Henin strolls into Zurich QFs

Tennis Betting Lines

10/18/2007 - Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 star Justine Henin was an easy second-round winner Thursday at the $1.34 million Zurich Open.

The reigning U.S. and French Open titlist Henin drilled Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-1 on Day 4 at Hallenstadion.

The seven-time major champion Henin, who captured this Swiss event in 2003, is now riding a 17-match winning streak, with her last loss coming against France's Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.

The Belgian Henin's quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Polish lucky-loser Agnieszka Radwanska, who toppled last year's Zurich runner-up Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-3. Hantuchova headed into Thursday's match battling a cold.

"I had a really hard time today trying to catch my breath in between points," Hantuchova said. "I have been fighting a cold for the past few days and I really just had nothing left and became very tired out there."

The Slovakian Hantuchova, seeded seventh this week, lost to Russian Maria Sharapova in last year's Zurich finale.

Second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova escaped her second-round match with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 decision against solid Austrian Sybille Bammer. The U.S. Open runner-up Kuznetsova will meet Italian Francesca Schiavone here on Friday.

Schiavone disappointed the home crowd by overcoming Swiss favorite Patty Schnyder 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Schnyder captured the Zurich title in 2002 and was the runner-up here in 2005.

The other quarters will pit the ninth-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli against France's Tatiana Golovin and Czech Nicole Vaidisova versus Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko. The surging Golovin has won 13 of her last 15 matches, including a title in Slovenia last month and a runner-up finish against the great Henin in Stuttgart two weeks ago.

The 2007 Zurich titlist will take home $182,000.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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