Ferrer wins; Safin loses in Barcelona

Tennis Betting Lines

04/21/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up David Ferrer posted a second-round win, while former world No. 1 Marat Safin came up a first-round loser Tuesday at the $2.6 million Barcelona Open.

The fourth-seeded Ferrer held off Kazakhstani qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. Ferrer was last year's runner-up here to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Ferrer was joined in the third round by 12th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev, who flattened Spanish wild card Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-2 on Day 2.

The 2000 Barcelona titlist Safin, meanwhile, lost to gritty Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1 in the big Russian's last appearance here. The two-time major champion Safin announced months ago that this would mark his final season on the ATP World Tour.

Four other seeds avoided opening-round upsets, as No. 9 Czech Radek Stepanek snuck past Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, No. 13 Frenchman Richard Gasquet overcame Czech Jan Hernych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, No. 14 Swede Robin Soderling subdued Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4, and No. 16 Spanish favorite Feliciano Lopez leveled Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-1 at this French Open tuneup.

Former French Open champ Gaston Gaudio, playing in only his second ATP match of the year, reached the second round by outlasting fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The wild card Gaudio was the 2004 titlist at Roland Garros and captured the Barcelona title in 2002.

In some other first-round play, Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver whipped Italian and fellow qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3; Spaniard Oscar Hernandez humbled Argentine Eduardo Schwank 6-2, 6-4; Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti topped Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; Frenchman Arnaud Clement doused Argentine Guillermo Canas 7-6 (7-0), 6-3; and Russian Mikhail Youzhny edged out Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

This week's top seeds are Spanish favorites Nadal and Fernando Verdasco and Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal is the reigning four-time Barcelona champ.

The reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic titlist Nadal is fresh off his fifth straight Monte-Carlo championship, having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic in this past Sunday's finale in Monaco.

Nadal will open defense of his Barcelona title against Portuguese Frederico Gil here on Wednesday, while Verdasco will encounter the qualifier Lapentti and Davydenko will battle Clement.

The Day-3 schedule will also feature second-rounders for fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, sixth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo and seventh-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian. The 2004 Barcelona champion Robredo will take on his fellow former champ Gaudio.

This week's champion will pocket $370,000. The top-eight seeds all received first-round byes.

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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.