Andy Murray’s chances of going one better than last year and winning the Wimbledon title this summer have suffered a major setback after the world number two withdrew from the Italian Open and is likely to miss Roland Garros with injury.

The Olympic and US Open champion has suffered from bad form on clay this spring and has won just three of five matches on the surface since switching from his favoured hard.

In his opening match in Rome he lost the first set to world number 37 Marcel Granollers and although he battled through a tiebreak to win the second withdrew shortly afterwards citing lower-back pain.

Unfortunately, it appears the change of surface has done Murray no good at all and he is on the verge of withdrawing from the French Open altogether, leaving Rafael Nadal the favourite in the French Open betting.

This news is likely to concern Wimbledon betting fans, for the 26-year-old has little time to recover ahead of the grass season this summer.

Murray is scheduled to play Queens before heading to SW19 and expectations are high for him to progress to the final of London’s prestigious build-up tournament.

Should he win his third title there then expectations will grow even greater ahead of Wimbledon but a title at Queens could in fact seriously hamper his Grand Slam chances.

When he won Queens in 2011 he lost in the Wimbledon semis to Rafael Nadal, yet last year made the final at SW19 after crashing out in the second round of the AEGON Championships.

Maybe it would benefit Murray more if he simply sat out of competitive tennis for a while and stuck to the practice courts before the first round at Wimbledon. He has no chance of winning at Roland Garros and is only likely to strain his back further, while victory at Queens means nothing heading into the grass Slam.

It’s a big risk to take and one that wouldn’t please his many supporters but Murray’s Wimbledon hopes hang in the balance and maybe what he needs more than anything is a good, long rest.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers stalwart Ronde Barber has announced his retirement from the game at the age of 38.

Barber, who played at cornerback for 15 seasons before making the transition to safety in 2012, Tampa Bay’s first season under coach Greg Schiano, had been the Bucs’ captain for the last nine years.

He had been a regular for Tampa Bay since making his debut in 1997 and finished his career by making 215 consecutive starts, tied for the sixth-longest streak in NFL history.

However, the latest NFL betting odds at bet365 had hinted towards a possible retirement when the possibility emerged that he would not be a regular starter next season – something he admits made the decision easier to make.

“It would have made the decision about retiring a lot harder,” he said. “There’s a good chance that, yes, I probably could have made a different decision. But that wasn’t the case. I’m not averse to competition. They’ve been trying to replace me for years.

“If I wanted to come back with the guys they brought in, I would have found a way.”

The twin brother of former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, who retired after the 2006 season, added: ”I’ve had a better run than I ever could have dreamed of having.”

Barber has said that he made his decision in April but waited until after the draft and the trade for cornerback Darrelle Revis before announcing the news.

Betting NFL markets have reacted to the news, with punters concerned about Revis’ ability to step into his shoes.

Barber had been the last active member of the Bucs’ Super Bowl XXXVII title-winning team. He was a third-round pick out of Virginia in 1997 and went on to be a five-time Pro Bowl player. He holds Tampa Bay’s club record for games played (241) and started (232).

He recorded 47 interceptions, 205 passes defensed, 1,476 tackles, 28 sacks and 16 forced fumbles during his career.

Evan Williams was a delighted man at Haydock on Saturday after seeing his one-time top-flight novice hurdler, Barizan, bounce back to form with an all-the-way success in the valuable Grade 3 Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle at the Lancashire track.

Three seasons ago, Barizan had proved himself a very smart performer in finishing runner-up to Soldatino in the Grade 1 JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival before filling the same position behind Orsippus a few weeks later in the Grade 1 Matalan Anniversary 4YO Novices Hurdle at the Aintree Festival.

The gelded son of Kalanisi eventually got his big win when showing his toughness in turning out at a third festival in five weeks and winning in Grade 1 company at Punchestown.

Since those heady days, life has generally proved difficult for Barizan with an abortive attempt to make it as a novice chaser affecting his confidence after registering two wins and two falls in four outings over the larger obstacles.

After being given a chance by the handicapper and falling to a mark of just 126 – despite an eyecatching victory at Taunton earlier this spring that suggested that a wind operation might well have allowed Williams’ charge to turn the corner, and a rock solid run in finishing fourth in the Imperial Cup on his previous outing – Barizan would have been sent off at big odds at Haydock had it not been for the fact that he was napped by Tom Segal in the Racing Post, a factor that saw him heavily backed down to 8/1 in the Channel 4 racing tips for the ultra-competitive handicap hurdle.

Racing prominently throughout, Barizan led at the third last then dug deep after the final flight to hold off Mr Mole by half-a-length to record a famous victory, much to the delight of punters around the country who had joined in the wholesale gamble.

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Tennis aficionados were less than impressed by the quality on show when Andy Murray and David Ferrer battled out a sweltering three-set final at the Miami Masters earlier this April.

