Federer pushed to five sets; Roddick also into quarterfinals

Tennis Betting Lines

09/02/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer needed 3 1/2 hours to complete his five-set, fourth-round win over 23rd seed Igor Andreev of Russia, while American Andy Roddick continued to roll in moving to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

Federer kept alive his quest for a fifth straight U.S. Open title, earning a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory. That advanced him to the quarterfinals against an unlikely opponent, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Muller upset fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10).

The eighth-seeded Roddick breezed past 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in less than 1 1/2 hours.

Last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic was a hard-fought fourth-round winner Tuesday. The third-seeded Djokovic came from behind to beat game 15th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on Day 9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The second-seeded Federer ran his winning streak to 31 at the U.S. Open, last losing in Flushing in 2003. The former long-time world No. 1 Swiss, a 12-time major champion, overcame 60 unforced errors, but dominated at the net, winning 58 of a possible 84 points. Conversely, Andreev was just 12-of-28 on his net approaches. Also, the Russian converted just 2-of-15 break point chances.

Federer won the first three games of the final set, which included a key break of serve in the second game. Andreev was successful on a drop shot, but Federer returned the ball to the right corner, and the Russian's backhand went wide as the Super Swiss went up 2-0.

Then came four break point saves by Federer in the seventh game, when he went ahead 5-2 before finally serving out for the match.

It marked just the third time ever that Federer has played five sets at the U.S. Open.

"I'm very happy with the score, of course you always wish three sets," said Federer. "Honestly, those five-setters are pretty fun too."

Roddick, the 2003 champion here, had just seven unforced errors in his match with the Olympic silver medalist Gonzalez. Roddick was in complete control, firing eight aces and facing just one break point the entire match.

Now he has the task of facing Djokovic, who has been slowed by a number of injuries, including ones to his hip and ankle.

"I've got to feel good, he's got about 16 injuries right now," said Roddick. "He's made himself one of the elite players in the world. I'm just going to have fun and try to get the upset."

Davydenko reached the semifinals here the last two years, but couldn't handle Muller's expert play at the net. Muller converted 35-of-47 net approach opportunities.

Djokovic struggled mightily physically on a warm Tuesday at the year's fourth and final major. The Serb was bothered by an upset stomach and a sore ankle, but ultimately outlasted the pesky Robredo in 3 hours, 44 minutes.

The 21-year-old Djokovic broke Robredo to grab a 3-2 lead in the fifth and final set and broke again four games later to finally end the battle at Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic converted on his first match point when Robredo netted one final forehand. The Serb, who let the Spaniard hang around by committing 58 unforced errors, wound up with 11 aces and broke Robredo's serve six times.

The 6-foot-3 Djokovic was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Federer and captured the Australian Open title back in January.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.

There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.

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