Djokovic, Murray land in Aussie quarters
Tennis Betting Lines
01/23/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who lost in the last two finals in Melbourne, were a pair of fourth-round winners Monday at the Australian Open.
The world No. 1 Djokovic was tested in a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Aussie hero and former top-ranked star Lleyton Hewitt in a match that ended just after 1:00 a.m. at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic moved on in just under three hours by smacking 15 aces among his 55 winners and he broke Hewitt eight times, compared to four breaks for the 30- year-old Aussie loser.
The 24-year-old Djokovic is now 5-1 lifetime against Hewitt. The Serb also topped the Aussie in the fourth round here in 2008 and is 3-1 all-time against Hewitt in Grand Slam action.
Hewitt is a two-time major champion and was the 2005 Aussie Open runner-up to retired Russian Marat Safin.
The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Djokovic has now won 36 of his last 38 Grand Slam matches and is seeking a third straight major title and a third Aussie crown. A title this week would put Djokovic in select company, as only four players -- Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- have captured three straight Grand Slam championships in the Open era (since 1968).
Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent on Wednesday will be fifth-seeded Spanish star David Ferrer. The powerful Serb is 6-5 lifetime against Ferrer.
The hot Ferrer, who titled in Auckland two weeks ago, easily beat 17th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his third Aussie Open quarterfinal.
The world No. 4 Murray, meanwhile, improved to 16-2 in Melbourne over the last three years with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 victory over injured Mikhail Kukushkin, as the overmatched Kazakhstani retired from the match with a hip injury.
"It wasn't until I went up 3-0 (that) pretty quickly I realized, you know, he wasn't really moving," Murray said of Kukushkin.
"It's obviously good for me, I get to conserve some energy. Tough for him, first time in the fourth-round of a Slam," Murray added.
Murray, who titled in Brisbane three weeks ago, lost to Djokovic in last year's Aussie finale and was the runner-up to Federer here two years ago.
Up next for Murray will be 24th-seeded Kei Nishikori, who posted a big Day-8 upset by ousting sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to become the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995 (Wimbledon).
Nishikori is also the first Japanese man in 80 years to advance to the Aussie Open quarters, since Ryosuki Nunoi and Jiro Satoh turned the trick way back in 1932.
"Is feeling unbelievable. My first quarterfinal and beating Tsonga, makes me really happy," Nishikori said. "I hope it's big in Japan. A lot of people messaged me a couple of days ago about the round of 16 and now the quarterfinals. It's really exciting."
Tsonga, who lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Aussie finale, piled up 70 unforced errors, compared to just 30 for the elated Nishikori.
The popular Tsonga was fresh off his season-opening title in Doha three weeks ago.
The men's quarterfinals will get underway Tuesday, as a second-seeded Nadal will take on seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych in a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final and a third-seeded Federer will battle 11th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro in a rematch of the 2009 U.S. Open final. Nadal beat Berdych at Wimbledon two years ago, while del Potro stunned Federer in New York in '09.
The former No. 1 Nadal owns 10 major titles, including last year's French Open and the 2009 Aussie Open, as be beat his great rival Federer in the championship match in Melbourne three years ago. The former top-ranked great Federer is the holder of a men's record 16 major titles, including four Aussie Open crowns.
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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
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