Federer, Djokovic move into third round at the Open

Tennis Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia were among Thursday's second-round winners at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised past German Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at Ashe Stadium. The super Swiss moved on in 1 hour, 41 minutes by ripping 15 aces, while Beck piled up 11 double faults and 36 unforced errors.

Federer captured U.S. Open titles from 2004-08 and was stunned by big Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in last year's finale here. The Swiss great is a brilliant 53-5 lifetime here in Flushing.

The amazing 16-time major champ Federer, who will face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the round of 32, is the reigning Australian Open titlist.

"No, it's the perfect start, sure. I played Monday, had two days off. I had another easy one physically today, and here I am in the third round feeling like I'm completely in the tournament," Federer said. "I got a sense for how the court speed is again. I got the sense of the crowd and the wind now as well. I played one night, one day. I have all the answers after two matches. Obviously they weren't the most difficult matches, you know."

Djokovic got past German Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) during the night session. Former Aussie Open champ Djokovic lost to Federer in the 2007 U.S. Open final.

Next up for Djokovic is American James Blake, who took down Peter Polansky of Canada, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling subdued oft-injured veteran American Taylor Dent 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. The fifth-seeded Soderling cruised in just over an hour-and-a-half, as the Swedish slugger uncorked 14 aces and held his serve throughout.

Talented former top-10 Frenchman Richard Gasquet posted an upset by blasting sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko off the Grandstand Court, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The top-10 fixture Davydenko was a back-to-back U.S. Open semifinalist in 2006 and 2007.

Another upset came when Japanese Kei Nishikori outlasted 11th-seeded Aussie Open semifinalist Marin Cilic, of Croatia, in a five-hour marathon, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Jurgen Melzer, the 13th seed, of Austria outlasted Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Surging American Mardy Fish was also an easy second-round winner on Day 4. The 19th-seeded Fish recorded his 18th win in 20 matches with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 two-hour victory over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas at Armstrong Stadium. The Minnesota native popped 14 aces and broke Cuevas' serve a whopping seven times in 13 tries.

Fish owns a pair of titles this summer and was the Cincinnati Masters runner- up to the great Federer last month.

"This is the spot that I want to be in," Fish said. "You know, you want to be the favorite and winning a lot."

Up next for Fish will be former Aussie Open runner-up Arnaud Clement. The French Clement was leading Eduardo Schwank 6-3, 5-5 when the Argentine retired at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 22nd seed, defeated Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Former French Open champion Ferrero was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2003.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa upset 26th-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Spain's Albert Montanes, seeded 21st, drilled Aussie Carsten Ball 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, while Mathieu bested fellow Frenchman Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-3 on another very-hot day.

Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands was beating Croat Ivan Dodig, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-3, 3-2, when Dodig retired from the match.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.