05/09/2008 - Rome, Italy (Tennis Betting) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters. Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and former top-ranked star Andy Roddick avoided upsets in order to reach Saturday's semifinals at this clay-court French Open tuneup.
The 27th-ranked Stepanek stunned the top-seeded Federer in straight sets in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7), at Foro Italico. Federer was the runner-up at this event in 2003 and 2006.
Stepanek pulled off the upset in 1 hour, 55 minutes with the help of eight aces and a pair of service breaks.
The 29-year-old Stepanek is now 2-4 lifetime against Federer, who had won their previous four meetings, including a third-round one here in 2006.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer dropped to 22-6 this season and has captured only one title in seven tournaments thus far in 2008.
The third-seeded Serbian Djokovic was dismantling Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 1-0 when the Spaniard retired.
Djokovic is now 23-5 this year and will battle Stepanek here on Saturday.
A sixth-seeded Roddick outlasted 14th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) in 2 hours, 13 minutes. The massive-serving American, who fired 11 aces and piled up seven double faults on Day 5, improved to 24-4 this year, including a pair of titles.
Up next for Roddick will be Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who recorded an upset by besting eighth-seeded American James Blake 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Wawrinka will break into ATP's top-20 as a result of his semifinal appearance here.
This week's winner will take home $558,000.
<< Federer falls; Roddick reaches Rome semis
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer
suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek
Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters. Meanwhile, former top-ranked
star Andy Roddic
<< Walking the MLB line
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there's one sport that lends itself
more to winning wagers than the rest, it has to be Major League Baseball.
Unlike football or basketball, point spreads do not come into play, so the
late meaningless t
<< Serena suffers QF loss in Berlin
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in two days,
Dinara Safina knocked off a top-10 superstar, as the Russian ousted previously
red-hot American Serena Williams on Friday to reach the semifinals at the
$1.34 m
<< Quenneville will not return as Avs coach
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday
that Joel Quenneville will not return as head coach for the 2008-09 season.
"After meeting with Joel, we mutually agreed that the best decision for both
parties
A's reliever Foulke activated off DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics activated reliever Keith
Foulke from the 15-day disabled list on Friday.
He had been on the DL since April 19, retroactive to April 11, with neck
stiffness.
In seven games this
Shakeup could soon be in store in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Citizens of San Diego may be renowned for their laid-back
and easy-going approach to life, but the patience of the hometown Padres'
brass has got to be wearing thin with the way the team has performed over the
past three week
Red Bulls, Galaxy clash in East, West battle >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of Major League Soccer's biggest
markets will clash when the New York Red Bulls travel to California to take on
the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.
Both teams are trying
Bayern leads race for AC Milan's Gattuso >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich is reportedly leading the
race to sign AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.
The Italy international would team up with compatriot Luca Toni at the Allianz
Arena if the transfer goes throug
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
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 MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting