All roads lead to the Circus Tavern in Purfleet when the totesport.com Players’ Championship gets underway on Thursday (Phil Taylor 4/11 favourite Outright - ‘Money Back Special’).

Phil Taylor, who won his 15th world title at Alexandra Palace recently, will lock horns with old adversary Peter Manley (Taylor 1/33 Manley 10/1 - match betting) in a round one blockbuster which conjures up memories of World Championship finals from yesteryear.

‘The Power’ has defeated ‘One Dart’ Manley three times at the Essex venue and the pair will do battle in one of eight first round matches on the opening night of the £250,000 tournament, which Taylor won in 2009 in its inaugural year.

Robert Thornton, who was runner-up to Taylor in last year’s tournament, will take on Kevin Painter in another high-profile first round contest,, while number two seed Mark Walsh will ttake on Steve Hine.

ITV will broadcast the totesport.com 2010 Players’ Championship Finals and PDC chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are absolutely delighted to again have ITV4 as broadcaster for this prestigious event

“The first Players’ Championship Finals earlier this year were a huge success and anticipation is already high for next year’s tournament.”

totesport.com Players’ Championship - first-round draw:

Phil Taylor (1) v Peter Manley (32)
Mark Walsh (2) v Steve Hine (31)
Colin Osborne (3) v Co Stompe (30)
Adrian Lewis (4) v Brendan Dolan (29)
Steve Beaton (5) v Tony Eccles (28)
Wes Newton (6) v Peter Wright (27)
Gary Anderson (7) v Jelle Klaasen (26)
Colin Lloyd (8) v Denis Ovens (25)
Robert Thornton (9) v Kevin Painter (24)
James Wade (10) v Mervyn King (23)
Ronnie Baxter (11) v Mark Dudbridge (22)
Dennis Priestley (12) v Paul Nicholson (21)
Alan Tabern (13) v Andy Hamilton (20)
Jamie Caven (14) v Michael van Gerwen (19)
Wayne Jones (15) v Andy Smith (18)
Terry Jenkins (16) v Vincent van der Voort (17)

9-dart moneyback! If any players makes a 9-dart finish in the totesport.com Players’ Championship, totesport will refund all losing outright bets.

Sam Stosur has said she cannot wait to renew hostilities with defending champion Serena Williams when they meet in the last 16 of the Australian Open.

Big-hitter Williams, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, made sure of her progress by completing a 6-0 6-3 victory over Carla Suarez-Navarro.

Stosur, the 13th seed at Melbourne Park, opened play on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-4 6-1 triumph against Alberta Brianti of Italy.

The pair’s last meeting, on the Stanford hard courts in 2009, in which Australian number one Stosur prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-2, ended in controversy when Williams suggested her opponent was a good “framer”, implying many of her winning shots were miss hits.

Stosur said she was looking forward to challenge of facing the formidable American to prove she can mix it with the elite of women’s tennis.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Stosur. “I’ve lived up to my expectation and I’ve got to where I should have got to.

“Playing the number one player in the world, defending champion, I can go out there and really enjoy it.”

World number one Roger Federer suggested he has not yet hit top gear at the Australian Open in response to his 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over 31st seed Albert Montanes.

Montanes was not allowed a single break-point opportunity in what was a one-sided third-round encounter on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

The win secured Federer his 50th victory at the Australian Open and keeps the Swiss superstar in contention for a fourth title.

“I feel good, I feel confident,” Federer said.

“Physically I’m fine and fresh and that’s how you want to feel going into the second week.”

The 15-time Grand Slam champion, contesting his 11th successive Australian Open, will next face the winner of the match between home fancy Lleyton Hewitt and 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis (Baghdatis 11/10 Hewitt 4/6 In Play) in round four.

Phil Brown has challenged his Hull players not to freeze on the big stage against champions Manchester United on Saturday (Man United 1/7 draw 5/1 Hull 12/1 Premier League - match betting).

Victory at Old Trafford in the day’s only Premier League fixture would life the Tigers out of the relegation zone (Hull 5/4 Premier League - To Stay Up) and KC Stadium boss Brown believes it is an ideal time to play Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

United were beaten 2-1 by local rivals Manchester City on Tuesday to leave their Carling Cup hopes in the balance and remain without key players such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Brown feels United could there for the taking and has told his Hull players to go and express themselves.

“We’re not going to go there looking to shut up shop and I’m not going to go there and ask my players not to play,” Brown said.

The Tigers claimed a precious point in a goalless draw against top-four hopefuls Tottenham last weekend and Brown wants more of the same collective spirit.

He added in the Hull Daily Mail: “The quality of defending on show last weekend was tremendous. There was a collective mentality and togetherness that made me very proud as a manager.

“I sat the players down on Wednesday and told them that but that’s what we’ll need every week between now and the end of the season.”

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Harry Redknapp is convinced Tottenham can take advantage of a weakened Liverpool when the top-four hopefuls meet at Anfield in the Premier League on Wednesday (Liverpool 11/8 draw 9/4 Tottenham 2/1 - Premier League match betting).

The Reds will be missing influential striker Fernando Torres (knee) captain Steven Gerrard (hamstring) and creative midfielder Yossi Benayoun (rib) when they look to strike a telling blow against one of their rivals for a coveted Champions League place (Tottenham/Tottenham 9/2 half-time/full-time).

Tottenham are four points clear of the Merseysiders in fourth spot and have Jamie O’Hara back in the squad because Portsmouth could not re-register him on loan at Fratton Park.

