Fabulous Federer: Swiss great wins fifth straight U.S. Open title

Tennis Betting Lines

09/08/2008 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer defeated Scotland's Andy Murray in Monday's men's final at the U.S. Open to become the first man in the Open Era to capture the event five straight years.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer straight-setted the sixth-seeded Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 on Day 15 on the hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The final was pushed from Sunday into Monday after inclement weather from Tropical Storm Hanna wreaked havoc on Saturday's schedule here.

Federer cruised in an uneventful first set, as the super Swiss broke the Brit for a 4-2 lead and broke him once again to close out the stanza in routine 6-2 fashion.

In the second set, Federer broke for a 2-0 lead, only to see Murray break right back and then hold for a 2-2 deadlock. Murray appeared to break Federer once again for a possible 3-2 lead, but a Federer shot that sailed long was called in, Murray did not challenge the call, played it and wound up losing the crucial point. Federer would go on to win the game for a 3-2 edge.

Federer closed out the second set at 7-5 by striking a running forehand winner, his fourth winner of that game.

In set number three, Federer broke Murray for a 2-0 lead, broke again for a 4-0 advantage and then held his serve for a commanding 5-0 lead.

Murray broke Federer, who was serving for the match, to pull within 2-5, but it was all over in the next game, as the Swiss broke the Brit once again by converting on his second championship point when the Scot netted one final forehand after 1 hour, 51 minutes of tennis at a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"This is a very special moment in my career," Federer said during the on-court trophy presentation. "To take this one home is incredible. It means the world to me."

Federer struck 20 more winners (36-16) than Murray, who had his serve broken a whopping seven times by the mighty Swiss. Murray could manage only two breaks over three sets.

The 21-year-old Murray, who is now up to No. 4 in the world rankings, was playing in his first-ever Grand Slam final. He was trying to give Britain its first U.S. Open titlist since Fred Perry way back in 1936.

"I've got a lot of improving to do if I want to win one of these tournaments," Murray said after the setback.

Federer is now 2-2 lifetime against Murray, including 1-1 this year. The Brit upset the Swiss on a hardcourt in Dubai for a second straight win earlier this season.

The 27-year-old Federer now owns 13 career major titles, leaving him just one shy of Pete Sampras' record haul of 14. Federer beat reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in last year's final here and also topped the Serb in this year's semifinals two days ago.

Federer has won 34 straight matches here in Flushing.

The last man to win five straight U.S. Open titles was the legendary "Big" Bill Tilden, who tallied six in a row from 1920-25.

Federer is also the first man ever to win five straight championships at two different majors. He was the Wimbledon champ from 2003-07.

Only two other men have won five U.S. Open titles in the Open Era (since 1968) -- Jimmy Connors and Sampras.

The Basel native Federer, this year's Wimbledon and French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal, has won at least one major title in the last six years. A weary world No. 1 Nadal lost to the surging Murray here on Sunday.

Federer is now 13-4 in his major finals, with all four losses coming against Nadal. He's beaten five different men in the last five U.S. Open finales.

The amazing Federer halted a three-major winless drought, his longest such drought since the middle of 2003.

Federer is now 56-21 in his overall career finals, including 3-4 this year, with all four losses coming against Nadal. Surprisingly, this marked his first hardcourt title of the year.

Murray dropped to 6-5 in his career finals, including 3-1 this season.

The Olympic doubles gold medalist Federer pocketed $1.5 million and was awarded a Lexus automobile, while Murray settled for $1 million. Federer's career prize money is now up over $43 million. Sampras is the only other player to reach $43 million in prize money.

Only five men reached the four major finals this year -- Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Aussie Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.