Berdych beats Djokovic to reach Wimbledon final

Tennis Betting Lines

07/02/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Czech Tomas Berdych upended third- seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon on Friday to reach his first career Grand Slam final.

The 12th-seeded Berdych ousted the former Australian Open champion Djokovic 6-3, 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 on Centre Court at the storied All England Club. Djokovic was also a semifinal loser on the grass here three years ago.

The 6-foot-4 Berdych, who stunned defending champion and six-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer in four sets here on Wednesday, will meet the Rafael Nadal-Andy Murray semifinal victor in Sunday's lucrative men's finale.

Berdych captured the first set rather easily on Day 11 before Djokovic fought back in the second. The Serbian star, however, was unable to get back into the match by taking the second-set tiebreak and smashed his racquet after dropping the crucial stanza.

The third set was all Berdych, who broke Djokovic to grab a 5-3 lead when Djokovic, who was back on his heels throughout the match, came up with an untimely double fault, his eighth of the day.

Berdych, who simply crushed the tennis ball all day on Friday, set-up his first match point with a huge forehand winner, and wound up converting on his second match point by launching an unreturnable serve after 2 hours, 18 minutes of tennis.

The talented Berdych fired 11 aces among his 34 winners and broke Djokovic's serve three times, compared to only one break for the Serbian loser.

Berdych, who has now won 14 of his last 15 matches, was a semifinal loser at the French Open four weeks ago. He's into his first major final, playing in his 27th Grand Slam event.

The 23-year-old Djokovic appeared in his eight career major semi (2-6). He was the Aussie Open champ in 2008 and reached the Wimbledon final four in 2007, but was forced to retire against Nadal due to a foot injury while trailing in the third set that day.

The 24-year-old Berdych will appear in his 11th career ATP-level final, seeking a sixth title. He was a runner-up to Andy Roddick at this year's Miami Masters event and hasn't titled since running the table at a tournament in Munich last season.

The last Czech player to reach the Wimbledon final was the great Ivan Lendl in 1987. The lone male Czech titlist here was Jan Kodes back in 1973.

Wwzdnet Tennis Betting News

<< Texas' Lewis may have new battery mate in opener with Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two extra days' rest will have more of an impact on Texas starter Colby Lewis than originally thought. That's because Lewis may be teaming up with a new catcher this evening, when Bengie Molina could make his Rangers

<< Capitals sign G Sabourin
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have signed free agent goaltender Dany Sabourin to a one-year contract. Sabourin, 29, has played in 57 career NHL games over parts of five seasons with Calgary, Pittsburgh a

<< Hardcore Hoop Talk: The Free Agent Fantasy
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The quickest way to build a championship contender is through free agency. That was the message delivered by Donnie Walsh when he replaced Isiah Thomas as president of basketball operations for the Knicks in Apri

<< Angels rest hopes on Saunders vs. Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Royals haven't presented the Angels with much of an obstacle over the last two-plus seasons and Los Angeles starter Joe Saunders hasn't been exempt from that success. Saunders aims to remain undefeated in his

<< A's hope to slow down LaPorta in opener with Tribe
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A big reason for Cleveland's resurgence has been the hot bat of Matt LaPorta, who has homered in three straight games and will try to make it four tonight in the opener of a three-game series versus the Oakland Athletics at P

Rays lefty Price goes for 12th win in Twin Cities >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the owners of the best record in baseball, the Rays haven't won three straight games since early June. Joe Maddon's ballclub has to like its chances of reaching that mark tonight, when David Price goes for his 12

Celtics sign first-round pick Bradley >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have signed guard Avery Bradley, their first-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Celtics took Bradley 19th overall in the draft after he played

Okada steps down as Japan coach >>
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japan coach Takeshi Okada has stepped down as manager following the team's exit from the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday. Okada guided Japan through the group stage, but the Samurai Blue lost in the opening round

Petulant players, underwhelming teams highlight World Cup >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It was supposed to be a celebration of a beautiful game, a gathering of some of the best soccer players in the world. The 2010 World Cup, however, has raised concern in regards to some of the world's best team

Canadian teams make free-agent splash >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen were in Calgary Flames uniforms, it seems management, fans or the players themselves, couldn't leave town fast enough. Times change, especially when your former t

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.