Mauresmo, Kuznetsova, Serena move on at Oz Open

Tennis Betting Lines

01/17/2007 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning champion Amelie Mauresmo, French Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and two-time Melbourne titlist Serena Williams highlighted Wednesday' second-round winners at the Australian Open.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Mauresmo charged past helpless Russian Olga Poutchkova 6-2, 6-2 to corral her ninth straight victory at Melbourne Park. The two-time Grand Slam champion topped Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne in last year's Aussie Open and Wimbledon finals and was the runner-up here in Melbourne in 1999.

The French Mauresmo's third-round opponent will be Czech Eva Birnerova.

A third-seeded Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champ, blew past Aussie Monique Adamczak 6-2, 6-1. The Russian Kuznetsova has lost only five games over her first two matches at this Aussie fortnight.

Next up for Kuznetsova will be her 26th-seeded countrywoman Maria Kirilenko, who beat Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Day 3.

An unseeded Williams, a seven-time major titlist who prevailed here in Melbourne in 2003 and 2005, topped Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Williams' next hurdle will be fifth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova, an easy 6-1, 6-2 winner over Argentine Gisela Dulko.

Seventh-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up in 2004, got past German Martina Muller 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, while 10th-seeded Czech slugger Nicole Vaidisova vaulted past Venezuelan Milagros Sequera 6-2, 6-2 and 11th-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic moved to 11-1 this year with a 6-2, 6-2 pasting of veteran Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.

In other second-round action, 16th seed Shahar Peer of Israel downed American Meilen Tu 6-3, 6-0; No. 20 seed Tatiana Golovin of France pounded Czech Zuzana Ondraskova 6-2, 6-0; and 21st-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik outlasted Czech Iveta Benesova 7-6 (7-0), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1.

There were a few upsets, as Czech Lucie Safarova defeated 14th-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-3; Victoria Azarenka of Belarus ousted 18th- seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 6-0, 7-5; and another Belarusian, Anastasiya Yakimova, drove out 23rd-seeded Japanese Ai Sugiyama 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.

Additional second-round wins came for Italian Maria Elena Camerin and the aforementioned Birnerova, who set up the date with Mauresmo by topping German Julia Schruff 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

Eighth seed Patty Schnyder, ninth seed Dinara Safina and No. 15 seed Daniela Hantuchova were among Wednesday's first-round victors. Schnyder, of Switzerland, topped American Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-4; Safina downed her fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; and Hantuchova beat France's Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-1.

Other seeded first-round winners were No. 17 German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, No. 19 Chinese Na Li and No. 22 Russian Vera Zvonareva.

Several other women recorded opening-round wins, including American Ashley Harkleroad, who drubbed China's Meng Yuan 6-3, 6-0.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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