Djokovic, Murray land in Aussie quarters

Tennis Betting Lines

01/23/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who lost in the last two finals in Melbourne, were a pair of fourth-round winners Monday at the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 Djokovic was tested in a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Aussie hero and former top-ranked star Lleyton Hewitt in a match that ended just after 1:00 a.m. at Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic moved on in just under three hours by smacking 15 aces among his 55 winners and he broke Hewitt eight times, compared to four breaks for the 30- year-old Aussie loser.

The 24-year-old Djokovic is now 5-1 lifetime against Hewitt. The Serb also topped the Aussie in the fourth round here in 2008 and is 3-1 all-time against Hewitt in Grand Slam action.

Hewitt is a two-time major champion and was the 2005 Aussie Open runner-up to retired Russian Marat Safin.

The reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titlist Djokovic has now won 36 of his last 38 Grand Slam matches and is seeking a third straight major title and a third Aussie crown. A title this week would put Djokovic in select company, as only four players -- Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- have captured three straight Grand Slam championships in the Open era (since 1968).

Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent on Wednesday will be fifth-seeded Spanish star David Ferrer. The powerful Serb is 6-5 lifetime against Ferrer.

The hot Ferrer, who titled in Auckland two weeks ago, easily beat 17th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his third Aussie Open quarterfinal.

The world No. 4 Murray, meanwhile, improved to 16-2 in Melbourne over the last three years with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 victory over injured Mikhail Kukushkin, as the overmatched Kazakhstani retired from the match with a hip injury.

"It wasn't until I went up 3-0 (that) pretty quickly I realized, you know, he wasn't really moving," Murray said of Kukushkin.

"It's obviously good for me, I get to conserve some energy. Tough for him, first time in the fourth-round of a Slam," Murray added.

Murray, who titled in Brisbane three weeks ago, lost to Djokovic in last year's Aussie finale and was the runner-up to Federer here two years ago.

Up next for Murray will be 24th-seeded Kei Nishikori, who posted a big Day-8 upset by ousting sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to become the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995 (Wimbledon).

Nishikori is also the first Japanese man in 80 years to advance to the Aussie Open quarters, since Ryosuki Nunoi and Jiro Satoh turned the trick way back in 1932.

"Is feeling unbelievable. My first quarterfinal and beating Tsonga, makes me really happy," Nishikori said. "I hope it's big in Japan. A lot of people messaged me a couple of days ago about the round of 16 and now the quarterfinals. It's really exciting."

Tsonga, who lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Aussie finale, piled up 70 unforced errors, compared to just 30 for the elated Nishikori.

The popular Tsonga was fresh off his season-opening title in Doha three weeks ago.

The men's quarterfinals will get underway Tuesday, as a second-seeded Nadal will take on seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych in a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final and a third-seeded Federer will battle 11th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro in a rematch of the 2009 U.S. Open final. Nadal beat Berdych at Wimbledon two years ago, while del Potro stunned Federer in New York in '09.

The former No. 1 Nadal owns 10 major titles, including last year's French Open and the 2009 Aussie Open, as be beat his great rival Federer in the championship match in Melbourne three years ago. The former top-ranked great Federer is the holder of a men's record 16 major titles, including four Aussie Open crowns.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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