Federer continues Halle dominance, Hewitt up next

Tennis Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Halle, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer moved a step closer to his sixth title at the Gerry Webber Open with a straight-set semifinal win over Germany's Philipp Petzschner, and will next face Lleyton Hewitt in Sunday's final.

The top-seeded Federer notched a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win Saturday to extend his winning streak at the Wimbledon tuneup to 29 straight matches. He has won the title in each of his last five appearances at the grass-court event and last tasted defeat in the 2002 semifinals against Nicolas Kiefer.

Federer went on to avenge that loss the following year in the final and hasn't lost at this venue since. He skipped the tournament in 2007 and also sat out last year following his emotional French Open victory.

The Swiss superstar continues to use this event as a springboard to incredible success at Wimbledon. He has played in the final at the All England Club in each of the past seven years, winning the coveted championship six times, although his last title in Halle two years ago preceded his lone loss in the Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal.

Hewitt, the eighth seed and a former Wimbledon champ, was the first to advance Saturday, as he rallied for a 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Germany's Benjamin Becker.

The Australian veteran won the second, and last, of his Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2002. This is Hewitt's first appearance in Halle, as he usually preps for the year's third Grand Slam event at the Queen's Club, where he has won four times.

Hewitt will play in his first final of 2010 and will be gunning for his 28th career ATP crown. He hasn't won since April of 2009 on clay in Houston and owns a 27-14 all-time record in finals.

Federer, meanwhile, is 62-25 in title matches, including 1-1 this year. He beat Andy Murray for the Australian Open crown and lost to Nadal at the French Open tuneup in Madrid.

Sunday will mark the 25th career matchup between Federer and Hewitt, and the second this year. Federer owns a 17-7 mark, including a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 rout in the fourth round of the Australian Open to run his winning streak against Hewitt to 15 straight matches.

Three of those wins during the streak have come on grass at Wimbledon -- a 2004 quarterfinal triumph, a 2005 semifinal win and a fourth-round thumping in 2008.

Hewitt's last win in the series came in a 2003 Davis Cup matchup.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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