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Federer avoids first-round shocker at WimbledonTennis Betting Lines06/21/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six-time champion Roger Federer was on the ropes Monday but managed to avoid an opening-round shocker against game Colombian Alejandro Falla at Wimbledon. The 60th-ranked Falla stunned Federer by winning the first two sets on Day 1 and served for the match in the fourth set, but the super Swiss staved off his Colombian counterpart to record a gutsy 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 victory on the famed Centre Court at the storied All England Club. The reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Federer found a way to win on a day where he clearly was not at his best. He avoided losing in the first round here for the first time in eight years. Falla played the match of his life on Monday, which included the unlikely two- sets-to-none lead. The 26-year-old Colombian played some brilliant baseline tennis for the first four sets. He broke the mighty Federer with a backhand volley in the first set to grab a 6-5 lead, and then held serve to capture the opening stanza. In the second set, the surprising Falla recorded another huge break when the world No. 2 Federer netted a forehand on his way to a 3-4 deficit. Falla consolidated the break on his way to a stunning 6-4 set victory. Federer saved a pair of set points, at 4-5 in the second, but Falla ultimately prevailed on a fourth set point with a quality forehand volley winner. After going up by two sets, Falla summoned a trainer to work on his left leg, which required treatment on a couple of occasions in the opening-day duel. In the third set, Falla had chance to break for a 5-4 lead, but the Swiss great, down love-40 at one point, wound up saving four break points to assume a 5-4 lead. Federer then broke Falla to win the third set, which he did with a much-needed forehand winner. In the fourth set, Falla broke for a 1-0 lead, but Federer held tough and would get the break back nine games later to pull even at 5-all. Falla was serving for the match, leading at 5-4. The 16-time major champion Federer managed to force a fourth-set tiebreak, which he won easily, and then dominated the fifth set at love to breath a sigh of relief. The Basel native wound up winning 10 of the last 11 games. Federer, who tallied seven double faults on Monday, needed 3 hours, 18 minutes to advance, which he did with the help of 21 aces and five service breaks. Falla settled for three breaks in the round-of-128 tussle. The 28-year-old Federer is now 3-0 versus Falla this season, including a second-round victory at the French Open. Federer improved to 52-5 lifetime at Wimbledon. The top-seeded Federer has appeared in the last seven finals here, winning six of them. He beat Andy Roddick in last year's memorable finale, which featured a grueling 30-game fifth set. With the win last year, Federer became the men's all-time leader with a 15th major title. Federer's second-round opponent on Wednesday will be Serbian Ilia Bozoljac. In other action involving top-16 seeds, German Florian Mayer toppled No. 11 Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) and No. 16 Austrian Jurgen Melzer topped Jamaican Dustin Brown 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The Croatian Cilic was an Aussie Open semifinalist back in January. Melzer reached the French Open semis earlier this month. A mild upset came when Poland's Michal Przysiezny took out 17th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Other seeded Day-1 winners were No. 21 Frenchman Gael Monfils, No. 22 Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and No. 28 Spaniard Albert Montanes. Lopez dismissed American Jesse Levine in four sets.
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Chile downs record-setting Swiss >>
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Gonzalez scored 15 minutes from time as Chile downed 10-man Switzerland, 1-0, on Monday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to take over the top spot in Group H. Switzerland set the rec
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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details. According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800). Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund. ''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.'' Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby. ''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.'' Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year. ”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?'' For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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