Nadal tops Querrey; Spain leads U.S. 1-0 in Davis Cup semi

Tennis Betting Lines

09/19/2008 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The best-of-five Davis Cup semifinal between host Spain and the defending champion United States commenced Friday, as Rafael Nadal got the Spaniards out to a 1-0 lead with a victory over Sam Querrey.

The Wimbledon, reigning four-time French Open and Olympic champion Nadal dropped the first set against Querrey before rebounding for a 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 decision in the first of Day 1's opening singles rubbers.

Nadal prevailed in 3 hours, 17 minutes on a temporary clay court at Madrid's Plaza de Toros Las Ventas. The five-time major champion broke Querrey's big serve on four occasions, while the American could manage only one break throughout the match.

The 39th-ranked Querrey tallied 17 more winners (76-59), including 17 aces, against Nadal, but also piled up 74 unforced errors to help the world No. 1 Spaniard along.

Querrey, making his Davis Cup debut on Friday, is filling in this week for James Blake, who helped the U.S. win its first Davis Cup title in 12 years last year, but pulled out of this semifinal last week, citing exhaustion.

Friday's other singles bout pits Spain's David Ferrer against America's best, former No. 1 Andy Roddick.

On Saturday, the doubles rubber here will pit a Spanish team of lefthanders Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco against an American duo of Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish, who joined the draw this week when it was announced that Bob Bryan would be unable to play for the U.S. due to a shoulder injury.

Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Nadal to meet Roddick and Ferrer to take on Querrey.

The Spaniards are captained by Emilio Sanchez, while Patrick McEnroe is guiding the underdog U.S.

The United States and Spain are meeting for the ninth time in their history and for the fifth time this decade. The Americans are 5-3 against the Spaniards, winning the last meeting in a World Group quarterfinal last year in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The Spain-USA winner will visit the Argentina-Russia victor in the final in November. The Argentines are playing host to the Russians in Buenos Aires.

The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles and beat a visiting Russian squad in last year's finale in Portland. Spain owns two championships, including a 3-2 victory over the Americans in the 2004 final in Seville.

Wwwialottery Tennis Betting News

<< CFL Previews - Week 13 (September 19-21)
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (3-8) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (2-9) DATE & TIME: Friday, September 19th, 7:30 p.m. (et). GAME NOTES: Suddenly, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back in playoff contention in the East

<< Jankovic, Dementieva ousted in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva of Russia were a pair of quarterfinal upset victims Friday at the $1.34 million Pan Pacific Open tennis event.

<< Zvonareva, Zheng, Peng reach Guangzhou semis
Guangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva and Chinese crowd favorites Jie Zheng and Shuai Peng led the charge into the semifinals at the $175,000 Guangzhou International Women's Open. The Olympic bronz

<< Jankovic ousted in Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic fell to fifth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in quarterfinal action Friday at the $1.34 million Pan Pacific Open. Jankovic, of Serbia, seemed to be on track to mov

<< Hawkins, Buffaloes down No. 21 West Virginia
Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Hawkins threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception, on 22-of-33 passing, and Aric Goodman booted the game-winning field goal in overtime, as the Colorado Buffaloes edged No. 21 West

New York opens final series at Yankee Stadium vs. O's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The final series at historic Yankee Stadium gets underway this evening, when the Bronx Bombers hold the first of three consecutive meetings with the Baltimore Orioles. The current Yankee Stadium, a building that w

Tigers invade Cleveland's Progressive Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a notable sweep of one of the American League's postseason contenders, the Cleveland Indians will try to keep the momentum going when the Detroit Tigers invade Progressive Field tonight for the opener of a th

Byrd leads Red Sox into Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox haven't had much luck when visiting Toronto this season, but the defending world champions hope to reverse their fortunes behind a pitcher who's been quite successful in enemy ballparks lately.

Angels open series at Rangers Ballpark >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels continue to tune up for the postseason this evening, as they start a three-game series with the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Angels, who are the only team to

Rays try to inch closer to first-ever playoff berth versus Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-year right-hander Edwin Jackson can all but finish off one of history's most unlikely turnarounds when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Minnesota Twins tonight in the second test of a four-game weekend series at Tropicana Fi

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.