“I’d be lying if I stood here and said that the absence of Gerrard and Torres won’t matter,” said Redknapp.

“Of course, they are two world-class players, and they will miss them.

“But they have a strong squad. I have never been there and had an easy game. It is a difficult place to go.”

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British number one Andy Murray set up a third-round (10/1 3rd round Murray Stage Of Elimination) Australian Open clash against Florent Serra of France – and described his form as “solid”.

Murray (11/2 Australian Open 2010 - Men’s Outright)  raced to a routine 6-1 6-4 6-3 victory against Marc Gicquel, also of France, under the lights with some blistering tennis.

The young Scot powered his way to a 6-1 lead in just 24 minutes and looked comfortable in the second one he got an early break.

The world number five was broken for the first time in the event in the third but broke back twice against his opponent, ranked number 57 in the world, in blustery conditions at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park.

A delighted Murray, who has never made it past the fourth round at the Australian Open, said: “It was a good performance because the conditions were tricky. I thought it was solid.”

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson heads into Tuesday Carling Cup semi-final first-leg clash (Man City 7/5 draw 11/5 Man United 8/5 - Carling Cup match betting) insisting he has no regrets about letting former striker Carlos Tevez leave for local rivals Manchester City.

The Argentina international, who won two Premier League titles and the Champions League during a successful two-year loan spell at Old Trafford, crossed the great divide in the summer when he quit for Eastlands.

Tevez (33/1 Hat-Trick Heroes) said he wanted first-team football but Ferguson was not prepared to give him that guarantee and there was an inevitable parting of the ways.

The 25-year-old has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season for his new club and become a firm fans’ favourite.

However, Ferguson has said he does not contemplate what might have been and has no issue with Tevez.

“What Tevez is doing now is not an issue for me,” he said.

“We made a pitch, he didn’t take it, and he went to City. It’s no problem for us, we have moved on.

“It’s not the end of the world for us. He’s done well and so be it, but I’ve got no issues about it.”

Darren Fletcher, who was suspended for the 3-0 Premier League win against Burnley on Saturday, seems certain to start along with Ryan Giggs at Eastlands. Darron Gibson and the Da Silva brothers, Fabio and Rafael, could also feature.

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Andy Murray (4/1 Wimbledon 2010 - Outright) overcame a bout of nerves to beat qualifier Kevin Anderson 6-1 6-1 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open – then warned his rivals he expects to get better.

The British number one could not have wished for a more routine opening to his Melbourne Park campaign and did not drop a service game under the Rod Laver Arena roof to send his South African opponent packing.

The 22-year-old was underwhelmed by a paltry 35 per cent of his first serves in play and revealed he did not quite know what to expect from 6ft 8in Anderson, the world’s 148th-ranked player.

However, Anderson proved no match and Murray, who is looking to go beyond the fourth round for the first time in his career, said he was satisfied with his overall performance.

“I’d like to have served bit better,” Murray said.

He added: “I feel good. I got here 10 days earlier than I’ve done in the last three years.

“I feel good and I think that match proved it.”

The young Scot will face France’s Marc Gicquel or Italy’s Simone Bolelli (1/2 Gicquel 6/4 Bolelli - match betting) in round two.

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Roberto Mancini has said he rates Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal above his Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title (Man City 12/1 Premier League - Outright).

The Italian takes his players to Goodison Park in the late Saturday fixture for a difficult assignment against Everton (Everton 17/10 draw 11/5 Man City 13/8 Premier League - match betting) hoping they can consolidate a place in the top four.

The former Internazionale boss has won his opening four games since being installed as the successor to Mark Hughes and has a Carling Cup semi-final double-header against local rivals United to look forward to.

Mancini feels a more realistic target is securing Champions League football and does not expect City will overhaul the usual suspects.

“To my mind there are three teams who can win the league; Chelsea, United and Arsenal,” he said.

“Football can be strange and things can change in a couple of months.

“There are other teams who are only just behind so nothing is totally impossible but for me, it is between those three.”

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Andy Murray has said he will not have any qualms about who he faces in his quest for a maiden grand slam at the Australian Open (11/8 ‘Yes’ - Murray Wins A Grand Slam In 2010).

The British number one’s worst fears were confirmed on Friday when the draw for the opening major of 2010 was revealed, with Murray facing the unenviable task of potentially taking on three of the world’s top four players - including world number one Roger Federer and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal – at Melbourne Park (Murray 6/1 Murray Stage Of Elimination - Beaten Finalist).

The young Scot – who has never made it past the last 16 at the Australian Open – should breeze past a qualifier in his first-round, while either Marc Giquel or Simone Bolelli should not pose a problem in round two.

But it is in the later rounds, where Murray could face Nadal in the last eight, US open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals before taking on Federer in the final, where the 22-year-old could come unstuck.

However, Murray accepts to have any chance of breaking his grand slam duck he must beat the best.

“If you get to the quarter-finals you’re going to have to beat the best players anyway,” he said.

“Maybe it will be one more than normal but you’re banking on the top four seeds getting to the quarter-finals and you never know.

“There are always some surprises in there and I need to make sure I get there myself first.”

If Andy Murray wins the tournament, Totesport will refund all losing outright bets. Applies to losing Australian Open’s Mens Outright bets from 9.30am Tuesday 12 January up until the start of the tournament. Maximum refund is £1000 per customer.