Croatia, Japan split opening Davis Cup singles

Tennis Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croatia and Japan split the opening singles matches in their first-round Davis Cup tie on Friday.

Japan picked up the first point of the day when Go Saeda made a stunning rally for a 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ivan Dodig, but Ivo Karlovic quickly halted the host nation's momentum with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Kei Nishikori.

The best-of-five will continue on Saturday with the doubles match that is scheduled to feature the Japanese tandem of Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita versus a Croatian duo of Karlovic and Lovro Zovko, while Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Nishikori to battle Dodig and Karlovic to take on Soeda.

Dodig appeared to have control of the opening match, as he raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first-set tiebreaker and picked up a late break of serve in the second set.

Soeda, though, broke Dodig in the 10th game to win the third set and carried the momentum into the fourth by winning the first three games. After Dodig broke back in the fifth game, Soeda broke serve again for 4-2 and went on to square the match.

Each player broke serve once midway through the fifth set, which went to 5-5 before Soeda set up another break point with a backhand. Dodig then sent a forehand long and Soeda cemented the incredible comeback with a hold at love in the final game of the more than four-hour match.

"I think it was my best win ever," said Soeda, who also beat Dodig last month in the second round of the Chennai Open en route to a semifinal appearance.

Karlovic, much like Dodig, also won the first two sets in the second match of the day, but he didn't allow Nishikori a chance to get close. He closed out the third by winning the final four games with a pair of breaks.

"I tried to mix a lot and not rally a lot with him," said Karlovic, who used his booming serve to his advantage. "I try to win as quickly as I can on every point and I was trying to be as aggressive as I could."

The 6-foot-10 Karlovic banged out 18 aces and didn't face a break point during the match. Nishikori won a mere 12 points on Karlovic's serve.

Team Croatia is captained by Zeljko Krajan, while Japan is led by Eiji Takeuchi. This marks the first-ever meeting between the two nations.

Croatia captured its lone Davis Cup title in 2005, while Japan has only ever reached one final, and that resulted in a loss against the 32-time champion United States way back in 1921.

The Croatia-Japan winner will meet the Argentina-Germany victor in the quarterfinals in April.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.