Basketball Betting

Federer, Roddick land in Wimbledon final

Tennis Betting Lines

07/03/2009 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick will do battle in Sunday's men's final at Wimbledon. The iconic Federer will appear in a men's record seventh straight Wimbledon championship match.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer topped 24th-seeded German Tommy Haas 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3, while a sixth-seeded former top-ranked Roddick upended third-seeded heavy British crowd favorite Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) at the storied All England Club.

Federer, who would supplant his great rival Rafael Nadal atop the men's rankings with a victory on Sunday, beat Roddick in the 2004 and 2005 finals here.

The Swiss Federer titled here from 2003-2007 and was last year's runner-up to Nadal in arguably the greatest tennis match of all-time.

The great Federer is trying to become the men's all-time leader in Grand Slam singles titles, as he's currently tied with American great Pete Sampras at 14. The super Swiss equaled Sampras and became the sixth man in history to complete a career Grand Slam when he titled at the French Open last month.

Federer will also appear in a men's record 20th Grand Slam final (14-5). He's reached 16 of the last 17 major finals.

With tennis luminaries such as Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg in attendance on Friday, a confident Federer snuck out an ultra-tight first set against Haas by cruising in the tiebreak on Day 11 of the fortnight.

In the second set, things were air-tight again, but Federer finally broke through on his third set point when a game Haas misfired long with a forehand in the 12th game of the stanza.

Federer then charged across the finish line in the third set and converted on his first match point with a resounding overhead smash winner, as the Swiss notched his 10th love service game of the day in the process.

The sublime Swiss, who couldn't have served any better than he did on Friday, advanced in 2 hours, 2 minutes and never faced a break point. Federer broke Haas only twice, but also fired 21 more winners (49-28) en route to victory, his 18th straight on the circuit.

"He just comes up with the goods, you know," Haas said. "He can play defensive and turn it into offensive so quick, like no other player, and that makes him so extremely tough."

Federer is now 10-2 all-time against Haas, including wins in their last nine meetings. The 31-year-old former world No. 2 Haas was appearing in his first- ever Wimbledon semifinal in 11 trips here. He's also played in three Aussie Open semis, losing all three.

Haas, who lost to Federer in the fourth round at the French Open last month, had been a perfect 10-0 on grass this year, including his first-ever grass- court title in his native Germany just three weeks ago.

The 27-year-old Federer played in a record 21st straight Grand Slam semifinal on Friday, and he's now won seven straight at the AEC.

Federer is 46-1 at Wimbledon and 71-1 on grass overall since 2003.

The reigning French Open and five-time U.S. Open titlist Federer is 59-22 in his career finals, including a 2-1 mark this year. He lost to Nadal in the Aussie Open finale back in January.

Meanwhile, the former U.S. Open champion Roddick reached his fifth career Grand Slam final (1-3) and his first since the 2006 U.S. Open by ousting the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Murray in 3 hours, 7 minutes. The big-hitting American struck fewer aces (25-21) and fewer winners (76-64) than Murray on Friday, but was able to sneak out a pair of tiebreaks to pull the upset.

Roddick won the first set by breaking Murray in the final game of the stanza, but the Dunblane, Scotland native pulled even in the second set by breaking Roddick for a 5-4 lead and the holding his serve to secure it.

The determined Roddick, by virtue of a break, jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set, only to see Murray get the break back and ultimately level the frame at 5-5. The set went to a tiebreak, which Roddick won in 16-point fashion when Murray netted a forehand.

In the fourth and final set, Roddick nailed down another tiebreak by converting on his second match point, as he improved to 3-6 lifetime against Murray. Roddick also improved to 26-4 in his 2009 tiebreaks.

Both players could manage only two service breaks apiece in the tight affair.

Roddick is now 34-8 lifetime at Wimbledon.

Murray was trying to give Britain its first male Wimbledon champion in 73 years (Fred Perry) and was the highest-seeded Brit here since Roger Taylor in 1973.

The 26-year-old Roddick is 27-15 in 42 career finals, including a 1-1 record this season. He lost to Murray in a final in Doha in January.

Federer is a lopsided 18-2 lifetime against Roddick, including a perfect 3-0 mark this year. The Swiss handled the American in the Aussie Open semifinals back in January and is a flawless 3-0 against Roddick in major finals. In addition to the '04 and '05 Wimbledon finals, Federer also topped Roddick in the 2006 U.S. Open finale. The Swiss also defeated the American in the 2003 Wimbledon semis.

The 2009 Wimbledon champ will pocket $1.39 million. Federer is the all-time leader in prize money, with more than $48 million earned.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds

Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it. Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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