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01/17/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bidding to win his third straight major, defending champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia eased through his first-round match Tuesday at the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, the man he beat in last year's final, Andy Murray, needed to rally from a first-set loss to win his opening match.
The 24-year-old Djokovic lost two of the first three games to Italy's Paolo Lorenzi, then won a whopping 17 in a row to finish off a commanding 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 win at the season's first Grand Slam event.
Meanwhile, a fourth-seeded Murray, who lost in straight sets to Djokovic in last year's Aussie final, needed four sets to down promising American Ryan Harrison, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist Murray has been the Melbourne runner-up the last two years. He'll meet Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Thursday.
And American Andy Roddick, a four-time Aussie semifinalist who is seeded 15th at this particular fortnight, had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Dutchman Robin Haase.
Roddick's second-round opponent will be long-time rival and fellow former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Battling the heat, Djokovic popped four aces among his 22 winners against Lorenzi, who committed 30 unforced errors and won just 56 percent of his first serves at Melbourne Park.
"It took me, you know, a couple games to get into the right rhythm," Djokovic said. "It's a bit difficult conditions. I think it was really the hottest day since I've arrived here, so I'm trying to get used to that."
Djokovic, of course, began his brilliant 2011 season with a victory at the Australian Open, finishing the year with a 70-6 record. He didn't lose last year until Roger Federer got him in the semifinals at the French Open in June.
Still, Djokovic bounced back to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and owns four career Grand Slam titles, including his first Aussie championship back in 2008.
He is trying to become only the fourth player on the men's side to win three or more Australian Open titles in the Open era (since 1968).
"I feel right now -- as I said on the court -- I feel much more complete as a player and as a person as well," said Djokovic, who moved on to face Colombian Santiago Giraldo in the second round.
The powerful Djokovic has won 33 of his last 35 Grand Slam matches, dating back to the 2010 U.S. Open.
"I think it was a learning process for me in the last couple of years. I just have more confidence that I'm playing on right now," Djokovic said. "I just believe that I can win, especially against the biggest rivals in the major events."
Among the other top seeds playing during Tuesday's 32-match slate, No. 5 David Ferrer of Spain was a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 winner over Portuguese Rui Machado, sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga held off Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, and No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat Russian Dmitry Tursunov 5-7, 7-6 (14-12), 6-3, 6-4. Ferrer titled in Auckland last week. Tsonga was a titlist in Doha two weeks ago and the 2008 Aussie Open runner-up to Djokovic. Tipsarevic was a finalist in Chennai two weeks back.
Ferrer's second-round opponent will be American Ryan Sweeting, while Tsonga will meet Brazilian Ricardo Mello.
In other action involving top-20 seeds, No. 12 Gilles Simon of France outlasted Thai Danai Udomchoke 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2; No. 14 Gael Monfils of France handled Aussie Marinko Matosevic 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-3; No. 17 Richard Gasquet of France topped quality Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; and No. 19 Serb Viktor Troicki came all the way back to stop former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
A mild upset came when Frenchman Nicolas Mahut took out 29th-seeded Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.
Meanwhile, 23rd-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, who titled in India two weeks ago, drilled Italian Filippo Volandri 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; 24th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori defeated France's Stephane Robert 6-1, 7-6 (9-7), 6-0; 26th-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers snuck past American Jesse Levine 6-0, 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 5-7, 6-3; 27th-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela dismissed American journeyman Michael Russell 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4; and 32nd-seeded Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr. whipped Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
The aforementioned Aussie hero Hewitt advanced with a 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 Day-2 victory over German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe. The two-time Grand Slam champion was the Australian Open runner-up back in 2005.
Hewitt will meet Roddick for a 14th time on the ATP World Tour, with the American holding a slight 7-6 lifetime advantage. Hewitt beat Roddick in the '05 Aussie semis.
Several other men reached the round of 64, including Sweeting, Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau, and German Philipp Petzschner. Sweeting topped German Matthias Bachinger 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Benneteau was a runner-up in Sydney last week.
The second round will commence Wednesday, including matches for former champions Rafael Nadal and Federer, as well as American Mardy Fish and former U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro.
The second-seeded French Open champion Nadal, who captured the 2009 Aussie Open crown and owns 10 major titles, will face former world No. 2 and oft- injured German Tommy Haas, while the 16-time major titlist Federer, who owns no less than four Aussie Open championships, will battle German Andreas Beck.
The eighth-seeded Fish will encounter Colombian Alejandro Falla, while an 11th-seeded del Potro will take on Slovenian Blaz Kavcic.
Also on the Day-3 schedule will be seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, 10th- seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, 16th-seeded 6-foot-9 American John Isner and former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, who will be opposed by 21st-seeded Swiss slugger Stan Wawrinka. Isner should have his hands full with former top-five star and former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian.
<< Report: Reds, Ludwick agree to 1-year deal
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Ryan
Ludwick have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, according to a report.
MLB.com reported Monday night that the deal, which is pending a physical,
include
<< Royals sign Pena, Getz to 1-year deals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals avoided arbitration
with Brayan Pena, signing the catcher to a one-year contract Monday.
The 30-year-old Pena batted .248 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI
in 72 games fo
<< Report: Giants sign OF Pagan
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have reportedly
signed outfielder Angel Pagan to a one-year contract.
MLB.com reported Monday that the deal is worth $4.85 million for the six-year
veteran.
Acquired in a t
<< Fisher's late 3-pointer lifts Lakers over Mavs
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Fisher knocked down a three-pointer
with 3.1 seconds remaining, lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 73-70 victory
over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Fisher's go-ahead shot, from the right
No. 2 Kentucky welcomes Arkansas to Lexington >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats will try
to extend their winning streak to 10 games in a row tonight as they host the
Arkansas Razorbacks in a Southeastern Conference battle at Rupp Arena.
This will be th
Instate rivals square off in Top-25 Big Ten brawl >>
, (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines try to remain perfect
at home, as they host in-state and Big Ten Conference rival Michigan State,
which enters play as the ninth-ranked team in the country.
Michigan, which along with
Cavs return home to face Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers try to go above .500 this evening
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The Cavs moved to the break-even mark on Monday, as rookie Kyrie Irving had 25
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Orlando concluded its perfect trek on Monday in New York, a
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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