Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray reach third round in Cincy

Tennis Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and last week's Canadian Masters titlist Andy Murray were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event.

Roger Federer, a 16-time major titlist and reigning champ here, also advanced when Denis Istomin of Russia retired due to a right foot and ankle injury with the Swiss superstar leading 5-2 in the first set. Federer, seeded third, also won this event in 2005 and 2007.

The world No. 1 Nadal handled oft-injured American qualifier Taylor Dent, 6-2, 7-5, while the second-seeded, but world No. 3, Djokovic doused Serb Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 7-5 on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Nadal is now 27-3 in ATP Masters 1000 events this year.

Djokovic, who captured his 100th Masters 1000 victory on Wednesday, has lost in the last two finals here, with Federer getting the best of him last year.

The Wimbledon and French Open champion Nadal will face France's Julien Benneteau in the third round here on Thursday, while Djokovic will battle Argentine star David Nalbandian, a titlist in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago. Nalbandian was trailing John Isner 4-5 in the first set on Wednesday when the 6-foot-9 American retired from their match. The hot Nalbandian has now won 13 of his last 14 matches.

A fourth-seeded Murray held off Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 in 2 hours, 9 minutes on Day 4 here. January's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer, Murray beat Federer in last week's marquee finale in Toronto and was the Cincy champ in 2008.

Murray will be opposed by talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis on Thursday.

Ninth-seeded Andy Roddick, who titled here in 2003 and 2006 and was the runner-up in 2005, straight-setted Thiemo De Bakker, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. while Nikolay Davydenko, seeded sixth, defeated Robby Ginepri, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.

Lleyton Hewitt, a former top-ranked player and runner-up at this event in 2002 and 2004, was ousted by fifth-seeded Robin Soderling, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a little under two hours.

Upsets came when the wild card/surging American Mardy Fish dismissed eighth- seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, and Gulbis knocked out 13th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

Fish, who has won 13 of his last 14 matches, including titles in Newport and Atlanta, was the Cincinnati runner-up back in 2003. He beat Verdasco in two sets, both tiebreakers.

Tenth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer avoided an upset by handling American Sam Querrey, 7-5, 6-2. Querrey is a four-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season.

In other second-round play, France's Richard Gasquet grounded German Michael Berrer, 6-4, 6-2, German Philipp Kohlschreiber got past Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla, 6-0, 1-6, 6-3, and Benneteau blitzed Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-2.

The 2010 Cincinnati titlist will claim $443,500.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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