Safina, Venus will clash in Wimbledon semis
Tennis Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Dinara Safina and five-time champion and former world No. 1 Venus Williams were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. The two stars will meet in a marquee semifinal here on Thursday.
The French Open and Australian Open runner-up Safina was tested by rising German Sabine Lisicki on a hot day at the All England Club, as the big Russian prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court.
Lisicki broke serve early for a 2-1 lead and served for the opening set, but Safina won the first three points of that 10th game and broke to tie it. The set went to a tiebreak and Lisicki won four straight points to grab a 4-1 edge.
A double-fault by Safina gave Lisicki a 6-3 advantage, but the Russian blasted a forehand winner and Lisicki missed an easy forehand at the net that would have given her the set. With a chance to get back into the tiebreak on serve, Safina committed her seventh double-fault to drop the first set and slammed her racquet in disgust.
The second set remained on serve until Safina broke for a 4-3 edge. She nearly gave the break back serving in the 10th game, but Lisicki slipped while setting up for a backhand on break point and the mishit gave Safina another chance. The Russian managed to hold serve and force a decisive third set.
Unfortunately for Lisicki, the German simply ran out of gas in the final set, as Safina cruised in the last seven games by breaking Lisicki's serve four times in as many tries. The first three games of the set all resulted in breaks of serve, but Safina would assume control by breaking for a comfortable 4-1 advantage.
The big-serving Lisicki then called for a trainer, as she had her legs iced while laying face-down on the court.
Safina then held for a 5-1 cushion despite misfiring for three straight double faults at one point, and she broke her German counterpart in the next game by converting on her first match point when Lisicki missed the court with one final errant backhand.
The 23-year-old Safina moved on in 2 hours, 28 minutes despite piling up a whopping 15 double faults. She did, however, tally six breaks, compared to only two for Lisicki, who wound up out-acing Safina 12-0.
Safina, who does not like playing on grass, will now perform in her first- ever Wimbledon semifinal. She's been the runner-up at three of the last five Grand Slam events. Safina lost to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open final four weeks ago and succumbed to Venus' younger sister Serena in the Aussie Open final back in January.
The third-seeded Venus, seeking a third straight and sixth overall Wimbledon title, cruised to a lopsided 6-1, 6-2 triumph over 11th-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska in a mere 68 minutes. The seven-time Grand Slam champ has yet to drop a set in her five matches at this fortnight and has won 33 straight sets here, dating back to 2007.
There was not much drama for Venus, who won the first six points on the way to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Radwanska finally held serve in the sixth game, but Williams quickly put it away in the next game with an ace on set point.
The total domination in a 27-minute first set included four aces for Venus and 14 total winners. Radwanska had just three winners and won only two points against Venus' serve.
That quickly changed early in the second set, as Radwanska won eight of the first nine points to open a quick 2-0 lead. Venus, who double-faulted to give Radwanska a break in the second game, broke right back in the third and held serve to level the set.
Venus broke serve again for a 3-2 lead, winning a marathon fifth game with a brilliant point at the net, and Radwanska never recovered. The American finished the match with a perfectly-placed forehand winner.
The 29-year-old Venus is now 67-9 all-time on grass.
The mighty Williams sisters have combined for seven of the last nine Wimbledon titles, with Venus capturing five and Serena two. The two met last year in the championship match, a 7-5, 6-4 victory for Venus. Both of Serena's titles at the All England Club came in back-to-back finals against her sister in 2002 and 2003.
The other semifinal here will pit fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva against either the second-seeded Serena or eighth-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who are currently battling on a sun-drenched Centre Court.
The two-time major runner-up and reigning Olympic gold medalist Dementieva throttled Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 on Day 8.
Dementieva will play in her second career Wimbledon semifinal, with both coming over the last two years.
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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.
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.