Federer survives Davydenko, will face del Potro in Rotterdam final

Tennis Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer needed three sets and two hours, 15 minutes, but the Swiss world No. 3 took down Russian Nikolay Davydenko to advance to the final at the ABN AMRO World tournament.

Top-seeded Federer lost a tightly-contested set early but rallied after dropping a break in the second set to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second of Saturday's semifinals in Rotterdam.

Davydenko, formerly world No. 3 himself, had won just one match in 2012 entering the tournament, an opening-round bout at Montpellier. He had faced Federer in Doha to begin his season, a much more one-sided affair that the Swiss won 6-2, 6-2 in just 54 minutes. Federer owned a 16-2 overall record against Davydenko entering this encounter.

He had a reason to be concerned in this match, however. After losing the first set, Federer quickly fell behind 1-3 in the second. His championship instincts took over, though, and he would win the next five points, launching a message-sending ace to end the set.

The third set was just as tight as the first, but Davydenko was not as lucky this time, dropping one of the seven break chances he offered. Federer saved all four of his as he booked a ticket to the final, where he will face Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.

The third-seeded del Potro needed just 75 minutes in a 6-3, 6-1 rout of Tomas Berdych in the first semifinal.

Berdych had lost just once this season entering Saturday's match. After a quarterfinal setback to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, he won the title in Montpellier two weeks ago and last week won his lone match in the Czech Republic's victory over Italy in the Davis Cup.

Seeded second this week, Berdych had also steamrolled through his first three opponents without dropping a set. It all changed on Saturday.

Del Potro opened the match with a break of serve and didn't face a break point during the first set. Berdych, meanwhile, struggled with his serve, connecting on just 52 percent in the first set. He was called for a foot fault for a double fault to set up del Potro's clinching break point to finish off the opening set.

Again, del Potro picked up an early break in the second set for a 2-0 edge. But Berdych won three of the first four points in the next game to gain two break points. He squandered both and del Potro's ace closed out the game for a 3-0 lead.

Berdych appeared deflated afterward, again dropping his serve. He went down 0-5 before finally winning a game, but del Potro quickly wrapped it up and improved to 3-1 lifetime against Berdych.

Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champ, will be gunning for his 10th career title on Sunday. He is 9-4 all-time in finals, including 2-1 last year when he made a successful comeback from a wrist injury that sidelined him for most of the 2010 campaign.

Federer won the Rotterdam title the last time he appeared in the tournament, back in 2005. He has yet to win an ATP title in 2012.

The 2012 Rotterdam winner will collect $385,000.

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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

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.