Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray reach third round in Cincy
Tennis Betting Lines
08/18/2010 - Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and last week's Canadian Masters titlist Andy Murray were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday at the $3 million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, a U.S. Open Series event.
Roger Federer, a 16-time major titlist and reigning champ here, also advanced when Denis Istomin of Russia retired due to a right foot and ankle injury with the Swiss superstar leading 5-2 in the first set. Federer, seeded third, also won this event in 2005 and 2007.
The world No. 1 Nadal handled oft-injured American qualifier Taylor Dent, 6-2, 7-5, while the second-seeded, but world No. 3, Djokovic doused Serb Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 7-5 on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Nadal is now 27-3 in ATP Masters 1000 events this year.
Djokovic, who captured his 100th Masters 1000 victory on Wednesday, has lost in the last two finals here, with Federer getting the best of him last year.
The Wimbledon and French Open champion Nadal will face France's Julien Benneteau in the third round here on Thursday, while Djokovic will battle Argentine star David Nalbandian, a titlist in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago. Nalbandian was trailing John Isner 4-5 in the first set on Wednesday when the 6-foot-9 American retired from their match. The hot Nalbandian has now won 13 of his last 14 matches.
A fourth-seeded Murray held off Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 in 2 hours, 9 minutes on Day 4 here. January's Aussie Open runner-up to Federer, Murray beat Federer in last week's marquee finale in Toronto and was the Cincy champ in 2008.
Murray will be opposed by talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis on Thursday.
Ninth-seeded Andy Roddick, who titled here in 2003 and 2006 and was the runner-up in 2005, straight-setted Thiemo De Bakker, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. while Nikolay Davydenko, seeded sixth, defeated Robby Ginepri, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
Lleyton Hewitt, a former top-ranked player and runner-up at this event in 2002 and 2004, was ousted by fifth-seeded Robin Soderling, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a little under two hours.
Upsets came when the wild card/surging American Mardy Fish dismissed eighth- seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, and Gulbis knocked out 13th-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Fish, who has won 13 of his last 14 matches, including titles in Newport and Atlanta, was the Cincinnati runner-up back in 2003. He beat Verdasco in two sets, both tiebreakers.
Tenth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer avoided an upset by handling American Sam Querrey, 7-5, 6-2. Querrey is a four-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season.
In other second-round play, France's Richard Gasquet grounded German Michael Berrer, 6-4, 6-2, German Philipp Kohlschreiber got past Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla, 6-0, 1-6, 6-3, and Benneteau blitzed Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-2.
The 2010 Cincinnati titlist will claim $443,500.
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Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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