Djokovic, Blake notch wins; Gonzalez upset at Rogers Masters

Tennis Betting Lines

08/08/2007 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic posted a second-round victory, sixth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez suffered a second-round upset and ninth-seeded American James Blake was a first- round winner Tuesday at the $2.45 million Rogers Masters -- the sixth of nine Masters Series events this year.

The 20-year-old Wimbledon and French Open semifinalist Djokovic handled 30- year-old German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-3 in an uneventful match.

Gonzalez, the Aussie Open runner-up, of Chile was upset by Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-7 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.

Blake got past dangerous Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) on the hardcourts at Uniprix Stadium, while 12th-seeded German Tommy Haas joined Blake in the second round with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over tough Argentine Agustin Calleri. The win marked the 400th of Haas' solid ATP career.

Up next for Blake will be former world No. 1 and two-time major titlist Lleyton Hewitt, who is unseeded this week, while Haas will meet American qualifier Michael Russell.

Playing his first tennis in almost three months, 13th-seeded Brit Andy Murray returned with a victory by beating American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-4, on Day 3. The world No. 14 Murray had been sidelined with a wrist injury since mid-May, forcing him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Russian Marat Safin was trailing Robin Soderling 1-2 in the first set of their opening-round bout when the Swede retired with a left wrist injury. Safin, a former world No. 1 and two-time major champion, will battle world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a marquee second-rounder here on Wednesday.

Safin captured this popular Canadian event in 2000.

Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus downed Spain's Carlos Moya 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 and Croat Mario Ancic beat Canadian Frederic Niemeyer 6-4, 6-2. Additional first- round wins came for Finn Jarkko Nieminen and 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic, who will face defending Rogers Masters champion Roger Federer in the second round after sneaking past Belarusian Max Mirnyi 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

The great Federer captured last year's Rogers Masters in Toronto by beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the final. This event alternates between Montreal and Toronto each year.

This week's top seeds are the reigning Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open champion Federer and the reigning French Open titlist Nadal. Federer also captured this Canadian event in 2004, while Nadal was the winner in 2005 in Montreal.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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