Azarenka outduels Clijsters, reaches Aussie finals

Tennis Betting Lines

01/26/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victoria Azarenka ended Kim Clijsters' run at consecutive Australian Open titles Thursday, besting the four-time Grand Slam champion in a tense three-set semifinal battle.

Azarenka, seeded third, reached her first major final by outlasting the defending champion, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, in two hours, 12 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

The 22-year-old became the first Belarusian woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Natasha Zvereva did so at Roland Garros in 1988 when she was representing U.S.S.R.

In doing so, she ended another memorable performance Down Under by Clijsters, who has stated she will retire after the Summer Olympics in London.

If this was, in fact, the Belgian's final visit to the season's first major, she went down fighting. Azarenka broke Clijsters' second serve of the match, then fought off four break chances in the proceeding game.

Azarenka held serve with relative ease the rest of the opening set to stay in the driver's seat, but Clijsters began her comeback by breaking at love on Azarenka's service game in the second.

Clijsters, the 11th seed, quickly evened the match before falling behind 4-1 in the third. She held serve and trailed 40-0 in the next game before breaking to get back on serve.

But Azarenka, riding a 10-match winning streak after winning in Sydney earlier this month, earned her fourth break of the match to serve for a spot in the finals.

In the quarterfinals, Clijsters fought off four match points against last year's Aussie runner-up Li Na before pulling out the three-set victory.

A repeat performance was not meant to be, as Clijsters was wide on match point to end any chance at becoming the eighth woman to repeat as Aussie champion.

Azarenka will face the winner of the Petra Kvitova-Maria Sharapova match. The champion will become the new World No. 1, supplanting Clijsters' quarterfinal victim, Caroline Wozniacki.

Cyberblackjack Tennis Betting News

<< Love records another double-double, T-Wolves beat Mavs
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love celebrated his contract extension in predictable fashion, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Timberwolves' 105-90 trouncing of the shorthanded Mavericks. Love, who agreed to a

<< Duke rebounds at Maryland
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mason Plumlee totaled 23 points and 12 rebounds as No. 8 Duke downed Maryland, 74-61. Ryan Kelly posted 14 points and Austin Rivers added 10 for the Blue Devils (17-3, 5-1 ACC), who shook off a

<< Kansas State keeps Texas Tech winless in Big 12
Lubbock, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martavious Irving finished with 16 points on 6- of-10 shooting from the floor, leading No. 22 Kansas State to a 69-47 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday. Rodney McGruder scored 13 points and pulled down si

<< Creighton handles Drake
Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug McDermott netted a game-high 30 points on 10-of-14 from the floor to go with nine rebounds as No. 15 Creighton topped Drake, 77-69, on Wednesday. Jahenns Manigat drained five three-pointers en route t

<< Durant, Thunder drop skidding Hornets
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant had 25 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, lifting the Western Conference-leading Thunder over the skidding Hornets, 101-91. James Harden added 18 points and six assists for Okla

Nash leads OSU to upset of No. 2 Missouri >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Le'Bryan Nash kept rising up and firing from beyond the arc, and as each shot went down, the anticipation of an upset grew larger at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Nash hit three treys and scored 13 points du

Curry lifts Warriors over Blazers >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Curry hit six of Golden State's 11 three-pointers and finished with 32 points and seven assists, as the Warriors took down the Portland Trail Blazers, 101-93. David Lee posted 26 points and Brando

UNLV slips past Boise State in OT >>
Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Moser had a monster night with 18 points and 21 rebounds as No. 12 UNLV escaped with a 77-72 overtime win over Boise State. Chace Stanback added 15 points for the Rebels (19-3, 3-1 MWC), who won their thir

Nuggets cap 5-0 road trip with rout of Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danilo Gallinari led seven players in double figures with 23 points, as the Nuggets wrapped up a historically successful road trip with a 122-93 blowout of the Kings. Since joining the NBA prior to the

Double the pleasure: Raptors end another skid in Utah >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza scored 25 points apiece Wednesday night and the Toronto Raptors snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Utah Jazz with a 111-106 win in double-overtime. It was T

FOOTBALL BETTING

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.