Youzhny, Nadal reach U.S. Open semis

Tennis Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny and eight-time major titlist Rafael Nadal won their quarterfinal matches on Thursday at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Nadal, the world No. 1, handled eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the night match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, Nadal needs a U.S. Open title to complete the career Golden Slam, which is all four majors and an Olympic gold medal.

If Nadal can capture the title here, he would become just the seventh man in history to complete the career Grand Slam.

Nadal, who has yet to drop a set at this year's event, was actually trailing 4-2 in the first set. However, Nadal won the next three games to turn the tables against his fellow Spaniard. After each player held serve, Nadal broke Verdasco's serve to take the first set.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the second stanza, Nadal won three consecutive games to take control. He cruised to victory from there to set up a meeting with Youzhny in Saturday's semifinals.

Verdasco lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarters here last year.

The 12th-seeded Youzhny earned a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 25th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in four hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Russian advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal for the second time in his career. Youzhny, who reached the semis here back in 2006, is the first Russian into the semifinals of a Grand Slam since Marat Safin at Wimbledon in 2008.

Wawrinka, playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, cruised past Youzhny in the first set before things heated up in the second.

The tight second stanza ultimately went to a tiebreak, which saw the Swiss stave off three set points before the Russian finally captured it with a smash forehand winner.

Wawrinka then eased his way past Youzhny in the third, serving the set out with some big blasts.

Youzhny had no trouble taking the fourth set after racing out to a 3-0 lead. The Russian kept the momentum going in the final frame by breaking Wawrinka's serve. Youzhny then held serve and seemed to be in control.

The Swiss, though, fought right back with a hold and break of his own to even things at 2-2. The Russian followed with a break and hold to take a 4-2 edge. After each player held serve, Youzhny broke Wawrinka's serve to take the match.

Nadal owns a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series with Youzhny.

Saturday's other semi will pit second-seeded Swiss icon Roger Federer against third-seeded Serbian star Djokovic. Federer is 10-5 lifetime against Djokovic, including wins here in New York in each of the previous three years. The Swiss topped the Serb in the 2007 U.S. Open final and the 2008 and 2009 semifinals.

The 16-time major titlist Federer is 4-1 versus the former Aussie Open champion Djokovic in Grand Slam competition.

Federer has played in the last six U.S. Open finals, including a loss against Juan Martin del Potro here a year ago. The reigning Aussie Open champion Federer captured five straight U.S. Open championships from 2004-08.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.