Ljubicic falls; Dodig wins Zagreb opener

Tennis Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Zagreb, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatian tennis hero Ivan Ljubicic went by way of a second-round upset, while reigning champion Ivan Dodig of the host nation was an opening-round winner Wednesday at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event.

The top-seeded Ljubicic was sent packing by last year's Zagreb runner-up Michael Berrer, as the left-handed German posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory, despite an 11-ace effort from the big Croat.

The former top-five star Ljubicic was the Zagreb champion back in 2006.

Berrer will meet Austrian qualifier Jurgen Melzer in Friday's quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Dodig downed Turkey's Marsel Ilhan 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 on the indoor hardcourts at Dom Sportova.

Dodig defeated Berrer in last year's finale here.

In some other second-round action, seventh-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase outlasted German Matthias Bachinger 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, while Melzer upended fifth-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi in a mild upset, 6-2, 6-3.

Additional first-round winners were Slovenian Grega Zemlja, Israeli Dudi Sela and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

In some second-round action here on Thursday, Dodig will face Garcia-Lopez and sixth-seeded former Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis will encounter Poland's Lukasz Kubot. The Cypriot Baghdatis was the Zagreb champ in 2007.

This week's titlist will collect $90,000.

Zagreb and Montpellier, France are the first European stops on the 2012 ATP World Tour calendar.

Netflutter Tennis Betting News

<< Blue Jays sign P Cordero
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blue Jays have signed pitcher Francisco Cordero to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million, the team announced Wednesday. Cordero, 36, spent the last four season with the Reds. He posted a 2.45

<< Panthers F Versteeg out Wednesday with flu
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Panthers forward Kris Versteeg will miss Wednesday's game against the Washington Capitals with the flu. The 25-year-old also missed practice on Monday and Tuesday with the malady. In his first s

<< Irving, Rubio named NBA's top rookies for January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio were named the top rookies in the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for games played from the season'

<< Simon, Gasquet roll in Open Sud openers
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French favorites Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament. The second-seeded world No. 12 Simon subdued Italian Fla

<< Thibodeau, Brooks named NBA's top coaches for December and January
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls' Tom Thibodeau and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Scott Brooks have been named the top coaches for the Eastern and Western Conference, respectively, for December and January. Thibode

Flames ink C Kolanos >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Krys Kolanos to a two year, two-way contract and recalled him from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Calgary native has appeared

Rapids hand three-year extension to technical director Bravo >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on Wednesday that the club has signed technical director Paul Bravo to a three- year contract extension. Bravo has presided over Colorado's soccer operations since

Galaxy adds Nakazawa from Philadelphia >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Galaxy acquired midfielder Kyle Nakazawa and a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for an international roster spot on Wednesday. Nakazawa was selected in the third roun

Nationals sign RHP Durbin >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with veteran relief pitcher Chad Durbin on Wednesday. MLB.com, which cited a baseball source, reported the deal and said it includes an in

Eight set to go in Robert B. Lewis Stakes >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight three-year-olds get back into action Saturday afternoon in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The 1 1/16-mile race is an important prep for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Apri

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.