King of Clay: Nadal topples Federer again for French crown

Tennis Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal continued his sensational success at the French Open, capturing his third consecutive championship with a four-set triumph over Roger Federer in Sunday's title match.

The second-seeded Nadal posted a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory to remain undefeated on the red clay at Roland Garros. The Spaniard has won all 21 matches he has played at the French Open and became the first man to three- peat since the great Bjorn Borg won four in a row from 1978-81.

Not only did Nadal keep his incredible streak intact, but he denied Federer a place in history. The top-seeded Swiss superstar was trying to complete a career Grand Slam and a victory would also have made him the first player to hold all four men's major championships at the same time since Rod Laver captured each in 1969.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam event Federer has not won and Nadal has been the main reason. He lost to Nadal in the semifinals two years ago and dropped a four-setter in last year's title match. After losing last June, Federer went on to capture the Wimbledon crown and the U.S. Open to close out 2006, then won this year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.

It appeared as though Federer might have a strong chance to finally dethrone Nadal and join Fred Perry, Don Budge, Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi in the elite club of those to win all four Grand Slam titles.

Last month, Federer rallied from a set down to beat Nadal on clay with a victory at the Hamburg Masters. It was Federer's first win against his nemesis on the slow surface.

Nadal had his streak of 81 straight match wins on clay stopped with that defeat and gained a measure of revenge on Sunday as he won his 22nd career title and fifth this year. He also won at Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

Federer had his chances -- plenty of them, in fact -- to make a statement early in Sunday's match.

The first set featured a total of 12 break-point chances -- 10 for Federer and two for Nadal. Federer was unable to convert any of his opportunities, while Nadal was successful each time.

Federer failed to convert two in the fourth game, then had five more chances in an epic sixth. Nadal saved the first in the sixth game with an ace, then watched a Federer backhand error set up the first of six deuces in the game. After three more Federer errors on the next three break-point chances, Nadal finally held for 3-3.

The momentum carried over into the next game, as Nadal broke at love. Federer then had a chance to break at love in the very next game, but Nadal won the next five points to hold for 5-3.

Nadal again gained a break point in the 10th game and set up Federer before blasting a forehand winner to capture the set.

Federer looked slightly listless early in the second set and had to stave off a break point in the fourth game, but he regrouped and gained three break points in the seventh game.

Nadal saved the first with a backhand winner, but finally, on his 12th chance, Federer came through. He drilled a perfect cross-court forehand to the line and Nadal netted the return to give Federer a 4-3 lead.

Federer nearly gave it right back, but saved a pair of break points in the next game to hold and almost broke again in the ninth game. He had four chances to close out the set, but made three errors before Nadal finally won it after a sixth deuce.

It only prolonged the set momentarily, as Federer held without much difficulty to even the match.

Nadal wasn't fazed, however, and stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the third set. He broke serve in the second game, as Federer's attempted volley of a Nadal passing shot went long.

Federer didn't manage a single break point against Nadal's serve in the third set, but had two chances on the Spaniard's first service game of the fourth and failed to convert. Nadal hit a forehand down the line to save the first and watched Federer commit a backhand error on the second.

Nadal then set up a pair of breaks in the very next game when he raced to the net and hit a winner off a Federer drop shot. A running forehand hit the net on the first try, but Federer drilled a shot into the net on the second to give Nadal a 2-1 lead.

Federer could not make a dent in Nadal's serve the rest of the way and Nadal easily held in the final game, capturing the match when a Federer forehand sailed long.

Nadal improved to 8-4 lifetime against Federer, whose best surface is up next.

The brief grass court season begins next week, a two-week run of tuneup tournaments leading up to Wimbledon.

Federer has captured the last four Wimbledon titles, including a triumph over Nadal in last year's finale at the All-England Club.

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Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.