Nadal reaches semis; Djokovic falls in French quarters

Tennis Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four-time champion Rafael Nadal was tested in his quarterfinal victory, while third-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic was stunned by Austrian Jurgen Melzer at the French Open on Wednesday.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal got past 19th-seeded fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, while a 22nd-seeded Melzer prevented a Nadal-Djokovic semifinal with a grueling come-from-behind five-set victory over Djokovic on Day 11 at Roland Garros.

Following a pair of tiebreaks, Nadal got the break of serve he needed to grab a 5-4 lead against Almagro in the third set. Then, serving for a spot in the semifinals, Nadal converted on his second match point when Almagro sailed one final backhand long. Almagro saved a first match point, trailing 30-40, with a tremendous backhand winner. Almagro possesses one of the best one-handed backhands on the tour.

Nadal, who had his serve broken only once on Wednesday, prevailed in 2 hours, 35 minutes. He broke Almagro on two occasions.

The "King of Clay" will meet his fellow southpaw Melzer in the semifinals here on Friday. The Spaniard is 2-0 lifetime against the Austrian.

Nadal is a six-time major champion, with four of his titles coming right here in Paris from 2005-08. He topped his great rival Roger Federer in three straight French Open finals from 2006-08 before losing to Swede Robin Soderling in the fourth round here a year ago. Soderling stunned a top-seeded Federer here on Tuesday.

The amazing Nadal, who will turn 24 on Thursday, is now 36-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, with his only loss coming at the hands of the big-hitting Soderling.

The lefthanded Melzer dropped the first two sets before charging back to stun the former Aussie Open champion and former world No. 2 Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Melzer had never even reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam event prior to this fortnight.

Melzer climbed back into the match Wednesday by cruising in the third set and squeaking out the fourth via tiebreak, which was all Melzer, as he charged out to a 6-0 lead before taking it in 7-3 fashion.

In the fifth and final set, things were all square at 4-4 before Melzer broke Djokovic on his third break point of the ninth game. Djokovic netted a backhand to give the Austrian the break after saving two other break points, including the second one via overhead winner.

Melzer would outlast Djokovic in the next game by holding his serve. The Austrian blew his first match point by tapping a forehand volley into the net, despite having a wide-open court in front of him.

Djokovic saved a second match point, but a third one proved to be the charm for the 29-year-old Melzer, who advanced when the Serb sent a forehand return long after 4 hours, 15 minutes of entertaining tennis.

Melzer won despite going only four-of-24 on a bevy of break-point chances.

The 23-year-old Djokovic, who shares a May 22 birthday with Melzer, failed in his attempt to reach a third semi here in four years.

Friday's other men's semifinal will pit a fifth-seeded Soderling against 15th- seeded Czech Tomas Berdych. The 6-foot-4 Soderling is 4-3 all-time against the 6-foot-5 Berdych, but the Czech captured their lone clay-court encounter three years ago.

Berdych will appear in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, while Soderling will play in his second, with both coming here in Paris over the last two years.

Soderling lost to Federer in last year's French Open finale.

Wwwoasiscasino Tennis Betting News

<< Biggest World Cup omissions
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serving as manager of a national team is a pretty thankless job, especially if you are leading one of the premier soccer powers in the world. Every single game is scrutinized relentlessly, every decis

<< Serena and Venus reach French Open doubles final
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, will play in Friday's women's doubles final at the French Open. Seeking their first title here in 11 years, the top-seeded sisters came from behind to

<< Singh given exemption into U.S. Open
Far Hills, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time major champion Vijay Singh has been given a special exemption into the upcoming U.S. Open. Singh was set to play a sectional qualifier in Ohio next week in an effort to make the field for th

<< IndyCar is Baltimore bound in 2011
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The IZOD IndyCar Series will be racing on the streets of Baltimore, starting in 2011. Baltimore Racing Development announced on Wednesday that the Baltimore Grand Prix will be an annual fixture on the

<< Nadal lands in French Open semis
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four-time champion Rafael Nadal was tested Wednesday in his quarterfinal victory at the French Open. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal got past 19th-seeded fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-2

U.S. will travel to Belgium for 2011 Fed Cup opener >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States will travel to Belgium to play its 2011 Fed Cup opener, while the reigning champion Italians will head to Australia. The best-of-five ties will be played from February 5-6. The other

Braves complete sweep of punchless Phillies >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Omar Infante drove in the game-winning run in the eighth as the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 2-1 win at Turner Field. Infante, who replaced Chippe

Richard Migliore announces retirement >>
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran jockey Richard Migliore announced his retirement from racing Wednesday morning. The 46-year-old was forced to retire due to continued physical problems. "It's no big surprise why we're here," Migl

Ducks sign Brookbank to extension >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Sheldon Brookbank to a two-year contract extension on Wednesday. Financial terms of the deal were not released. The 29-year-old appeared in 66 games last season for A

Mine That Bird puts in work for Lukas >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas had 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird workout Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs. The four-year-old gelding worked a half-mile in 48 seconds with his regular

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.