Is Rafa Nadal's Aussie Open dream still alive?

Rafa Nadal’s quest to become the 1^st man to win 21 Grand Slams continued with a superb performance to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The 35-year-old Spaniard, currently tied on 20 Slams with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, came through in five sets against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 and is now only two wins away from his 1^st Aussie Open title since 2009. Nadal now faces  Matteo Berrettini for a place in the final.

Total Points (settled at 283)

This always looked a tough test for Nadal, with Shapovalov in decent form himself having started the year leading Team Canada to the ATP Cup before going on to impress at the Aussie Open. Nadal started well but the Canadian knew if he could get a set on the board he could try and tire the older man, an so it proved as Shapovalov pegged Nadal back to 2-2 having lost the first two sets. For buyers of Total Points, a five setter was perfect. With the spread set at 233-240, buyers made a profit of 43 times their stake.

What happened in last night’s Championship football?

Blackburn moved into the automatic promotion places with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough, who saw their own promotion playoff push hit the buffers after a solid run. Sam Gallagher scored the only goal of a game that Boro dominated for large parts, but ultimately ended in just a 2^nd defeat since Chris Wilder took over in November. Matt Crooks, who scored the two late goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win against Reading last time out, should have rescued this game in stoppage time too, but he headed over from inside the six-yard box.

Multi-Bookings (settled at 2500)

Buyers of any of our bookings markets will have enjoyed the rough and tumble that started this game, Boro’s Neil Taylor being the first of 10 players to find his way into he referee’s book after just four minutes. In fact, given Boro had four players booked within half an hour, they did well to finish the game with 11 men, preventing our Multi-Bookings buyers winning even more. There were five booked in each half to settle this market at 2500. The spread was set at 400-490, meaning buyers made a profit of 2010 times their bet.

Are hosts Cameroon still in the African Cup of Nations?

Cameroon are through to the last eight after a narrow 2-1 win over Comoros, who were forced to play their left-back in goal. While all the headlines should have been about the brave efforts of the minnows of African football battling against all the odds, tragically the crush outside the ground, where at least 8 people were killed, overshadowed the game. On the pitch, Comoros were without all three keepers, so defender Chaker Alhadhur stood in between the posts. Already with the odds stacked against them, facing one of the giants of African football on their home turf with a defender in goal, Comoros then had skipper Nadjim Abdou sent off after 7 minutes. Amazingly, Cameroon only scored once in each half, and when Comoros pulled one back with nine minutes remaining through a majestic Youssouf N’Changama free kick, they even had chances to get back on level terms.

Comoros Total Goal Minutes (settled at 81)

Comoros started the match as 40/1 outsiders, so buyers of their Total Goal Minutes were already on the optimistic side, even before their captain was sent off in the first 10 minutes! It took something special, but Youssouf N’Changama’s spectacular 30-yard free kick made the breakthrough for the underdogs, and rewarded those buyers of Comoros TGM’s. The spread was set at 10-18, meaning buyers made a profit of 63 times their bet.