Nadal, Federer open with wins Down Under

Tennis Betting Lines

01/16/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champions Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer highlighted Monday's first-round winners at the first Grand Slam event of the year -- the Australian Open.

The second-seeded Nadal cruised past Ukrainian-born American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 46 minutes, while a third-seeded Federer leveled Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryatsev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 38 minutes for his 60th match win at Melbourne Park.

Nadal played with his right knee heavily taped on Monday.

"I was sitting on a chair in the hotel, I felt like a crack on the knee -- really strange," Nadal said. "I stand up. I felt the knee a little bit strange. I moved the leg like this two times to try to find the feeling. After the second time, the knee stays with an unbelievable pain completely straight. I have no movement on the knee."

"I wasn't 100 percent sure I would have a chance to play," Nadal added.

Nadal played Monday after an MRI exam showed no major damage in the knee.

"I started with a little bit of a scare at the beginning, and nervous because I was really disappointed yesterday," the Spaniard said. "But after the first 10 games -- I started to play with normal conditions.

"The best thing is I felt the knee very well. I really don't understand why happened everything, but I am really happy that today I was ready to play and I played a fantastic match."

A healthy Federer also played some fine tennis on Monday.

"No problem, I am happy to be 100 percent fit," Federer said.

Both situated in the bottom half of the draw, Nadal and Federer could only meet in the semifinals next week. The 10-time major champion Nadal beat Federer in the 2009 Aussie finale, while Federer has won four Aussie crowns among his record 16 major titles.

The 30-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open era (since 1968) to capture five Aussie titles.

Nadal's second-round opponent on Wednesday will be oft-inured former world No. 2 Tommy Haas, while Federer will encounter German Andreas Beck.

Seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and No. 8 American Mardy Fish were also among the Day-1 winners on Monday.

Berdych posted a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision over Spain's Albert Ramos, popping seven aces and breaking Ramos' serve five times to move on, while Fish rolled to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 straight-set victory over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller. Muller reeled off nine aces in the match, but also committed 39 unforced errors and failed to break the American's serve.

Fish will face Colombian Alejandro Falla in the round of 64.

Tenth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro overcame a first-set defeat to record a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Poland's Lukasz Kubot, while 11th-seeded Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro also battled back from an early setback to move on, posting a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 decision over France's Adrian Mannarino. Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, the 13th seed, downed Aussie Greg Jones 1-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.

Up next for the former U.S. Open champion del Potro will be Slovenian Blaz Kavcic.

Towering American John Isner, seeded 16th here, handled Aussie Benjamin Mitchell 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1); 18th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2); 21st-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka waltzed past France's Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-1, 7-5; and rising Aussie youngster Bernard Tomic fought back to dismiss struggling 22nd- seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.

German Philipp Kohlschreiber took out 25th-seeded Argentine Juan Monaco 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0; Slovak Lukas Lacko knocked out 28th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Kevin Anderson of South Africa, the 30th seed, roll past Denmark's Frederik Nielsen 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; and Austria's Jurgen Melzer, the 31st seed, was driven out of the tournament by 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3.

Meanwhile, American Sam Querrey, on the mend from an elbow injury, swatted South African Kenny De Schepper 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian of Argentina was leading Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 4-2 when the Finnish veteran retired, and former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis downed German Benjamin Becker 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Baghdatis reached the final here back in 2006. Nalbandian will clash with the 6-foot-9 Isner on Wednesday, while Querrey will battle the rising Tomic.

Italy's Flavio Cipolla outlasted former top-five Russian star Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, the aforementioned Haas got past American Denis Kudla 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-0, 7-5, and American Donald Young earned a 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2 victory over German Peter Gojowczyk.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

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