Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami

Tennis Betting Lines

03/30/2009 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5 million Sony Ericsson Open.

Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32nd seed, 7-5, 6-2, while Venus, seeded fifth, dispatched German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-3.

Serena won her second straight and fifth overall Miami title last year by besting Jelena Jankovic in the final. She also titled here from 2002-04. The five titles ties Steffi Graf for the most ever at this tournament.

Next up for Serena will be 17th seed Zheng Jie of China, as she breezed past Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-0. Venus' next opponent will be 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who defeated 21st-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-3.

Venus won this event in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Venus defeated Serena in the '99 finale.

Meanwhile, a trio of high seeds -- all from Russia -- failed to make it out of the third round. Second-seeded Dinara Safina was upended by Australian Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-4, while China's Li Na outlasted sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Ekaterina Makarova bested fellow countrywoman and ninth-seed Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-1.

Another upset saw Hungary's Agnes Szavay, seeded 25th, topple seventh-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Also Sunday, fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva defeated Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, the 31st seed, 6-2, 6-2, while some other seeds to advance were No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 11 Victoria Azarenka and No. 13 Caroline Wozniacki. The Russian Kuznetsova downed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4, Azarenka of Belarus made quick work of 22nd-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-4, and Wozniacki of Denmark topped 18th-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-4.

In other action, 20th seed Amelie Mauresmo of France rallied from a set down to beat 15th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2, 24th-seeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova fended off Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and 26th-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova defeated Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.

Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues, seeded 19th, advanced after 16th-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was forced to retire in the third set because of cramping.

The 2009 Miami champ will claim $700,000.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

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.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

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.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”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?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.