07/03/2008 - Wimbledon, England (Tennis Betting) - For the third time in seven years the mighty Williams sisters -- sixth-seeded Serena and seventh-seeded Venus -- will square off in an all-sister, all-American final on the Wimbledon grass.
The former world No. 1 Serena got past Chinese wild card Jie Zheng 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), while the former top-ranked Venus handled fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) on the famed Centre Court at the All England Club. Serena was forced to wait out a pair of rain delays on Day 10.
The powerful sisters battled in finals here in 2002 and 2003, with Serena winning both matchups.
Serena is 8-7 lifetime against her older sister, including 2-1 at Wimbledon. Venus topped her younger sister in the semifinals here eight years ago. Serena has won five of their nine Grand Slam meetings, with all five wins coming in finals. The only major final won by Venus between the two came at the 2001 U.S. Open.
The eight-time major titlist Serena beat Venus at a hardcourt event in India earlier this season.
"She's a tough opponent," Serena said of Venus. "I think she'll be the toughest person I've played. I'm excited."
"It's every Williams for themself," Venus replied.
On Thursday, Serena topped Zheng in 1 hour, 25 minutes by blasting 14 aces, compared to zero for the Chinese, and breaking Zheng three times, compared to only one break for the surprising wild card. Rain delayed action twice, with Serena leading 5-2 in the first set, and again, with Serena up 6-2, 4-5.
In the second-set tiebreak, Zheng dumped a second serve into the net on match point to send Serena on her way.
"She definitely pushed me," Serena said of Zheng. "Unbelievable, and not only that she played a great game. She played like she had nothing to lose and she didn't."
Serena is now 2-0 lifetime against Zheng, having also beaten her in the opening round here at Wimbledon four years ago. The hard-hitting American is also now 4-1 in her career Wimbledon semis.
Zheng, who will turn 25 on Saturday, is the first-ever Chinese, male or female, to reach the final four at a Grand Slam and is also the first wild card to land in the semis at the All England Club.
The Venus-Dementieva match was never in doubt, as Venus pounced on Dementieva for a 4-0 lead in the first set, and wound up winning eight of the first nine games for a commanding 6-1, 2-0 advantage. She converted on her first match point when Dementieva netted one final weak forehand.
The former top-ranked Venus moved on in 1 hour, 42 minutes, as she broke Dementieva's suspect serve four times while only being broken once.
The now seven-time Wimbledon finalist Venus is 6-2 lifetime against Dementieva, including a victory in the gold medal match at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The 26-year-old Dementieva is a two-time major runner-up and was appearing in her first-ever Wimbledon semifinal and her fifth career major semi (2-3).
The six-time Grand Slam champion Venus is now 7-0 in her Wimbledon semis and 57-7 overall in 12 trips to the All England Club. She defeated France's Marion Bartoli in last year's finale and also titled here in 2000, 2001 and 2005.
The 28-year-old Venus is 6-6 in her career Grand Slam finals, including 4-2 at Wimbledon. She owns 36 titles in 58 career finals and will perform in her first final of 2008 on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Serena owns 31 career titles, including three already this year, and is 8-2 in her previous Grand Slam finals. In addition to her back- to-back Wimbledon titles in 2002 and 2003, she was the 2004 runner-up here to Maria Sharapova.
<< Lightning sign C Smith
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning signed free agent
center Wyatt Smith to a one-year, two-way contract on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Smith split his time between the Avalanche and Lake Erie of
the American Hocke
<< Leafs acquire Grabovski from Habs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired center
Mikhail Grabovski from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the rights to
2008 draft pick Greg Pateryn and a second-round choice in the 2010 draft.
Grabovski
<< PSG suspends midfielder Digard
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paris St. Germain has suspended midfielder
Didier Digard, who is holding out for a move to England to join Middlesbrough
this summer.
The 21-year-old had slammed PSG over delays to the switch, claimi
<< Golf Tidbits: Youth is served on the LPGA Tour
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Unlike on the PGA Tour, where it seems
every winner is in his late 20s or 30s, the LPGA Tour seems to be getting
younger and younger every year. Currently, the average age of the top-20
players in the women's
Coyotes sign D Hale >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes signed defenseman David
Hale to a two-year contract on Thursday. Per club policy, terms of the deal
were not disclosed.
The 27-year-old Hale had two assists and 46 penalty minute
Report: United assistant Queiroz to coach Portugal >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz
is set for his second stint as a Portugal national team coach, according to
newspaper reports.
He is expected to sign a four-year contract with Portugal,
Domenech will remain coach of France >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Domenech will remain coach of France's
national team it was announced Thursday, despite the country's recent failure
at Euro 2008.
Domenech's future was in doubt after France failed to advance out
Hossa takes the easy way out >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing the role of the popular high
school quarterback, Marian Hossa decided to go to the prom with the prettiest
girl. And, like said attention-getter ready to go off and be a big man on
campus after his ma
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New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.
MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.
Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.
| Ottawa Senators Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes San Jose Sharks Anaheim Ducks Philadelphia Flyers Calgary Flames New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Dallas Stars New York Rangers Nashville Predators Vancouver Canucks Colorado Avalanche Minnesota Wild Tampa Bay Lightning Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Atlanta Thrashers Toronto Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders Columbus Blue Jackets St. Louis Blues Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Chicago Blackhawks |
7-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 80-1 80-1 100-1 100-1 |
NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games
| Team Ottawa Senators Anaheim Ducks Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators San Jose Sharks Calgary Flames Philadelphia Flyers New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Dallas Stars New York Rangers Minnesota Wild Atlanta Thrashers Montreal Canadiens Team Los Angeles Kings Tampa Bay Lightening Vancouver Canucks Boston Bruins Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Columbus Blue Jackets New York Islanders Chicago Blackhawks St. Louis Blues Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins |
Over/Under 108.5 106.5 104.5 104.5 103.5 101.5 100.5 99.5 97.5 97.5 97.5 95.5 94.5 93.5 92.5 Over/Under 91.5 91.5 91.5 89.5 89.5 88.5 88.5 86.5 84.5 82.5 80.5 72.5 72.5 72.5 71.5 |
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