Federer, Mauresmo look to defend at Big W

Tennis Betting Lines

06/20/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Over the next few weeks, Roger Federer will try to match Bjorn Borg's amazing Wimbledon feat, as the super Swiss seeks a fifth straight title at the 121st edition of the Championships.

Borg is the only man in the Open Era (since 1968) to capture the Wimbledon championship five years in a row, which he did from 1976 to 1980. The iconic Swede rattled off 41 consecutive match wins at the storied All England Club before lefthanded legend John McEnroe finally derailed him in the 1981 final. Even the great Pete Sampras failed to capture five straight Wimbledon crowns, as the seven-time champ corralled tennis' most prestigious event four years in a row from 1997-2000 and three straight years from 1993-95.

Only four men have won at least four Wimbledon titles over the last 45 years -- Sampras, Borg, Rod Laver and Federer.

Decent company.

The world No. 1 Federer held off Spanish star Rafael Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale, while the Mallorcan southpaw topped the sublime Swiss in the last two French Open finals. Nadal might have Federer's number on the slow red clay, but the Swiss is indeed one of the greatest grass-court performers of all-time, as evidenced by his four Wimbledon titles and a torrid 48-match winning streak (which includes 20 straight victories in Halle) on the swift surface.

The last player to prevail at the AEC not named Federer was Aussie Lleyton Hewitt, back in 2002. The Fed's last loss there came at the hands of serve- and-volleying Croat Mario Ancic in the opening round in '02.

The reigning women's champion at SW19 is former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who dropped currently top-ranked Justine Henin in last year's marquee finale. The French star also bested the steady Belgian in last year's Aussie Open title bout.

Mauresmo, who has struggled with her health for a good portion of this season, will try to become the first repeat women's champ since Serena Williams turned the trick in 2002 and 2003. Serena tried for a third straight title in 2004, but was stunned in the final by tall Russian Maria Sharapova.

And Serena's big sister and fellow former world No. 1, Venus, is no slouch at the AE Club, having won the title on three occasions and finishing as the runner-up two other times, succumbing to Serena in the 2002 and 2003 finals. At one point, Venus reached the Wimbledon final four straight and five-of-six years.

That's pretty consistent.

Between 2000 and 2005, the mighty Williams sisters accounted for four straight and five-of-six Wimbledon titles.

Henin, meanwhile, still needs Wimbledon to complete a career Golden Slam. The reigning three-time (and four-time overall) French Open titlist also owns Aussie Open, U.S. Open and Olympic hardware and is a two-time runner-up at Wimby. In addition to her title bout setback there last year, the gritty Belgian gave way to Venus in the 2001 finale.

FYI, Steffi Graf is the only woman to complete a career Golden Slam, while her fellow tennis legend husband Andre Agassi is the only player to do so on the men's side.

Is there anyone who can challenge Federer on the Big W grass? Well Andy Roddick comes to mind (I know...insert joke here).

The world No. 3 Roddick is fresh off his title at Queen's Club and a two- time Wimbledon runner-up (2004-05) to Federer. Unfortunately for the 2003 U.S. Open champ and former world No. 1 American, the massive-serving star is a pathetic 1-13 lifetime against Federer, including an 0-3 mark on the lawns at Wimbledon. The Swiss star also topped Roddick in the 2003 semis. Federer's won nine of their 10 sets at SW19 and the Swiss is a perfect 5-0 in their all-time major matchups.

The word lopsided comes to mind.

Too bad for Roddick that Federer's on the tour, otherwise the brash American would probably own multiple Wimbledon titles by now.

What about Nadal? Can he push Federer again this year? I'm doubtin' it.

Aside from Roddick and Nadal, Federer's stiffest competition figures to come from the likes of Serbian Novak Djokovic, Czech Tomas Berdych and the always- dangerous Hewitt. The French Open semifinalist Djokovic can play on any surface, while Berdych was this year's grass-court champion in Halle and lost to the "Fed" in last year's Halle finale, and the two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Hewitt is pesky on just about any surface, with an exception being dirt.

Heavy British crowd favorite Andy Murray is slated to play, even though he's been sidelined for the past several weeks due to a wrist injury. He'll try to give the hosts their first male champion here since Fred Perry way back in 1936.

By the way, top men with no shot would include the likes of Russian Nikolay Davydenko, Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, Spaniard Tommy Robredo, American James Blake and German Tommy Haas. "Gonzo" was January's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer, but I wouldn't expect a deep run from him at the AEC, although he did reach the quarters there two years ago.

Back on the women's side, it would appear as though there are several contenders.

The six-time Grand Slam champion Henin, the two-time major titlists Sharapova and Mauresmo, the eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena and the five-time major titlist Venus will all take their shots, while rapidly-rising Jelena Jankovic should also figure into the equation.

Jankovic soared all the way to the French Open semis earlier this month and just captured her first-ever grass-court title last week by upsetting Sharapova in a final in Birmingham. The Serbian star is all the way up the No. 3 in the world and co-leads the WTA with four titles already this season, equaling the high-flying Henin.

Henin has performed in the final in her last five Grand Slam events (going 2-3). She missed this year's Aussie Open due to personal reasons after reaching all four major finales (1-3) in 2006.

A determined Henin has said that she wants to secure a career Slam for her family and friends.

Look out field.

The hard-hitting Sharapova has appeared in two of the last three major finals, winning the 2006 U.S. Open by beating Henin and losing badly to Serena in Melbourne back in January. Another world-class Serb, Ana Ivanovic, smoked the Russian superstar in a semifinal at Roland Garros two weeks ago.

Does Svetlana Kuznetsova have a chance at Wimby? A slight one, but I wouldn't make plans to watch her in the final.

How 'bout the French Open runner-up Ivanovic?

Sure. The surging Serb, last year's surprise US Open Series winner, went as far as the round of 16 at the AEC a year ago and has demonstrated the ability to play on all surfaces.

A darkhorse could come in the form of tall Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

Former champion Martina Hingis (1997) will be on hand, but the five-time Grand Slam winner will head to Wimbledon with some rust, having been sidelined for over a month due to injury.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer has appeared in a record eight straight major finals, winning six. His next Grand Slam title would tie him with Borg and Laver at 11. Sampras holds the all-time record with 14 major championships.

Only six men have won at least 10 Grand Slam titles -- Sampras, Roy Emerson (12), Borg, Laver, Bill Tilden (10) and Federer.

FYI, the awesome Borg was a combined 11-1 in his French Open (6-0) and Wimbledon (5-1) finals.

That deserves a wow!

For the first time ever this year, stodgy Wimbledon will pay out equal prize money to both the men and the women and Hawk-Eye technology will be utilized on the famed Centre Court and Court 1 to view disputed line calls.

There will also be a roof-less Centre Court (for the first time since 1922), as construction is underway to install an all-weather retractable roof in time for the 2009 edition of the Championships.

On the prediction front, you have to like Federer, who's only conceded a mere three sets in his four Wimbledon finals, to come out on top once again this year, while the wide-open women's draw could see any number of players prevail, even though I'm going with Serena to hoist the Venus (not Serena) Rosewater Dish.

FYI, there's been a different ladies Wimbledon champion the last three years.

Wimbledon '07 will commence Monday and the formidable Federer, of course, will be on the Day-1 schedule. As per tradition, the reigning men's champ is always first up on the venerable Centre Court on opening day.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

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