Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami

Tennis Betting Lines

03/30/2009 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million Sony Ericsson Open.

Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32nd seed, 7-5, 6-2, while Venus, seeded fifth, dispatched German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-3.

Serena won her second straight and fifth overall Miami title last year by besting Jelena Jankovic in the final. She also titled here from 2002-04. The five titles ties Steffi Graf for the most ever at this tournament.

Next up for Serena will be 17th seed Zheng Jie of China, as she breezed past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-0. Venus' next opponent will be 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who defeated 21st-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-3.

Venus won this event in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Venus defeated Serena in the '99 finale.

Meanwhile, a trio of high seeds -- all from Russia -- failed to make it out of the third round. Second-seeded Dinara Safina was upended by Australian Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-4, while China's Li Na outlasted sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Ekaterina Makarova bested fellow countrywoman and ninth-seed Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-1.

Another upset saw Hungary's Agnes Szavay, seeded 25th, topple seventh-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Also Sunday, fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva defeated Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, the 31st seed, 6-2, 6-2, while some other seeds to advance were No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 11 Victoria Azarenka and No. 13 Caroline Wozniacki. The Russian Kuznetsova downed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4, Azarenka of Belarus made quick work of 22nd-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-4, and Wozniacki of Denmark topped 18th-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-4.

In other action, 20th seed Amelie Mauresmo of France rallied from a set down to beat 15th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2, 24th-seeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova fended off Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and 26th-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova defeated Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.

Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues, seeded 19th, advanced after 16th-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was forced to retire in the third set because of cramping.

The 2009 Miami champ will claim $700,000.

Wwwworldwidegamble Tennis Betting News

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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