Djokovic, Cilic post wins in Serbia-Croatia tussle

Tennis Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Split, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic notched opening singles wins Friday in the best-of-five Davis Cup quarterfinal between rival nations Serbia and host Croatia.

The world No. 2 Djokovic got Serbia going with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-1 victory over Indian Wells Masters champion Ivan Ljubicic before the Australian Open semifinalist Cilic leveled the tie for Croatia with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 waxing of Viktor Troicki on the indoor hardcourt at Spaladium Arena.

Djokovic handled the former top-five star Ljubicic in just under 2 1/2 hours, despite being out-aced 14-0. Djokovic did, however, pile up five service breaks, compared to only one for the big Croat, who also misfired for a whopping 11 double faults.

Cilic prevailed over Troicki in 2 hours, 23 minutes by piling up six breaks, compared to only two for the Serbian loser.

Saturday's pivotal doubles encounter is supposed to pit a Croatian tandem of Ivan Dodig and Antonio Veic versus a Serbian duo of Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic, while Sunday's reverse singles currently call for the world No. 13 Cilic to battle the Wimbledon semifinalist and former Australian Open champion Djokovic and Ljubicic to tangle with Troicki.

The Croats are captained by Goran Prpic, while Bogdan Obradovic is guiding team Serbia.

Players from Croatia and Serbia used to play under the flag of Yugoslavia. This marks their first Davis Cup meeting since they became independent nations.

Serbia is in its first-ever quarterfinal, while Croatia is seeking its second title, with the first one coming in 2005.

The winner here will meet Chile or the 2009 runner-up Czech Republic in the semifinals in September.

Gambliung Tennis Betting News

<< NL West: Rockies becoming the hitmen of baseball
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's all about making the 'hits' in organized crime. In Major League Baseball, producing hits is what usually wins games and the Colorado Rockies have been whacking opposing pitchers on their four-game winning st

<< Sharks sign D Hjalmarsson to offer sheet
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have signed restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet. Hjalmarsson skated in 77 games last season for the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, who have

<< Toronto adds former Chivas USA striker Santos
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC signed forward Maicon Santos, who was the released earlier this week by Chivas USA, the Major League Soccer club announced on Friday. "We are delighted to welcome Maicon on board," TFC manager, di

<< Revs hope to make statement vs. Galaxy
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution have won just one of their last 11 Major League Soccer fixtures. The Los Angeles Galaxy have lost just one in 15 to start the 2010 season. Obviously Saturday's game between the

<< Dulgheru, Szavay into Budapest semis
Budapest, Hungary (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Alexandra Dulgheru was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner, while reigning champion Agnes Szavay of Hungary was an easy victor Friday at the $220,000 Budapest Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Dul

AL Central: Tigers halfway home >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - We are just past the halfway point of the Major League Baseball season and the Detroit Tigers are right where they want to be; atop the American League Central standings. The Tigers have gotten off to a hot start in July,

Spain must make the most of rare opportunity >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For countries like Brazil, Italy and Germany, success in the World Cup is passed down from generation to generation, almost like a hereditary trait. The ability to perform at the highes

Stoudemire deal becomes sign-and-trade >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks announced Friday that the deal for Amare Stoudemire is a sign-and-trade agreement with the Phoenix Suns. Stoudemire agreed to join the Knicks earlier this week and a deal was anno

Clarke pushes lead to three in Scotland >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Clarke carded a four-under 67 in steady rain Friday to extend his lead to three strokes after two rounds of the Scottish Open. Clarke, who led by one after the first round, completed 36 holes at

Tennessee football players involved in bar brawl >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tennessee football program had six players reportedly involved in a fight at a Knoxville bar early Friday morning. Two of the six have been arrested thus far, according to the Knoxville

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.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards