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05/24/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer began defense of his French Open title with a straight-set win on the second day of play at Roland Garros. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 seed Andy Murray also moved on in Paris.
The world No. 1 Federer cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 first-round victory over Australia's Peter Luczak, who's now 0-4 at the French Open.
Federer tallied a mere 11 unforced errors and faced only one break point in a routine bout.
"It's always important coming back as defending champion, trying to get off to a good start," Federer said. "It was like a perfect match to get off the French Open campaign."
The Swiss superstar finally won at Roland Garros last spring after three straight losses in the final and completed the career Grand Slam.
The 28-year-old Federer is gunning for a 17th career Grand Slam title and second of 2010. He won the Australian Open back in January.
Federer, who beat Swede Robin Soderling in last year's Roland Garros finale, will encounter Colombian Alejandro Falla in the round of 64.
The former Australian Open champion Djokovic needed four sets to win his first-rounder, which he did against Russia's Evgeny Korolev, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Djokovic is a two-time French Open semifinalist who was upset in the third round here a year ago.
Meanwhile, the Aussie Open runner-up Murray fought back from two sets down to get past French crowd favorite Richard Gasquet 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Gasquet, who titled in Nice this past weekend, required medical attention on more than one occasion during his Day-2 setback.
Murray prevailed in 4 hours, 4 minutes, with the help of 17 aces and seven breaks, compared to only three breaks for the French loser.
Twelfth-seeded Chilean slugger Fernando Gonzalez got past Brazil's Thiago Alves in four sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, while 13th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils held off German lucky-loser Dieter Kindlmann 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 and 14th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic topped Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-3."Gonzo" was a semifinalist here last year, which marked his best-ever French showing.
Some other seeded winners on Monday were No. 15 Czech Tomas Berdych, No. 17 American John Isner, No. 20 Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. No. 24 Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci and No. 25 Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. Berdych topped Chilean qualifier Jorge Aguilar 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, 6-1; Isner handled Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-3, 6-2; Wawrinka waltzed past Czech Jan Hajek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3; Bellucci beat France's Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; and the former Aussie Open runner- up Baghdatis drilled American Jesse Witten 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Mild Day-2 upsets came when Serbian Viktor Troicki dismissed 21st-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and German Julian Reister erased 27th- seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
Also on Monday, Slovakian Lukas Lacko outlasted American qualifier Michael Yani 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 12-10, which ties the record for the most games played in a match (71) at Roland Garros since tiebreaks were introduced in 1973.
The marathon match was suspended because of darkness here on Sunday, with the score tied at 8-8 in the fifth set.
<< Collins returns home to lead Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Collins is home again and ready to
coach the team for which he played for eight seasons.
Collins agreed to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers last
week and was introduced Mon
<< Teams on the clock in deep NHL draft
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NHL Entry Draft, set to take place June
25 in Los Angeles, provides both players and general managers the opportunity
to take the next step towards success.
While top prospects Taylor Hall and Tyler Se
<< In the FCS Huddle: Salukis hope to wow 'em in new stadium
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It had gotten to the point that Southern
Illinois coaches tried not to show McAndrew Stadium or the Salukis' football
locker rooms during on-campus recruiting visits. The 73-year-old stadium had
become so out
<< Czech friendly is vital for a number of USA hopefuls
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuesday's friendly between the United States
and the Czech Republic will be used as much more than just a way to keep the
American team sharp ahead of next month's World Cup.
It will give USA head coach
Top horses maintain positions in NTRA Polls >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zenyatta and Lookin At Lucky each remain in
first-place in their respective NTRA polls, Undefeated mare Zenyatta is the
overwhelming selection in the national rankings and Lookin At Lucky is the
undispu
Texans WR Johnson hires agent >>
HOUSTON (AP) -Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson is no longer relying solely on his uncle for contract advice.Johnson said Monday he has hired Kennard McGuire as his agent, but his uncle Andre Melton will remain a trusted adviser.Johnson say
Nash has broken nose, says he will be fine >>
PHOENIX (AP) -Steve Nash has a broken nose but says he doesn't expect it to be a problem for him in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.The Phoenix playmaker sustained the slight fracture in a fourth-quarter collision with Derek Fisher in the Su
How important is No. 1? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson has another chance to
become the No. 1 player in the world.
He had a below-average Players Championship, where he could've supplanted Tiger
Woods. Now, Mickelson can once again lay claim to
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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