Azarenka outduels Clijsters, reaches Aussie finals
Tennis Betting Lines
01/26/2012 -
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Victoria Azarenka ended Kim Clijsters'
run at consecutive Australian Open titles Thursday, besting the four-time
Grand Slam champion in a tense three-set semifinal battle.
Azarenka, seeded third, reached her first major final by outlasting the
defending champion, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, in two hours, 12 minutes at Rod Laver
Arena.
The 22-year-old became the first Belarusian woman to reach a Grand Slam final
since Natasha Zvereva did so at Roland Garros in 1988 when she was
representing U.S.S.R.
In doing so, she ended another memorable performance Down Under by Clijsters,
who has stated she will retire after the Summer Olympics in London.
If this was, in fact, the Belgian's final visit to the season's first major,
she went down fighting. Azarenka broke Clijsters' second serve of the match,
then fought off four break chances in the proceeding game.
Azarenka held serve with relative ease the rest of the opening set to stay
in the driver's seat, but Clijsters began her comeback by breaking at love on
Azarenka's service game in the second.
Clijsters, the 11th seed, quickly evened the match before falling behind 4-1
in the third. She held serve and trailed 40-0 in the next game before breaking
to get back on serve.
But Azarenka, riding a 10-match winning streak after winning in Sydney earlier
this month, earned her fourth break of the match to serve for a spot in the
finals.
In the quarterfinals, Clijsters fought off four match points against last
year's Aussie runner-up Li Na before pulling out the three-set victory.
A repeat performance was not meant to be, as Clijsters was wide on match point
to end any chance at becoming the eighth woman to repeat as Aussie champion.
Azarenka will face the winner of the Petra Kvitova-Maria Sharapova match. The
champion will become the new World No. 1, supplanting Clijsters' quarterfinal
victim, Caroline Wozniacki.
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It was T
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.
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