Jankovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva reach third round in Flushing
Tennis Betting Lines
08/27/2008 -
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic,
former champion and last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Olympic
gold medalist Elena Dementieva were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday
at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Jankovic went the distance to sneak past Swede Sofia
Arvidsson 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Jankovic, who held the No. 1 ranking for one week just two weeks ago, appeared
to be cruising on Day 3, up a set and serving for the match at 5-4 in the
second, but Arvidsson had other plans.
The Swede won a second-set tiebreak despite falling behind 0-3 in the extra
session. Arvidsson won six straight points to grab a 6-3 advantage in the
tiebreak and would force a third set three points later.
Jankovic ultimately prevailed in a very tight third set, and converted on her
second match point of the day when Arvidsson misfired long on one final two-
handed backhand.
The 23-year-old Jankovic piled up nine double faults, while Arvidsson uncorked
54 unforced errors and had her serve broken eight times. The Swede broke the
Serb's serve on six occasions.
Jankovic will face Chinese Jie Zheng in the third round.
The third-seeded Kuznetsova, meanwhile, was tested in the first set before
cruising to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea at the
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The three-time major finalist Kuznetsova captured her lone major title here in
Flushing four years ago and lost to Belgian Justine Henin in last year's Big
Apple finale.
Kuznetsova will meet 28th-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the third
round, as Srebotnik advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Austrian Yvonne
Meusburger.
Fifth-seeded Dementieva ran her current winning streak to eight matches with
a 6-2, 6-1 pasting of France's Pauline Parmentier. Dementieva, who lost to
Kuznetsova in the 2004 all-Russian U.S. Open finale, is fresh off her gold
medal-winning performance in Beijing two weeks ago.
Up next for the two-time major runner-up Dementieva will be Britain's Anne
Keothavong.
A big surprise came when Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis ousted eighth-seeded
Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3. The Top-10 star Zvonareva was a bronze
medalist in Beijing.
Also winning Wednesday were former Open champ Lindsay Davenport of the United
States and 12th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. Davenport, a three-time
major champion, including a U.S. Open title back in 1998, bested Alisa
Kleybanova of Russia, 7-5, 6-3, while Bartoli downed Virginia Ruano Pascual of
Spain, 6-4, 6-2.
Fourteenth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus had little trouble with Czech
Iveta Benesova, 6-2, 6-3 and No. 15, Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder, cruised
into the round of 32 with a 6-3, 6-3 pasting of 17-year-old Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova.
Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the 21st seed who titled in New
Haven last week, trounced Italian Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1, 6-2, and
No. 29, Austrian Sybille Bammer, disposed of France's Aravane Rezai in
straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.
Mild upsets came when Keothavong took out 25th-seeded Italian Francesca
Schiavone 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and Zheng dismissed 26th-seeded Spaniard Anabel Medina
Garrigues 6-1, 6-4.
Additional second-round wins came for Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova, Chinese
Na Li and Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
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Per team policy, terms of the contracts were no
<< Braves obtain Dessens
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Dessens, 37, last pitche
<< Buscher leads the way as Twins clip Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Buscher's pinch hit two-run single in
the eighth inning proved to be the difference as Minnesota fought back to beat
Seattle, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game set at Safeco Field.
Denard Span added
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Brad Hawpe finished 2-for-2 with a double, three walks and three runs scored,
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test of
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bid for his 20th win with a 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the
continu
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through the league.
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Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson's brilliant four-hitter marked the
first complete game of his career and Dan Uggla was the offensive catalyst, as
the Florida Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, and evened their three-
game se
Gerut, Padres rally to complete sweep of Diamondbacks >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jody Gerut had three hits, including the
game-winning RBI single in the eighth, as San Diego defeated Arizona, 5-4, to
complete a three-game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks.
Nick Hundley hit
Delgado leads Mets past Phils, back into first place >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Delgado hit a pair of home runs
and drove in three, as the New York Mets rallied to beat Philadelphia, 6-3,
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was a late scratch from the lineup in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Kansas City
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Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com
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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.
It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)
2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)
MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.
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