Federer, Djokovic, Hewitt reach fourth round at Wimbledon

Tennis Betting Lines

06/25/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Roger Federer, third-seeded Novak Djokovic and former champion Lleyton Hewitt were straight-set winners in third-round action Friday at Wimbledon.

The six-time Wimbledon champion Federer had his first easy match of the tournament, taking a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over French veteran Arnaud Clement.

It was a welcome result for Federer as he pursues another title at the All England Club, as the Swiss superstar had struggled in this year's edition. He dropped the first two sets before beating Colombian Alejandro Falla in the first round, and was tested in the second, beating Serbian qualifier Ilija Bozoljac in four sets, two of which went to a tiebreak.

Federer will face Jurgen Melzer in the round of 16, as 16th-seeded Austrian rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 triumph over 22nd-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Melzer is coming off his best-ever Grand Slam effort with a semifinal appearance at the French Open earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Djokovic had few problems in dispatching 28th-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. The Serbian fired 11 aces and broke his opponent four times, while never facing break point himself.

The 15th-seeded Hewitt was a 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 winner over 21st-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, continuing his success on grass this year. He is 8-0 on the surface in 2010, including a championship victory over Federer in Halle earlier this month.

The former world No. 1 Hewitt is a two-time major champ, including a Wimbledon title back in 2002.

Hewitt and Djokovic will meet in the fourth round in their first encounter since 2008. Djokovic has won the last three matches between the two, including a fourth-round Wimbledon victory in 2007.

Also on Friday, Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu continued the best Wimbledon performance of his career, moving into the fourth round after his opponent, German Florian Mayer, retired. Lu was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-1 when Mayer called it quits.

Earlier Friday, John Isner was bounced in his second-round match against Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands. The 23rd-seeded American was coming off his marathon victory over France's Nicolas Mahut, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68 victory that lasted more than 11 hours spanning three days and shattered multiple records.

However, with nothing left in the tank, Isner fell in 74 minutes as De Bakker took a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win.

France's Paul-Henri Mathieu was also a second-round winner, dropping 13th- seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny by a 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 score.

Fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick, who Federer beat in last year's final, faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber in his third-round match Friday.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.