Berdych, Ljubicic advance; Ferrero exits Rome

Tennis Betting Lines

04/26/2010 - Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tenth-seeded Tomas Berdych and 11th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic were a pair of first-round winners, while former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero came up a loser Monday at the $2.97 million Italian Masters, the fourth of nine Masters events on the ATP World Tour this year.

The Czech Berdych, a runner-up at the Masters event in Miami earlier this month, handled Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3, while the Indian Wells Masters titlist Ljubicic, of Croatia, outlasted France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-0 on the red clay at Foro Italico, which boasts a new center court stadium this year.

A 12th-seeded Ferrero, meanwhile, was surprised by Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-0, 6-3 on Day 2. The former French Open champion Ferrero is a two-time clay-court champion so far this season and captured this Roman event back in 2001.

In other action involving seeds, No. 14 American John Isner overcame Argentine Horacio Zeballos 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, No. 16 Argentine Juan Monaco got past Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, and Frenchman Julien Benneteau upended No. 15 American Sam Querrey 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7-2). The massive-serving 6- foot-9 Isner swatted 20 aces en route to the second round.

The Italian faithful were treated to a trio of home wild card wins on Monday, as Paolo Lorenzi beat Spaniard Albert Montanes 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, Potito Starace stifled Czech Jan Hajek 6-2, 6-2, and Filippo Volandri vaulted past Aussie qualifier Peter Luczak 6-4, 6-3.

Additional wins came for French qualifier Michael Llodra, German Philipp Kohlschreiber, Latvian Ernests Gulbis and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Gulbis whipped former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2 to set-up a second-rounder against world No. 1 superstar Roger Federer.

This week's top seeds are the Australian Open, Wimbledon and French Open champion Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Nadal is a four-time Italian Masters champion, including a victory over the 2008 titlist Djokovic in last year's marquee finale here. Federer is a two-time Rome runner-up.

The four-time French Open champion Nadal captured the Monte Carlo Masters tournament in his last outing two weeks ago.

Djokovic will open up here against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while Nadal will encounter Kohlschreiber and Murray will meet Italy's Andreas Seppi in the round of 32.

Rome serves as a tune-up for the French Open, which will commence May 23 in Paris.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

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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