Kvitova, Sharapova, Serena reach Aussie round of 16
Tennis Betting Lines
01/21/2012 -
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Petra Kvitova,
fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova and five-time champion Serena Williams were a
trio of third-round winners Saturday at the Australian Open.
The Wimbledon and WTA Championships titlist Kvitova was pummeling 27th-
seeded Maria Kirilenko 6-0, 1-0 when the Russian glamour girl retired because
of a thigh injury on Day 6 of the fortnight.
Kvitova is one of four women who could be No. 1 at the end of this fortnight.
"I don't know who lost and who win," Kvitova said. "No, really, for me doesn't
care."
Kvitova's fourth-round opponent will be former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.
Sharapova, who was last year's Wimbledon runner-up to the left-handed Kvitova,
leveled 30th-seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 in 87 minutes.
The former world No. 1 Sharapova, who captured the 2008 Aussie Open for her
third career Grand Slam championship, will take on tough German Sabine Lisicki
here on Monday.
A 12th-seeded Williams, meanwhile, dominated helpless Hungarian Greta Arn
6-1, 6-1 in a mere 59 minutes at Melbourne Park.
Leading 5-0 and a point away from winning the opening set, the former top-
ranked Williams set-up for an overhead smash, only to shank it wide of the
court. The powerful American screamed and put a hand over her face.
"It was an awkward smash. Then she missed one and I felt a little better,"
Williams said. "I felt like, 'Am I losing my mind out here?' Everyone
sometimes hits a shot that's a little bit insane -- you just got to allow
yourself to get over it."
The 13-time major champion Williams has now won her last 17 matches in
Melbourne, where she titled back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 before missing last
year's event because of a series of health issues.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," Williams said. "I'm just trying to play
through it. A little rusty -- just trying to play through my rust."
Up next for Williams will be surprise Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned
her seventh-seeded compatriot Vera Zvonareva, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1. Zvonareva was a
Wimbledon and U.S. Open finalist in 2010.
Another upset came when ninth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli
of France was ousted by surging Chinese Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-3. Zheng captured a
title in Auckland just two weeks ago.
A 14th-seeded Lisicki needed all three sets to overcome 18th-seeded Russian
Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, while the 21st-seeded Serbian Ivanovic
was a straight-set winner over American Vania King, 6-3, 6-4. The former top-
five star Kuznetsova is a two-time major champ. The former No. 1 Ivanovic
was the '08 Aussie runner-up to the Russian Sharapova.
Also advancing Saturday was Italian Sara Errani, who rallied for a
6-7 (6-8), 6-0, 6-2 victory over Romanian Sorana Cirstea. Errani will meet
Zheng in the round of 16.
The fourth round will get underway on Sunday, including matches for top-ranked
Caroline Wozniacki and reigning Aussie champ Kim Clijsters.
The former U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki will face 13th-seeded former world
No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, while the 11th-seeded Clijsters will battle fifth-
seeded Chinese Li Na in a rematch of last year's Melbourne finale, which was
won by Clijsters in three sets. Clijsters is a four-time Grand Slam champ,
while Li captured her first-ever major title at the French Open last spring.
Also on Sunday, third-seeded Belarusian slugger Victoria Azarenka will face
veteran Czech left-hander Iveta Benesova and eighth-seeded Pole Aggie
Radwanska will encounter 22nd-seeded German Julia Goerges.
Azarenka titled in Sydney last week by beating Li in the marquee finale.
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NFL Football Betting Online
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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