Under the intense Florida sunshine neither player performed well as they dug deep to keep sticky rallies alive in front of dissatisfied spectators.

It wasn’t the best of finals but it went on for two hours and 45 minutes and no one can doubt the effort and energy sacrificed by both players. Murray was lucky to win the Miami title that day but, unfortunately, both he and Ferrer have suffered hangovers from it.

Since the Miami final Ferrer has struggled with a leg injury picked up during that match and sat out of the Monte Carlo Masters last week. On Wednesday he returned to action but lasted just one match – crashing out at his beloved Barcelona Open 7-5 3-6 6-1 to Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov.

Ferrer admitted it was “the worst match I’ve played in a couple of years,” while Murray had much the same feeling a week earlier when he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round at Monaco.

Both players looked drained and out of ideas during their defeats and it is clear the Miami hangover still remains. Andy Murray just hasn’t put enough of his training routine onto the clay surface and will suffer from it come the French Open later next month, while Ferrer continues to struggle with his fitness.

Fans shouldn’t back either player in the Betfair French Open odds to win the event come late May. They’re both still recovering from that gruelling clash in Miami and haven’t the time to change their game to suit the new surface.

Jonny Wilkinson’s name headlined many of the top sports betting stories on Tuesday after the former England international failed to earn a recall into the Lions squad for their tour of Australia later this summer.

Despite what the Betfair blog says, Wilkinson has been in great form with club side Toulon of late and was widely tipped by fans in the betting world with an outside chance of making the 2013 Lions squad.

Unfortunately for the 33-year-old, head coach Warren Gatland has picked two better and younger fly-halves instead and, in reflection, Wilkinson cannot complain.

He may have been the driving force behind Toulon’s surge to the Heineken Cup final this May but the fly simply hasn’t got the fitness levels to survive a Lions tour unscathed.

He has been out of the international game for two years now and should really have played some part in the 2013 Six Nations to stand any chance of joining Gatland’s men.

Instead, the head coach has selected Ireland’s Jonny Sexton and Owen Farrell of England as his two fly-halves – both players more than capable of matching Wilkinson’s former high standards.

Sexton, especially, will want to prove himself to the Lions squad after a disappointing Six Nations campaign with Ireland, while Farrell is improving day by day as his Saracens team prepare for the Aviva Premiership playoffs.

Wilkinson may be enjoying something of a revival in France but he simply isn’t as good as the pair Gatland has chosen. If this tour had taken place two years ago the 2003 World Cup winner wouldn’t even have earned a mention in the final paragraph of potential squad players, so lowly did we regard his game.

Only now, with Wilkinson proving the difference for Toulon against the perennial favourites in the rugby odds, Saracens, last weekend, did we remember this national hero for what he once was and many pundits jumped the gun a little too hastily in tipping him for a Lions call-up.

Ricky Walden made light work of Michael Holt in his opening round tie of the 2013 World Championship, coming out on top 10-1.

The world number 13 established a 7-1 lead from Saturday morning’s session and needed just more three frames on Sunday to complete the match. He quickly finished things off in the closing session and will now meet either Neil Robertson or Robert Milkins in the second round for a place in the quarter-final.

Walden proved too much for Holt in the scoring department with the former under-21 world champion producing a 140 break along the way, the highest of the tournament so far. There were also breaks of 78, 76, 61 and 55 in a top quality display against the qualifier.

The win brought up Walden’s first victory at the Crucible and also caps off what has been a really good season for the man from Chester. He started his campaign off by winning the Wuxi Classic where he beat Stuart Bingham in the final.

Before Sunday, the 30-year old had only appeared twice in the World Championship. In 2009 he fell to Mark Selby in the first round and then in 2011 he was out in the opening week once again, on that occasion to Rory McLeod.

His win in China was the second ranking title of his career. In 2008 he won the Shanghai Masters when he stunned Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final 10-8. He had to wait four years to double his tally and did so again in Asia. Wins over Zhu Yinghui, Joe Perry, Milkins and Marcus Campbell helped him to get his hands on the trophy and secure a top 16 spot leading into the World Championship.

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David Moyes has admitted Everton’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League were dashed following their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Looking to challenge Arsenal for that fourth place in the Premier League, Everton knew they would need to put together an end-of-season winning run – against all the odds.

But Stephane Sessegnon’s first half goal was enough to give Sunderland a vital three points and leave Everton needing a miracle to be able to finish in the top-four this season.

“I don’t think we can qualify now. We had to keep winning and keep on going, and even if we did keep on winning we would still have been outsiders,” admitted Moyes.

“This defeat means we have to put an end to all that. We can just keep winning games and who knows. We will try and finish in a Europa League position.”

For a club with Everton’s budget, even being in contention for a top-four place shows just what Moyes has achieved in his time at the club, but it remains to be seen how much longer the Scotsman will remain on Merseyside.

