Nadal filets Fish to reach first U.S. Open semifinal
Tennis Betting Lines
09/04/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal fell behind early in his late-night match Wednesday, but then dominated American Mardy Fish to reach his first semifinal at the U.S. Open.
The top-ranked Spaniard won 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 with the match ending after 2 a.m.
"This court was always very difficult for me, but I'm very happy," said Nadal, who was put to the test early, but pulled through in his quest for a third Grand Slam title this year after triumphs at the French Open and Wimbledon.
In fact, Nadal has now reached the semifinals at all four Grand Slams this year.
Ahead for Nadal will be another man in unchartered waters - sixth seed Andy Murray of Great Britain. He reached the semifinals with a tough four-set victory over 17th seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. Murray secured his first-ever spot in a Grand Slam semifinal with a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-5 victory in a match that took nearly four hours to complete on Day 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Fish, who had 14 aces to just three for Nadal, broke serve at the start of the match and carried that lead throughout the first set. The tide turned in the second though, and in the third Nadal broke to go up 4-3. Fish, who hit a forehand into the net to end the set, was his own worst enemy. He committed 53 unforced errors to just 19 for Nadal.
Nadal broke serve to go up 2-1 in the fourth set, moving Fish to smash his racket in frustration during the changeover. Fish had several long returns in that final set, finally ending the match with another one over the end line.
Still, Nadal gave compliments to Fish for his effort.
"Mardy played unbelievable in the first set, aggressive," said Nadal. "He was serving very well."
Murray fired nine aces and overcame 61 unforced errors, but came through when it counted to stop a 23-match winning streak for the 19-year-old del Potro. That included titles in his last four events.
Murray held serve to go ahead 6-5 and then won the first two points of the 12th game of the final set. Del Potro fired a forehand winner, but then returned a ball into the net.
Del Potro saved one match point, but a wide return sent Murray into the semis.
"Like I said in all my other matches, I don't care what happens throughout the course of the match as long as I win," said Murray. "I played the big points great. In the first two sets I played really well in the tiebreaks."
Nadal has the upperhand going into the semifinals with a 5-0 match record against Murray. That includes three wins this year, all in straight sets, including a quarterfinal match at Wimbledon.
The other quarterfinal matches will be played here on Thursday, with second- seeded, former No. 1 and reigning four-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer taking on upstart Gilles Muller of Luxembourg and third-seeded Novak Djokovic battling eighth-seeded American Andy Roddick. Djokovic is the reigning Aussie Open champ and was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to the 12-time major titlist Federer, while Roddick is a former world No. 1 who titled here back in 2003.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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