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01/25/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray will meet in a marquee semifinal Friday in a rematch of last year's final at the Australian Open.
The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Djokovic tallied 35 winners and straight-setted fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, while the three-time Grand Slam runner-up Murray handled 24th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in Wednesday's quarterfinal action at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic got past Ferrer in 2 hours, 44 minutes by hitting 17 more winners and breaking the Spaniard five times, compared to only two breaks for the loser.
The Serbian slugger needed 76 minutes to win a grueling second set.
"I was lucky to get out of the second set, it was a big mental advantage to get two sets up," Djokovic said.
Djokovic played down the possibility that he was injured, saying: "I don't have any physical issues."
"I feel very fit and I feel mentally, as well, very fresh," he said. "It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit. I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen."
Djokovic is now 7-5 lifetime against the gritty Ferrer, who titled in Auckland two weeks ago and had been a perfect 8-0 in this young season.
The Serbian star Djokovic straight-setted his fellow 24-year-old Murray in last year's Aussie finale. Murray has appeared in the last two finals in Melbourne, as he lost to Roger Federer here in 2010.
The four-time major champion Djokovic has won two of the last four Aussie Open titles, with his first one coming in 2008.
He has now won 37 of his last 39 Grand Slam matches and is seeking a third straight major title. A championship this week would put him in select company, as only four players -- Laver, Pete Sampras, Federer and Rafael Nadal -- have captured three straight Grand Slam titles in the Open Era (since 1968).
The high-flying Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have combined to win seven of the last eight Aussie Open championships.
The 24th-seeded Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 17 years, provided little more than a speed bump for Murray on Wednesday although he showed a little fight in one of the match's most entertaining points.
Down 30-40 and 1-5 in the third set, Nishikori scrambled to win a long rally with Murray, who was forced to chase down a ball in the back court that he could only send harmlessly to the net.
Nishikori was there for an easy volley, forcing deuce, but Murray followed with a service winner and captured the match on the next point.
"There was quite a few good rallies. I mean, he came up with some good shots," Murray said. "A lot of the long points, the fun rallies he was winning, he came up with some great shots."
The 24-year-old Scot struck 36 winners and won nearly 80 percent of his first- serve points, while Nishikori had 39 unforced errors.
"After a couple games, I was OK," said Nishikori. "He played really well today."
Nishikori was the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995 (Wimbledon) and he's also the first Japanese man in 80 years to reach the Aussie Open quarters.
Murray was a champion in Brisbane a few weeks ago.
The good friends Djokovic and Murray will meet for an 11th time at the ATP level, with the Serb holding a 6-4 lifetime advantage. Their lone Grand Slam meeting came in last year's final here, which Djokovic won easily, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic is 3-0 when they've met in semifinals of an event.
Murray is still looking to break through for his first major title. He said he's not feeling more relaxed on the court based on his recent history, just more experienced.
"Just more used to being in this position because of the experience," Murray said.
The biggest match of the tournament thus far will take place on Thursday night when the former world No. 1 greats Nadal and Federer do battle in the first men's semifinal at Laver.
The 25-year-old Nadal and 30-year-old Federer will meet for a 27th time, with the Spaniard leading the all-time series 17-9. Nadal is 7-2 in their Grand Slam meetings, including wins in their last four matchups. The two stalwarts have met in a men's record eight major finals, with Nadal winning six of them. They are in the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005.
Nadal topped Federer in five sets in the 2009 Aussie Open finale.
The second-seeded Nadal is a 10-time major champion and the reigning French Open titlist. The third-seeded Federer, who will appear in his 30th Grand Slam semifinal, is a men's record 16-time Grand Slam champ, including a men's Open Era record-tying four Aussie titles.
Federer, who hasn't won a Grand Slam event since titling here in Melbourne two years ago, has yet to drop a set at this latest Aussie fortnight. He'll appear in his ninth straight Aussie semi on Thursday.
<< Murray reaches semis at Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Murray is back in the Australian
Open semifinals after beating Kei Nishikori in straight sets Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Murray needed just 29 minutes to win the third set at Rod
Laver Arena
<< Hodgson lifts Canucks over Oilers in SO
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Hodgson scored the winner in the fifth-
round of the shootout to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 win over the
Edmonton Oilers.
In the fifth round, Hodgson buried a wrister between the pads of
<< McMillan helps Wild edge Avalanche
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carson McMillan's third-period goal was the
difference as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, at
Pepsi Center.
Justin Falk and Dany Heatley also scored for the Wild, who won bac
<< Coyotes trim Senators
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radim Vrbata scored the deciding goal early in
the third period, as Phoenix slipped by Ottawa, 3-2.
Gilbert Brule and Shane Doan also lit the lamp to back a 32-save performance
by Mike Smith for the Coyotes,
Serena, Venus will play Fed Cup next week >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Williams sisters, Serena and
Venus, will play Fed Cup tennis in Massachusetts for the United States next
week.
The sisters will lead the U.S. against Belarus in a best-of-five Group I
Steelers' Clark added to Pro Bowl roster >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steelers safety Ryan Clark has been added to
the AFC's Pro Bowl roster, the team announced Wednesday.
Clark, a 10-year veteran, will make his first trip to the Pro Bowl. The 32-
year-old recorded 100
Wittman's Wizards welcome Bobcats to DC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A disastrous start to their season has cost the Washington
Wizards their head coach. Tonight, they try to turn things around with a new
man at the helm against another underachieving team in the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Wiza
Knicks visit Kyrie and the Cavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks could have Baron Davis in the lineup
this evening when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Davis has yet to suit up for the Knicks because of a balky back that led to
his release
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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