Italy dethrones Russia, advances to Fed Cup final

Tennis Betting Lines

04/26/2009 - Castellaneta Marina, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francesca Schiavone posted a triumph in the second reverse singles rubber on Sunday, as Italy deposed of two-time defending champion Russia in the semifinals of the Fed Cup.

Trailing 2-0 in the best-of-five tie, Svetlana Kuznetsova kept Russia alive by defeating Flavia Pennetta 6-0, 6-3 in one hour, 13 minutes. However, Schiavone sealed Italy's place in the final with a hard-fought 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-2 triumph over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who replaced Anna Chakvetadze.

Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci rallied from a set down to trump the Russian duo of Pavlyuchenkova and Nadia Petrova in the doubles rubber.

The Italians had never beaten the Russians in four previous Fed Cup ties, losing in the 2007 final. Italy won its lone Fed Cup crown in 2006, beating Belgium in the final.

Russia, meanwhile, suffered its first Fed Cup loss since the 2006 first round against Belgium. The Russians fell short in their bid for a fifth crown in the last six years.

Italy will play for the Fed Cup title in November against the United States, who battled back to beat the Czech Republic, 3-2, in their best-of-five tie.

Sothevys Tennis Betting News

<< Wolfsburg falls to Energie
Cottbus, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg wasted a glorious opportunity to take charge of the Bundesliga title race as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to relegation-battling Energie at Stadion der Freundschaft on Sunday. A win would hav

<< Fabregas helps Arsenal double up on Boro
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cesc Fabregas scored a goal in each half as Arsenal stretched its unbeaten record in league play to 20 games with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The win has all but ass

<< Nadal captures fifth straight Barcelona title
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal continued his domination on clay with a straight-set victory over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in a rematch of last year's title bout. The top-seeded Nadal claimed his fifth consecuti

<< U.S. rallies past Czechs in Fed Cup semis
Brno, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands rallied from a set down in the decisive doubles rubber to defeat the Czech Republic and vault the United States into the Fed Cup final. Alexa Glatc

<< Tigers send C Treanor to DL
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers placed catcher Matt Treanor on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a right hip strain. Treanor has no hits in 13 at-bats over four games for Detroit this season. To fill the ros

Swiss top Germans at World Championship >>
Bern, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Host nation Switzerland thrilled a capacity crowd with a 3-2 victory over Germany in Group B play at the 2009 World Championships. Mark Streit, a member of the New York Islanders, notched the

Quality Road shows blood from quarter-crack >>
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Derby winner Quality Road came back from a Sunday morning gallop at Belmont Park's training track with a small amount of blood from a quarter-crack of the right front foot. The colt was sent o

Patriots deal Hobbs to Eagles >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots traded cornerback Ellis Hobbs to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Pats acquired two fifth-round picks from the Birds. Hobbs recorded 47 tackles, three interceptions and 1 1

Brewers activate Hoffman >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have activated closer Trevor Hoffman in time for Sunday's series finale against the Houston Astros. Hoffman started the season on the disabled list because of a strained right obliq

Cubs' Lee leaves with neck spasms >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee left Sunday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals after experiencing neck spasms. He was replaced by Micah Hoffpauir after the top of the first inning and is liste

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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