Melzer lifts Austria past Russia, into Davis Cup QFs

Tennis Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Wiener Neustadt, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jurgen Melzer was the hero on Sunday, as he straight-setted Alex Bogomolov Jr. to propel Austria past Russian and into its first Davis Cup quarterfinal since 1995.

The Austrians led best-of-five opening-round affair 2-1 heading into Sunday when Melzer flattened Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour, 43 minutes in the first reverse singles rubber to give the hosts an insurmountable 3-1 advantage at Wiener Neustadt's Arena Nova. Melzer piled up seven service breaks on Day 3, compared to only two for the Russian loser.

"I think it was one-way traffic," said Melzer, "which surprised me a little bit because I think he's a great player, but I just dominated him after the first three points when he hit three winners. It was close to the performances I had when I was top 10 and I'm really happy for the team that we made it."

Russia stayed alive on Saturday, pulling within 2-1 with a grueling five-set doubles victory by Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny against a quality Austrian duo of Alexander Peya and Oliver Marach.

In Friday's opening singles, Melzer beat Igor Kunitsyn in five sets and little-known Andreas Haider-Maurer really surprised Bogomolov in four. Bogomolov had played as an American on tour before switching his allegiance to his native Russia this year. Last year's most-improved ATP player was making his Davis Cup debut this week, and it turned out to be a forgettable one for the Florida resident.

Sunday's dead rubber saw Kunitsyn clip Haider-Maurer 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), as Austria, captained by Clemens Trimmel, settled for a 3-2 victory.

Austria is now 1-2 all-time against two-time champion Russia in Davis Cup play. Both Russian wins came when they were part of the former Soviet Union, in 1981 and 1984.

The Austrians, who have never captured the Davis Cup, will go on the road to meet reigning champion Spain in the quarterfinals in April.

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Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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