Fabulous Federer: Swiss great wins fifth straight U.S. Open title

Tennis Betting Lines

09/08/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer defeated Scotland's Andy Murray in Monday's men's final at the U.S. Open to become the first man in the Open Era to capture the event five straight years.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer straight-setted the sixth-seeded Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on Day 15 on the hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The final was pushed from Sunday into Monday after inclement weather from Tropical Storm Hanna wreaked havoc on Saturday's schedule here.

Federer cruised in an uneventful first set, as the super Swiss broke the Brit for a 4-2 lead and broke him once again to close out the stanza in routine 6-2 fashion.

In the second set, Federer broke for a 2-0 lead, only to see Murray break right back and then hold for a 2-2 deadlock. Murray appeared to break Federer once again for a possible 3-2 lead, but a Federer shot that sailed long was called in, Murray did not challenge the call, played it and wound up losing the crucial point. Federer would go on to win the game for a 3-2 edge.

Federer closed out the second set at 7-5 by striking a running forehand winner, his fourth winner of that game.

In set number three, Federer broke Murray for a 2-0 lead, broke again for a 4-0 advantage and then held his serve for a commanding 5-0 lead.

Murray broke Federer, who was serving for the match, to pull within 2-5, but it was all over in the next game, as the Swiss broke the Brit once again by converting on his second championship point when the Scot netted one final forehand after 1 hour, 51 minutes of tennis at a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"This is a very special moment in my career," Federer said during the on-court trophy presentation. "To take this one home is incredible. It means the world to me."

Federer struck 20 more winners (36-16) than Murray, who had his serve broken a whopping seven times by the mighty Swiss. Murray could manage only two breaks over three sets.

The 21-year-old Murray, who is now up to No. 4 in the world rankings, was playing in his first-ever Grand Slam final. He was trying to give Britain its first U.S. Open titlist since Fred Perry way back in 1936.

"I've got a lot of improving to do if I want to win one of these tournaments," Murray said after the setback.

Federer is now 2-2 lifetime against Murray, including 1-1 this year. The Brit upset the Swiss on a hardcourt in Dubai for a second straight win earlier this season.

The 27-year-old Federer now owns 13 career major titles, leaving him just one shy of Pete Sampras' record haul of 14. Federer beat reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in last year's final here and also topped the Serb in this year's semifinals two days ago.

Federer has won 34 straight matches here in Flushing.

The last man to win five straight U.S. Open titles was the legendary "Big" Bill Tilden, who tallied six in a row from 1920-25.

Federer is also the first man ever to win five straight championships at two different majors. He was the Wimbledon champ from 2003-07.

Only two other men have won five U.S. Open titles in the Open Era (since 1968) -- Jimmy Connors and Sampras.

The Basel native Federer, this year's Wimbledon and French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal, has won at least one major title in the last six years. A weary world No. 1 Nadal lost to the surging Murray here on Sunday.

Federer is now 13-4 in his major finals, with all four losses coming against Nadal. He's beaten five different men in the last five U.S. Open finales.

The amazing Federer halted a three-major winless drought, his longest such drought since the middle of 2003.

Federer is now 56-21 in his overall career finals, including 3-4 this year, with all four losses coming against Nadal. Surprisingly, this marked his first hardcourt title of the year.

Murray dropped to 6-5 in his career finals, including 3-1 this season.

The Olympic doubles gold medalist Federer pocketed $1.5 million and was awarded a Lexus automobile, while Murray settled for $1 million. Federer's career prize money is now up over $43 million. Sampras is the only other player to reach $43 million in prize money.

Only five men reached the four major finals this year -- Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Aussie Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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