this, but we couldn’t help notice two things. Firstly, Beckham appears to jump on the anti-Wembley turf bandwagon by calling attention to the unpredictability of the bounce. And secondly, Andy Murray seems to be taken in by AC Milan star’s charms. “You hit like you’ve played before,” he says, lost in Beckham’s eyes…

[Spotted on Off The Post]

A brief tennis interlude and super special offer interrupts The Spoiler’s normal football programming…

Andy Murray has barely broken sweat so far but that will change against Jurgen Melzer. chickendinner fancy the Austrian to take a set but if you disagree, Betfair generously offer 1.52 on Murray winning in straight sets:

» Murray won all three of his meetings against Melzer last year but has yet to conquer him in straight sets.

» Even when the Brit enjoyed his best ever Grand Slam at last year’s US Open, he had to work hard to overcome Melzer in the third round. The Austrian went two sets up before Murray came back to win.

» Murray has only once got through the first three rounds of a Grand Slam without dropping a set.

Are you an early bird? Murray is due on court at 8.30am on Saturday and you can watch him free of charge live on Betfair just by opening an account. Click here to do that and claim a free £10 bet.

A brief tennis interlude and super special offer interrupts The Spoiler’s normal football programming…

Andy Murray is just 1.02 to beat Marcel Granollers and 1.26 to win in straight sets in his Aussie Open game that is scheduled to be played at around 9.30am tomorrow (UK time). So without backing heavily, there isn’t much money to be made. Instead, our amigos at chickendinner point you in the direction of the “1st Set Correct Score” market where enticing odds of 4.0 are available on Murray winning 6-2:

» At the Qatar Open, six of Murray’s ten set wins were achieved by a 6-2 scoreline, including the opening sets in his first and second round matches.

» Murray started his first round Australian Open match against Andrei Pavel with a 6-2 opening set victory too.

» The last set the two players contested against one another in Barcelona three years ago finished 6-2 in the Brit’s favour.

Need somewhere to watch Murray at work tomorrow morning? You can catch all the show court action live on Betfair for nothing just by opening an account. Click here to sign-up and claim a free £10 bet.

A brief tennis interlude and super special offer interrupts The Spoiler’s normal football programming…

Andy Murray was eliminated in the first round of last year’s Australian Open having raised expectations by winning the Qatar Open. Now he’s all muscly and that, a repeat is unlikely, but it’s worth noting that his opponent tonight Andrei Pavel [60 at Betfair] is rarely humiliated:

• With the exception of the French Open, Pavel hasn’t lost a first round match at a Grand Slam in straight sets since Wimbledon 1999.

• The previous meeting between the duo in the first round of the 2005 US Open went to five sets before Murray triumphed.

• Britain’s number one dropped sets in his first round matches at two of the four Grand Slams last year.

Murray triumphing in four sets is 7 while if you anticipate a real struggle he is 17 to win 3-2. The action starts at midnight tonight on British Eurosport and also live on Betfair. You can claim a free £10 bet when opening a Betfair account here.

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WithLeather insist that every tackle box needs a Wunder Boner

Rotherham Utd striker Alex Rhodes has had a 145-word Nelson Mandela speech tattooed on his leg
[Football League]

Why Villa are still unlikely to break the Big Four
[chickendinner]

Video: Liverpool impressionist Darren Farley meets Rafa and Nando
[101 Great Goals]

Unlike every other man on the planet, Lewis Hamilton doesn’t like the Pussycat Dolls’ sexy outfits
[Grid Crasher]

‘Phonics singer Kelly Jones spills the beans on the Rooney wedding
[Wales Online via Kickette]

Victoria Vanucci is the hottest ex-tennis player in the world
[Polite Applause]

Wenger: Eboue will play on Wednesday
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Also appearing on a computer near you…

Enjoy today’s links with a musical composition from Will Ferrell and John C Reilly (probably best not to play it if the boss is within earshot)

Why Manchester City are great value at 4/5 to beat PSG
[chickendinner]

Rio Ferdinand “hated” Manchester Utd
[Off The Post]

Lewis Hamilton suffers more racist abuse
[Grid Crasher]

The Gaffer’s pun-tastic advent calendar
[The Gaffer]

Manchester Utd’s imminent signing Zoran Tosic does a Paul Ince and poses with a Manchester Utd shirt
[Daily Mail]

Manchester City’s Spanish transfer targets
[Caught Offside]

Fireball tennis looks like great fun
[Polite Applause]

Fancy some festive WAG fun?
[The Spoiler’s WAGvent Calendar]