Wozniacki cruises into second round at U.S. Open

Tennis Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki had no trouble advancing through to the second round at the 2010 U.S. Open, while former world No. 1s Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova were also among Tuesday's first-round winners.

Wozniacki, who can become the top player in the world with a win in this tournament, needed just 61 minutes to breeze past American Chelsey Gullickson 6-1, 6-1.

Fresh off a title in New Haven, Wozniacki is looking to build off last year's runner-up finish at the U.S. Open to Kim Clijsters. She will next face Kai- Chen Chang, who beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-4.

The fourth-seeded Jankovic went the distance to sneak past Romanian Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Jankovic moved on in 2 hours, 20 minutes, despite piling up 48 unforced errors in a sloppy match on a very hot day in New York. On-court temperatures soared well over 100 degrees. The promising 18-year-old Halep actually served for the match.

"It was a tough match," Jankovic said. "It was, you know, my first match here. For me, those first matches are always the toughest. It was really hot and windy."

Jankovic, who was the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to American great Serena Williams, will face Croat Mirjana Lucic in the second round.

Sharapova, the 14th seed, avoided the upset with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jarmila Groth. The three-time major champion and 2006 U.S. Open titlist has not advanced past the third round here since her win and has failed to make a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam event since the 2009 French Open.

"(Groth) came out there today and really swung and didn't give me much time to do anything out there," Sharapova said. "She served really well in the first set, and I wasn't returning that well. She was quite difficult to get a rhythm in the beginning, but I just hung in there. In tennis, you have three sets to play."

Former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia joined Jankovic and Sharapova in the second round with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 decision against 39-year- old Japanese Kimiko Date Krumm. Kuznetsova prevailed in just under two hours on the Grandstand Court.

The two-time major champion Kuznetsova, seeded 11th at this particular fortnight, titled here in Flushing in 2004.

Also advancing was seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who rolled over Zuzana Kucova 6-2, 6-1. Zvonareva is coming off her best performance at Grand Slam, finishing as runner-up to the injured Serena Williams at this year's Wimbledon. She has never advanced past the fourth round here.

A big upset came when Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko upended eighth-seeded Chinese Li Na 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. The big-hitting Li was an Australian Open semifinalist back in January.

Another upset was recorded when Andrea Petkovic toppled 17th-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4). Petrova was coming off a runner-up finish to Wozniacki in last week's Pilot Pen Tennis event at New Haven.

Ninth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska rolled past Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4, 6-3, while 15th-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer mauled Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-2. Wickmayer was a surprise semifinalist here a year ago.

Eighteenth-seeded Aravane Rezai of France advanced with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) victory over Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova.

Other seeded winners on Day 2 were No. 22 Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, No. 23 Maria Kirilenko, No. 25 Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru and No. 31 Kaia Kanepi.

A mild upset came when once-promising Austrian Tamira Paszek overcame 26th- seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Another mild upset came in the form of Lourdes Dominguez Lino, who beat 30th-seeded Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Also reaching the round of 64 were the aforementioned Lucic, Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder, Chinese Peng Shuai, Austrian Yvonne Meusburger, Poland's Urszula Radwanska, German Julia Goerges, Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan, Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, American Beatrice Capra, Czech Iveta Benesova, and Swede Sofia Arvidsson.

Other winners on Tuesday included Akgul Amanmuradova, Dominika Cibulkova, Sabine Lisicki and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion will earn at least $1.7 million.

Freepono Tennis Betting News

<< Rodriguez solid as Astros shut down Cardinals
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez combined with three other pitchers in a three-hit shutout as the Houston Astros blanked the reeling St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0, in the second of three games. Rodriguez (11-12) gave up two

<< Giants top Rockies with late rally, inch closer in NL West race
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andres Torres sparked a three-run eighth inning with a solo homer, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, in the second test of a three-game series at AT&T Park.

<< Kennedy, Diamondbacks beat reeling Padres
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kennedy pitched seven solid innings and the Diamondbacks used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the reeling San Diego Padres, 7-4, in the second of three games at Chase Field. Kennedy (9-9) allowed t

<< Moore helps Mariners top Angels in Seattle
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Moore's two-out RBI single in the eighth lifted the Seattle Mariners to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the second of three games at Safeco Field. Moore finished the game wit

<< Twins rally to down Detroit
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young's RBI single in the seventh put Minnesota ahead for good, and the Twins rallied with two two-run innings to down Detroit, 4-3, and maintain a four-game lead in the AL Central. Young finis

Red Sox release Hermida from minor league assignment >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox released outfielder Jeremy Hermida from his minor league assignment after it became apparent he would not be recalled to the major league club when rosters expand on September 1. Hermida h

Howard, Schneider power Phils past Dodgers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard and Brian Schneider each hit a three-run home run as the Philadelphia Phillies downed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4, in the second of three games. Carlos Ruiz added a two-run single f

Leafs sign Hanson >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday signed restricted free agent forward Christian Hanson to a one-year contract. In 32 games for Toronto last season, Hanson recorded two goals and seven assists.

Preseason finale a chance for Packers' backup QBs >>
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Aaron Rodgers knows from experience that it isn't easy to live life as an understudy in the NFL.Now that Rodgers finally has broken free from Brett Favre's shadow to become an elite starting quarterback, he sees a little bit o

Moreno returns to Broncos practice >>
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - The Denver Broncos' injured backfield is beginning to get healthy.Knowshon Moreno was back at practice Tuesday, one month after the starting running back hurt his right hamstring on the opening live drill of training camp.Mor

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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