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01/25/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray will meet in a marquee semifinal Friday in a rematch of last year's final at the Australian Open.
The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Djokovic tallied 35 winners and straight-setted fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, while the three-time Grand Slam runner-up Murray handled 24th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in Wednesday's quarterfinal action at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic got past Ferrer in 2 hours, 44 minutes by hitting 17 more winners and breaking the Spaniard five times, compared to only two breaks for the loser.
The Serbian slugger needed 76 minutes to win a grueling second set.
"I was lucky to get out of the second set, it was a big mental advantage to get two sets up," Djokovic said.
Djokovic played down the possibility that he was injured, saying: "I don't have any physical issues."
"I feel very fit and I feel mentally, as well, very fresh," he said. "It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit. I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen."
Djokovic is now 7-5 lifetime against the gritty Ferrer, who titled in Auckland two weeks ago and had been a perfect 8-0 in this young season.
The Serbian star Djokovic straight-setted his fellow 24-year-old Murray in last year's Aussie finale. Murray has appeared in the last two finals in Melbourne, as he lost to Roger Federer here in 2010.
The four-time major champion Djokovic has won two of the last four Aussie Open titles, with his first one coming in 2008.
He has now won 37 of his last 39 Grand Slam matches and is seeking a third straight major title. A championship this week would put him in select company, as only four players -- Laver, Pete Sampras, Federer and Rafael Nadal -- have captured three straight Grand Slam titles in the Open Era (since 1968).
The high-flying Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have combined to win seven of the last eight Aussie Open championships.
The 24th-seeded Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 17 years, provided little more than a speed bump for Murray on Wednesday although he showed a little fight in one of the match's most entertaining points.
Down 30-40 and 1-5 in the third set, Nishikori scrambled to win a long rally with Murray, who was forced to chase down a ball in the back court that he could only send harmlessly to the net.
Nishikori was there for an easy volley, forcing deuce, but Murray followed with a service winner and captured the match on the next point.
"There was quite a few good rallies. I mean, he came up with some good shots," Murray said. "A lot of the long points, the fun rallies he was winning, he came up with some great shots."
The 24-year-old Scot struck 36 winners and won nearly 80 percent of his first- serve points, while Nishikori had 39 unforced errors.
"After a couple games, I was OK," said Nishikori. "He played really well today."
Nishikori was the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995 (Wimbledon) and he's also the first Japanese man in 80 years to reach the Aussie Open quarters.
Murray was a champion in Brisbane a few weeks ago.
The good friends Djokovic and Murray will meet for an 11th time at the ATP level, with the Serb holding a 6-4 lifetime advantage. Their lone Grand Slam meeting came in last year's final here, which Djokovic won easily, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic is 3-0 when they've met in semifinals of an event.
Murray is still looking to break through for his first major title. He said he's not feeling more relaxed on the court based on his recent history, just more experienced.
"Just more used to being in this position because of the experience," Murray said.
The biggest match of the tournament thus far will take place on Thursday night when the former world No. 1 greats Nadal and Federer do battle in the first men's semifinal at Laver.
The 25-year-old Nadal and 30-year-old Federer will meet for a 27th time, with the Spaniard leading the all-time series 17-9. Nadal is 7-2 in their Grand Slam meetings, including wins in their last four matchups. The two stalwarts have met in a men's record eight major finals, with Nadal winning six of them. They are in the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005.
Nadal topped Federer in five sets in the 2009 Aussie Open finale.
The second-seeded Nadal is a 10-time major champion and the reigning French Open titlist. The third-seeded Federer, who will appear in his 30th Grand Slam semifinal, is a men's record 16-time Grand Slam champ, including a men's Open Era record-tying four Aussie titles.
Federer, who hasn't won a Grand Slam event since titling here in Melbourne two years ago, has yet to drop a set at this latest Aussie fortnight. He'll appear in his ninth straight Aussie semi on Thursday.
<< Murray reaches semis at Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray is back in the Australian
Open semifinals after beating Kei Nishikori in straight sets Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Murray needed just 29 minutes to win the third set at Rod
Laver Arena
<< Hodgson lifts Canucks over Oilers in SO
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Hodgson scored the winner in the fifth-
round of the shootout to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win over the
Edmonton Oilers.
In the fifth round, Hodgson buried a wrister between the pads of
<< McMillan helps Wild edge Avalanche
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carson McMillan's third-period goal was the
difference as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, at
Pepsi Center.
Justin Falk and Dany Heatley also scored for the Wild, who won bac
<< Coyotes trim Senators
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radim Vrbata scored the deciding goal early in
the third period, as Phoenix slipped by Ottawa, 3-2.
Gilbert Brule and Shane Doan also lit the lamp to back a 32-save performance
by Mike Smith for the Coyotes,
Serena, Venus will play Fed Cup next week >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Williams sisters, Serena and
Venus, will play Fed Cup tennis in Massachusetts for the United States next
week.
The sisters will lead the U.S. against Belarus in a best-of-five Group I
Steelers' Clark added to Pro Bowl roster >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steelers safety Ryan Clark has been added to
the AFC's Pro Bowl roster, the team announced Wednesday.
Clark, a 10-year veteran, will make his first trip to the Pro Bowl. The 32-
year-old recorded 100
Wittman's Wizards welcome Bobcats to DC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A disastrous start to their season has cost the Washington
Wizards their head coach. Tonight, they try to turn things around with a new
man at the helm against another underachieving team in the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Wiza
Knicks visit Kyrie and the Cavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks could have Baron Davis in the lineup
this evening when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Davis has yet to suit up for the Knicks because of a balky back that led to
his release
MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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