Wozniacki, Zvonareva advance to U.S. Open semis
Tennis Betting Lines
09/08/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Wozniacki overcame windy conditions and beat Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets Wednesday night to reach the semifinals at the U.S. Open.
The No. 1 seed from Denmark won her 13th straight match by virtue of the 6-2, 7-5 score at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Wozniacki, who was last year's runner-up to Kim Clijsters, has captured titles in Montreal and New Haven during her current winning streak.
Earlier in the day, seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva reached her second straight Grand Slam semifinal by handling 31st-seeded Kaia Kanepi, 6-3, 7-5 on another sun-filled afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She'll next tangle with Wozniacki in Friday's semifinals.
Wozniacki, who has yet to drop a set at this fortnight, took advantage of 43 unforced errors from her opponent. The diminutive Cibulkova, a French Open semifinalist last year, clearly had trouble with the wind, as did Wozniacki. Several times, the players had difficulty starting their serves as the ball shifted directions.
"This felt like playing in a hurricane," Wozniacki said.
Cibulkova fell behind 4-1 in the first set and was clearly frustrated. She managed to hold serve in the middle games of the second set, but Wozniacki got her opportunity when she broke serve to move ahead 6-5. Wozniacki then fought off one break point before finally finishing off the match when Cibulkova sent a return long.
Zvonareva broke Kanepi for a 6-5 lead in the second set and converted on her first match point in the next game when Kanepi launched one final backhand wide of the court at Ashe Stadium.
The 26-year-old Zvonareva advanced in 1 hour, 53 minutes, despite only striking 10 winners over two sets. The Russian did, however, pile up seven service breaks, compared to four for her Estonian counterpart, who also misfired for nine double faults.
Kanepi also appeared in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July.
The feisty Zvonareva, who celebrated a birthday here on Tuesday, will appear in her third career major semifinal. She's now reached the final four in three of her last seven Grand Slam events and is trying to give Russia a third U.S. Open champion in seven years.
"I always believed in myself," Zvonareva said. "I'm just going out there and trying my best in every match. You know, it's been working pretty good for me so far."
Zvonareva, who lost to Serena Williams in July's Wimbledon finale, has won 11 of her last 12 Grand Slam matches. She's split four all-time matches with Wozniacki.
Friday's other final-four bout will pit second-seeded and defending champion Clijsters against third-seeded former titlist Venus Williams. The former world No. 1 Clijsters beat Wozniacki in last year's U.S. Open finale, titled here in 2005, and was the runner-up in 2003. The former top-ranked Williams titled here in 2000 and 2001 and was the runner-up in Flushing in 1997 and 2002.
The newest U.S. Open champ will pocket at least $1.7 million. Wozniacki has already won the U.S. Open Series and can earn an additional $1 million bonus if she wins the championship in Flushing Meadows.
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trever Miller was diagnosed Wednesday with soreness and stiffness in his left elbow. Miller was examined in St. Louis by Dr. George Paletta. An MRI scan revealed a forearm stra
<< Ingram back running, still doubtful
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram has not returned to practice for No. 1 Alabama and while Nick Saban said the injured running back is unlikely to play against No. 18 Penn State on Saturday, the coach isn't necessarily countin
<< Rollins leaves game with tight hamstring
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins left the game against the Florida Marlins after the third inning with tightness in his right hamstring.The Phillies said Rollins is day-to-day. Rollins gingerly ran to second base and didn't slide
<< Thome a late scratch vs. Royals
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Jim Thome's climb up the home run charts has been put on hold.The Minnesota Twins designated hitter was a late scratch for the series finale against Kansas City on Thursday night. The team says Thome was scratched for precautionary
<< Mertesacker to miss at least one week with eye injury
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen will be without defender Per
Mertesacker for Saturday's Bundesliga match with Bayern Munich as well as the
club's Champions League opener against Tottenham after suffering an eye
injury.
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Bonderman pitched eight brilliant innings and Alex Avila hit a key two-run double, as the Detroit Tigers topped the Chicago White Sox, 5-1, in the continuation of a four-game series. Bonderman (
Rangers blast Blue Jays to halt losing streak >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler and Jeff Francoeur ignited the
Texas offense, helping the American League West-leading Rangers snap a series
of streaks with an 8-1 win over Toronto.
Kinsler homered to begin the game and Fran
Rockies P Cook leaves game with injury >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies starter Aaron Cook left
Wednesday's game against Cincinnati in the sixth inning after being hit in the
right leg with a line drive.
Cook was making his second start since a month-long stint on t
Twins sweep away Royals, extend AL Central lead >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denard Span punctuated a three-run fifth
inning with a two-run triple, and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat Kansas
City, 4-3, to complete a three-game sweep at Target Field.
J.J. Hardy had two hit
Ljungberg's miss forces Fire to settle for draw with TFC >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire and Toronto FC played to a
0-0 draw at Toyota Park on Wednesday, a result that does little to help the
playoff chances of either team.
Chicago had the best chance of the match early in t
Super Bowl XLIV Odds
Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.