Federer, Djokovic, Roddick reach third round at Wimbledon

Tennis Betting Lines

06/23/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six-time champion Roger Federer, third-seeded Novak Djokovic and three-time runner-up Andy Roddick were among Wednesday's second-round winners at Wimbledon.

The top-seeded world No. 2 Federer was tested for the second time in two matches, as he snuck past Serbian qualifier Ilija Bozoljac 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Court 1.

Federer moved on in 2 hours, 46 minutes despite being out-aced (31-16) and striking 33 fewer winners (102-69). The super Swiss did, however, tally three key service breaks, compared to zero for his tough-luck Serbian counterpart.

The 28-year-old Federer needed all five sets to stave off the challenge of Colombian Alejandro Falla here on Monday, as Falla unsuccessfully served for the fourth set in a heartbreaking setback.

Federer owns a men's record 16 major titles and is the reigning Wimbledon champ, having beaten Roddick in last year's marathon final here, which featured a 30-game fifth set.

The former Australian Open champion and former world No. 2 Djokovic leveled oft-injured American Taylor Dent 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-4 on Day 3 at the world's most prestigious tennis event.

Djokovic's third-round opponent will be Spaniard Albert Montanes.

The fifth-seeded Roddick dropped the first set against dangerous French lefthander Michael Llodra before rebounding for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) decision on the grass at Centre Court at the storied All England Club.

Roddick needed 2 hours, 23 minutes to prevail in a slugfest that featured 48 aces, including 25 from the winner. Roddick also managed to record three service breaks on Day 3, compared to only one for Llodra.

The 27-year-old Roddick celebrated the come-from-behind win by kicking a ball into the crowd.

Llodra was a grass-court champion in Eastbourne last week.

The former world No. 1 Roddick is a former U.S. Open champion who has lost to the great Federer in three of the last six finals here, including last year.

The top-10 fixture Roddick is now 36-9 all-time at Wimbledon, where he also lost to Federer in back-to-back finals in 2004 and 2005.

Roddick will face German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. Kohlschreiber upset Roddick in the third round at the Australian Open two years ago.

Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt stayed hot on grass with a 6-4, 6-4, 3-0, retired victory over Russian Evgeny Korolev. The 15th-seeded Hewitt is fresh off his grass-court title in Halle, where he stunned Federer in the final two weeks ago.

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

Hewitt, who's a flawless 7-0 on grass this year, will encounter flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils in the next round.

Twelfth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych straight-setted German Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, while 16th-seeded French Open semifinalist Jurgen Melzer of Austria continued his recent fine form with a hard-fought 6-7 (5-7), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 decision over tough Serb Viktor Troicki on Day 3.

In other action involving seeds, a No. 21 Monfils bested Slovakian Karol Beck 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, No. 22 Spaniard Feliciano Lopez erased Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and No. 31 Romanian Victor Hanescu defeated Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Additional second-round wins came for German Florian Mayer and Taipei's Yen- Hsun Lu. Mayer dismissed American Mardy Fish 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.