With his contract at Goodison Park expiring this summer, Moyes’ future at the club is still a subject for some uncertainty.

Reaching the Champions League would have certainly strengthened the club’s case when it came to sitting down with Moyes at the end of the season, but that’s not to say Everton will be looking for a new manager this summer. Another impressive season may have done enough to convince the 50-year old to sign a new deal.

But the question has to be asked as to how much more Moyes can achieve at Goodison Park; fans betting premier league seem to indicate that he will stay for another year.

The man in the No.10 jersey is arguably the most important player on the field but Clermont could be without a specialist fly-half for the Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Munster on Saturday.

Mike Delany, who was brought in to fill the void left by injured playmakers Brock James and David Skrela, is ineligible to play in Clermont’s biggest game of the season so far.

An ERC (European Rugby Cup) spokesperson told AFP: “A team which qualifies for the knock-out stages has until March 21 to register three extra players. Clermont didn’t register any.

“Lately there has been a request from Clermont to register Mike Delany and the club was told he could not play.”

Clermont were hoping to get around this relegation with another rule which stipulates the club can register a player before the Tuesday preceding the game on Saturday.

However it looks like the ERC are still set to uphold the decision that Delany won’t be able to play in the crucial game this weekend, which means manager Jean-Marc Lhermet will have to look into alternatives for the clash with the Irish giants.

With Munster’s Paul O’Connell narrowly avoiding a ban for an accidental kick on Leinster’s Dave Kearney earlier this month and Lhermet believes his side have been hard done by.

He said: “The ERC have their rules and their interpretations.

“In this precise case there was a legal loophole. We’ll make do with these constraints.

“Mike Delany can’t play in the H Cup this season but Munster can use Paul O’Connell this weekend.”

This injustice might well spur Clermont on and give them added motivation to reach the Heineken Cup final where they would meet either Saracens or Toulon.

The latest Heineken cup odds pits them as heavy favourites given they are the only side left in the competition with a 100% so far. Former England international Will Greenwood also fancies them to come out on top.

Michael White won the battle of the Welshmen at the Crucible in the opening round on Sunday with a 10-6 victory over Betfair betting favourite, Mark Williams.

The 21-year old had to win two matches just to make it into the tournament. He came through his first match against Zhang Anda winning 10-5 and then in the final qualifying round he got past Andrew Higginson 10-4 in an impressive performance.

In his opening session against the two-time world champion, White edged it 5-4 to go into Sunday which a slender lead. He did hold a 4-1 advantage in the early stages but the Welsh Potting Machine won three consecutive frames to level the match before the qualifier took the final frame of the session.

On Sunday, the 2000 and 2003 winner gained the opener with a break of 90. White responded well to this by winning three on the spin to move into an 8-5 advantage. The 14th frame was crucial for Williams if he was to stay in the game at that stage and he edged it in a scrappy affair to hang in there.

The Neath potter known as Lightning ended the game in style with a 90 and 91 break to finish the match off and move into the second round in his first ever Crucible appearance. He will now face either Stephen Maguire or Dechawat Poomjaeng for a spot in the last eight.

White won the world amateur title in 2006 at just the age of 14. The free bet online market had expected to make a huge impact on the tour but is only now starting to fulfil his early promise. His best appearance so far this season before the Crucible was a third round appearance in the Shoot-Out competition in Blackpool.

Well Refreshed goes into the Bet365 Gold Cup on Saturday as the market leader for the valuable contest at Sandown.
The Gary Moore trained nine-year old was an easy winner of the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock back in February. Connections decided against a shot at the world’s greatest steeplechase but instead have opted for the 3m5f contest this weekend.

Arkle, Mill House and Desert Orchid are all on the roll of honour for this race which used to be known as the Whitbread. Paul Nicholls landed the contest 12 months ago with Tidal Bay and the Champion Trainer has two runners under his name this time around.

His best chance of repeating that success looks to be with Michel Le Bon who will have to carry top weight of 11-12. Daryl Jacob has been booked for the ride, while Ryan Mahon will claim three pounds on board stablemate There’s No Panic.

On His Own was fancied to go well in the Grand National at Aintree earlier this month but was unable to land the 4m4f race for Willie Mullins. Connections will be looking for some consolation in the Bet365 Gold Cup though. Those colours were carried to victory by Tidal Bay in 2012 and the betting suggests there is a strong chance they could well be on top of the winner again this year.

Nigel Twiston-Davies has highlighted this race as the final race of the campaign for Kim Muir winner Same Difference. The seven-year old returned at 16/1 (Betfair racing Tips) when succeeding in the amateur riders’ only contest at the Cheltenham Festival. This time his son Sam will take up the ride as the Gloucester-based trainer looks to win the race for the second occasion after Beau’s victory in 2000.

The big question on the Betfair website is whether Yahilwa will appreciate the strong pace at Lingfield.