Federer reaches 18th straight Grand Slam semi, will face Djokovic

Tennis Betting Lines

09/04/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning four-time champion Roger Federer was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner Thursday at the U.S. Open. The Swiss superstar will now play in his record 18th straight major semifinal against Serbian Novak Djokovic, who bested fan-favorite Andy Roddick in a four-set thriller under the lights at Ashe Stadium.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer held off qualifier Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Day 11 on the hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Federer took the first set via tiebreak against the 6-foot-5 big-serving Muller, as neither player was able to record a service break in the opening stanza.

In the second set, the Swiss would assume control of the bout by registering the first, and only, break of the match for a 5-4 lead and then closed out the stanza with a hold for a commanding two-sets-to-love advantage.

The third set went to another tiebreak, which Federer captured by winning five of the last six points. He converted on his first match point when a game Muller netted one final backhand.

Muller swatted 16 aces in the 2-hour, 26-minute affair.

Federer is now 3-0 lifetime against the 130th-ranked Muller, with their previous two meetings coming in 2005.

The upstart 25-year-old Muller upset fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 18th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro and former top-10 star Tommy Haas at this Big Apple fortnight. He overcame two-sets-to-love deficits against both the German Haas and Almagro.

Federer was this year's Wimbledon and French Open runner-up to Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal, who supplanted the Swiss atop the men's rankings last month.

The 27-year-old Federer will see a familiar face in the semis on Saturday, as Djokovic looks to avenge last year's loss in the finals to the 12-time major titlist.

The Serbian star overcame a hostile crowd and a gutty performance from Roddick, topping the eighth-seeded American 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) in just over 2 1/2 hours.

Roddick, who was the last player to hoist the trophy (2003) before Federer's four-year reign, had no answer for the third-seeded Serbian's serve throughout the match.

After taking the first two sets with relative ease, Djokovic, who bested 15th- ranked Tommy Robredo in a five-set marathon in the quarterfinals, dropped the third set to Roddick.

The American looked to take control of the match, breaking Djokovic at 3-3 in the fourth and serving for the set at 5-4. But the Serb broke Roddick in the game and managed to force a tiebreaker.

At 5-5 in the tiebreak, Roddick tried to mix up a long baseline exchange with a drop shot, but his effort fell into the net and his return of Djokovic's serve on match point went long, much to the crowd's displeasure.

Djokovic topped Federer in the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year before taking Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for his first career Grand Slam title.

Saturday's other semi will pit the five-time major champion Nadal against sixth-seeded Brit Andy Murray, as those two men won their quarterfinal matches here on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Murray will appear in his first-ever Grand Slam semi.

Freesoccerbetting Tennis Betting News

<< Estes leads Padres past Brewers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Estes' impressive return to the mound was backed by a pair of RBI from Nick Hundley and Luis Rodriguez as the San Diego Padres topped the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 in the opener of a four-game series.

<< Giants begin title defense with thumping of Redskins
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Plaxico Burress celebrated his fresh two-year contract extension with 10 catches for 133 yards, and the defending-champion New York Giants opened their title defense with a 16-7 victory

<< Petke winner gives Rapids first road win since April
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Petke scored his first goal of the season as the Colorado Rapids topped FC Dallas, 1-0, for their first win in Dallas since 2001 in Major League Soccer action on Thursday. The win - which propels the

<< Branshaw grabs early lead in Utah
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Branshaw fired an eight-under-par 63 Thursday to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Utah Championship. Branshaw's 63 at Willow Creek Country Club matched the course record

<< Kazmir, Rays down Yankees
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Kazmir pitched six strong innings as the Tampa Bay Rays avoided the sweep with a 7-5 win over the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. Kazmir (11-6) gave up just one hit with five walks a

Report: Penn State suspends three, dismisses another >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Penn State football program has reportedly suspended three players for Saturday's contest against Oregon State and dismissed cornerback Willie Harriott from the team. The Philadelphia Inquirer

Kansas City sweeps doubleheader, series against Oakland >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Guillen went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored as the Kansas City Royals swept the doubleheader and three- game series against the Oakland Athletics with a 9-6 win. Alberto Callaspo drove i

Commodores upend 24th-ranked Gamecocks in SEC opener >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Hawkins rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown and Chris Nickson threw a touchdown and ran for another, as Vanderbilt knocked off 24th-ranked South Carolina, 24-17, in the SEC opener for bot

Kings ink F Stoll to four-year deal >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings agreed to terms on a four-year contract with restricted free agent center Jarret Stoll on Thursday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 26-year-old Stoll was

Winton's four TDs lift DSU to OT win >>
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The performance of Delaware State senior quarterback Vashon Winton at times on Thursday night might have been enough to frustrate the average signal-caller. Winton misfired on more passes than he compl


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

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