09/04/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams took advantage of a inopportune Venus Williams, beating her older sister, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7) to reach the semifinals at the U.S. Open.
Venus, who bested Serena in July's Wimbledon final, blew 10 set points in the match and had 45 unforced errors in the 2 hour, 25 minute encounter.
"I can't believe I won," said Serena. "It's difficult because she's such a great player. She was serving balls 125, 127 miles-per-hour and I was trying to stay with her."
Serena, the 1999 and 2002 U.S. Open champion, went ahead 9-8 in the all-time series with Venus, also a two-time titlist here.
The eight-time major champion Serena stole the first set. Not only was she behind 5-3 in games, but she won the final four points of the tiebreaker. Venus let one set point literally slip away when she lost her footing and a forehand return settled into the net. Later, Serena came through with a net winner and she finished out the set when her sister went a forehand return wide.
"When I got down I just relaxed," said Serena, who advanced to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2002. "I started running all sorts of balls down."
Venus, a seven-time major titlist, was ahead 5-2 in games in the second set and was up 40-love trying to close it out at 5-3. The younger sister though wouldn't wilt and Serena came up with five straight points, taking advantage of wide and long returns from Venus.
"I tried not to look at her because if I look at her I might start feeling sorry," said Serena. "I caught myself looking at her when I broke back in the second and I said, 'Serena keep your head down.' I want the best for her. I love her so much because she's my best friend."
The tiebreak turned in Venus' favor at 6-3, but she continued to blow set point chances, most notably going wide on an overhand slam try. That squared the tiebreak after 12 points. Serena lost the following point, but came back with a net winner and after a long return by her sister, she closed out the match when Venus sent a forehand long.
Next up for the 26-year-old Serena will be surging Russian Dinara Safina, who was an easy quarterfinal winner Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Safina subdued 16th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3 in 71 minutes on Day 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The 22-year-old Safina was sharp on Wednesday, reaching her first-ever U.S. Open semifinal by breaking Pennetta's serve on four occasions, compared to only one break for her Italian counterpart.
"I think today maybe I can say finally I'm happy with myself, the way I played, because really I did what I had to do," said Safina. "I was aggressive on the court. I was following the balls every time. I think today, finally I played my game."
The overmatched 26-year-old Pennetta was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The high-flying Safina is seeking a trip into her seventh final in her last eight tournaments. She's already won three titles this year and was the runner-up at the French Open and Olympic Games in Beijing.
Safina has won 37 of her last 41 matches and beaten three different world No. 1 players during that span. The U.S. Open Series winner would collect $2.5 million with a title here in New York.
The other semifinal here will pit second-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic against fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and 2004 U.S. Open runner-up.
<< Around FCS: Week 2 - Top 25 Predictions
Philadelphia (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
SATURDAYS TOP-25 GAMES
Jacksonville (1-0) at No.1 Appalachian State (0-1) 3:30 p.m.
Appalachian State will look to rebound after their trip into the Bayou,
evacuating in time to avoid Hurricane Gustav
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St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez moved into 12th place
on baseball's all-time home run list with his 549th homer, a play which saw
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over th
<< Blue Jays edge Twins in extras
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John McDonald's hit in the bottom of the 11th
inning sent Toronto past Minnesota, 5-4, in the middle contest of a three-game
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Eddie Guardado (3-4) allowed a leadoff double to Scott Role
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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wolf threw his eighth career shutout,
guiding Houston to its eighth straight win and a three-game sweep of the
Chicago Cubs with a 4-0 triumph Wednesday night.
Wolf (9-11) scattered six hits and
Nadal filets Fish to reach first U.S. Open semifinal >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal fell behind early in his
late-night match Wednesday, but then dominated American Mardy Fish to reach
his first semifinal at the U.S. Open.
The top-ranked Spaniard won 3-6, 6-1, 6-4,
Ravens sign DB Oglesby >>
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It's a good time to be a Pirate >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When I was a kid, and was asked what I
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fan base, old and young alike, are probably giving the same answer these days.
It's funny
Yankees try to complete sweep of host Rays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees may still be on the outside looking in
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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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