Almagro, Andreev advance in Barcelona

Tennis Betting Lines

04/20/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tenth-seeded Spanish favorite Nicolas Almagro and 12th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev were among Monday's first-round winners at the $2.6 million Barcelona Open.

Almagro was tied with Victor Hanescu 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 2-2 when the Romanian retired due to some cramping problems on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. Before Hanescu called it quits, Almagro saved a pair of match points in the second set.

Meanwhile, Andreev snuck past capable Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 and 15th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych was leading Martin Vassallo Arguello 5-2 when the Argentine quit with a back injury.

In some other opening-round play, Italian Potito Starace overcame Latvian Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, Argentine Jose Acasuso erased Israeli Dudi Sela 6-4, 7-5, Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela got past Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, and Russian Igor Kunitsyn took out Spanish hero Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). The wild card Ferrero is a former world No. 1 and captured the ultimate clay-court event, the French Open, back in 2003. He won this Barcelona tournament in 2001.

Additional Day-1 wins came for Spaniards Santiago Ventura, a qualifier this week, and wild card Alberto Martin, Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil, Belgian Christophe Rochus, Kazakhstani qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin, and Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

This week's top seeds are Spanish favorites Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, Russian Nikolay Davydenko and another Spaniard, David Ferrer. Nadal is the reigning four-time Barcelona champ. He beat Ferrer in last year's popular all-Spanish finale here.

The reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic titlist Nadal is fresh off his fifth straight Monte-Carlo championship, having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic in Sunday's finale in Monaco.

Nadal will open defense of his Barcelona title against the aforementioned Gil.

This week's champion will pocket $370,000. The top-eight seeds all received first-round byes.

Wwwmaxpages Tennis Betting News


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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.