Del Potro thumps Berdych to reach Rotterdam final
Tennis Betting Lines
02/18/2012 - Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina advanced to the title match at the ABN AMRO World tournament after a thorough beating of Tomas Berdych in the first of Saturday's semifinals.
The third-seeded del Potro needed just 75 minutes in a 6-3, 6-1 rout. He has dropped just five games in his last two matches and will face the winner between Swiss superstar Roger Federer and Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko in Sunday's final.
Berdych had lost just once this season entering Saturday's match. After a quarterfinal setback to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, he won the title in Montpellier two weeks ago and last week won his lone match in the Czech Republic's victory over Italy in the Davis Cup.
Seeded second this week, Berdych had also steamrolled through his first three opponents without dropping a set. It all changed on Saturday.
Del Potro opened the match with a break of serve and didn't face a break point during the first set. Berdych, meanwhile, struggled with his serve, connecting on just 52 percent in the first set. He was called for a foot fault for a double fault to set up del Potro's clinching break point to finish off the opening set.
Again, del Potro picked up an early break in the second set for a 2-0 edge. But Berdych won three of the first four points in the next game to gain two break points. He squandered both and del Potro's ace closed out the game for a 3-0 lead.
Berdych appeared deflated afterward, again dropping his serve. He went down 0-5 before finally winning a game, but del Potro quickly wrapped it up and improved to 3-1 lifetime against Berdych.
Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champ, will be gunning for his 10th career title on Sunday. He is 9-4 all-time in finals, including 2-1 last year when he made a successful comeback from a wrist injury that sidelined him for most of the 2010 campaign.
Federer won the Rotterdam title the last time he appeared in the tournament, back in 2005. He beat Davydenko in the quarterfinals that year and owns a 16-2 lifetime mark against the Russian, including a win earlier this year in Doha.
The 2012 Rotterdam winner will collect $385,000.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was the same-old story for the Kings' offense last time out, but another lackluster effort tonight could cost Los Angeles a hold on a playoff spot. The Kings try to avoid a sixth loss in eight games this evening as they
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars are hoping to break out of a small slump
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Wednesday's regulation win that much more refreshing.
The Northwest Division-leading Canuck
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals picked up a much-needed win over
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rival this evening would next land them a share of first place.
The Caps hope to avoid
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on the verge of getting out of the Eastern Conference basement. Avoiding a
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the team th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will resume their five-game road trip in Rip City tonight against the struggling Portland Trail Blazers. After opening their trek with a loss to the Lakers, the Hawks rebounded by winning a 101-99
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies barely escaped with a victory last
night versus Denver after blowing a commanding 23-point lead, and now look to
extend their winning streak to four games when the Golden State Warriors take
a walk
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even if reigning MVP Derrick Rose is unable to go today
for the Chicago Bulls, the current Central Division leaders still have a
decent shot at topping the New Jersey Nets at the United Center.
Rose has missed f
Surging Spurs resume trek against Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears life on the road is beginning to get a lot
easier for the surging San Antonio Spurs, as they continue an unblemished
Rodeo Road Trip Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
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No. 19 Louisville visits DePaul in Big East action >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Louisville Cardinals bring
their high-flying act to Allstate Arena for today's Big East Conference clash
with the DePaul Blue Demons.
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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.