Federer and Roddick roll at U.S. Open

Tennis Betting Lines

08/30/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seeded and five-time champion Roger Federer along with birthday boy and former champion Andy Roddick were easy opening-round winners Monday at the U.S. Open.

The reigning Australian Open titlist Federer was stunned by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in last year's final here, which prevented the 16-time Grand Slam champion from Switzerland from capturing a sixth straight title in Flushing. Federer was the U.S. Open champ from 2004-08.

Federer opened his quest for a title with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentinian Brian Dabul in the featured match of the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Swiss shotmaker fired 18 aces and 46 winners in comparison to his overmatched opponent's four winners.

The ninth-seeded former world No. 1 Roddick, celebrating his 28th birthday on Monday, blasted helpless Frenchman Stephane Robert 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 42 minutes on the grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Roddick popped eight aces and had his serve broken only once in the predictable bout.

Roddick was asked about turning 28 years old.

"I don't really think about it, because it makes no difference what I think about it," Roddick said. "It's like you go out there and give the best of what you got on that day."

Roddick, who exited the draw in the third round here a year ago, is now 36-9 lifetime at the U.S. Open.

The Nebraska native Roddick captured his lone Grand Slam title here seven years ago and was the 2006 U.S. Open runner-up to the great Federer, who has beaten the American slugger in four major finales.

Roddick's second-round opponent will be tough Serb Janko Tipsarevic, who overcame diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2.

Fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling went the distance to hold off unheralded Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 5-7, 6-4 in just under four hours. The ever-improving Soderling is the reigning two-time French Open runner-up.

Sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko cruised into the second round with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 pasting of American journeyman Michael Russell. The dangerous Davydenko looked strong, fit and fast on Day 1 in the Big Apple.

Eleventh-seeded Croat Marin Cilic handled Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, while 17th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils needed more than three hours to outlast American Robert Kendrick 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4. Cilic was an Aussie Open semifinalist back in January.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer, seeded 13th, outlasted Russian Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 while 21st-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain rebounded from a two-set deficit to knock off Poland's Michal Przysiezny, 5-7, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 to move into round two.

Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero dismantled Slovakian Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, while Croat Ivan Dodig upset 27th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 1-0. The former Aussie Open runner-up "Gonzo" retired in the third set against Dodig due to a knee injury. The 22nd-seeded former French Open champion Ferrero was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2003.

Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, the 26th seed, advanced into the next round with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (6) victory over American Tim Smyczek.

Australian Lleyton Hewitt, seeded 32nd, who titled here in 2001 and was the runner-up in 2004, fought back from a two-set hole to force a fifth and deciding set only to fall to Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.

Additional opening-round wins came for Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Guillaume Rufin, Russian Igor Andreev, Brazil's Ricardo Mello, Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, Aussie Carsten Ball, Japan's Kei Nishikori, Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker, American Taylor Dent, Andreas Beck of Germany and Kevin Anderson of South Africa.

The champion will collect at least $1.7 million.

Kisscasnio Tennis Betting News

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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