Spain, Switzerland tied at 1-1 in Davis Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - Logrono, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time reigning champion Spain and visiting Switzerland are tied at 1-1 following Friday's opening singles in a first-round Davis Cup battle in Logrono.

Stanislas Wawrinka gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead with a marathon 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nicolas Almagro. The grueling match lasted just under four hours.

Ferrer then leveled the tie for Spain with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory over Marco Chiudinelli in a best-of-five tilt on red clay at the Plaza de Toros de la Ribera.

Saturday's pivotal doubles bout will pit a Spanish duo of Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo against a Swiss tandem of Wawrinka and Yves Allegro, while Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Ferrer to face Wawrinka and Almagro to meet Chiudinelli.

Switzerland is playing without world No. 1 superstar Roger Federer, while Spain does not have its great star, Rafael Nadal, in the lineup. Federer had previously announced that he would not play this week, while the former No. 1 oft-injured Nadal is out with a bad knee.

Fernando Verdasco and former top-ranked star Juan Carlos Ferrero also made themselves unavailable for the hosts this week because of injuries.

Spain is captained by former French Open champ Albert Costa, while the Swiss are led by Severin Luthi.

The Spaniards are 4-1 all-time against the Swiss, in a series that dates back to 1946.

Spain beat the Czech Republic in last year's final and won four Davis Cup titles in the 2000s, including two straight to close out the decade. The Spaniards are unbeaten in 18 home ties stretching back to 1999.

The Spain-Switzerland winner will face the France-Germany victor in the quarterfinals in July.

Rivsls Tennis Betting News

<< Grant fined for improper conduct
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has been fined $1,500 and warned about his future conduct after angrily confronting referee Kevin Friend during a Premier League game last month. Grant admitted a Fo

<< Eagles give Weaver three-year pact
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to terms with fullback Leonard Weaver on a three-year contract. Terms were not disclosed by the club, but the Philadelphia Daily News reported it to be worth $11

<< No spending spree yet in free agency
NEW YORK (AP) -With the salary cap gone the way of the drop kick, NFL teams began the free agency period Friday with lots of moves.The only thing missing was the megadeal, although the Chicago Bears appeared to be closing in on one with defensive en

<< Three-Year-Olds Regain Spotlight on Saturday
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With last week's cancellation of the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, there will be two graded three-year-old prep races this Saturday as that event joins the Gotham Stakes over in New York. Eight of the 10 ear

<< Celtic surprised over Brown appeal
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have spoken of their 'amazement' after they failed with an appeal to have Scott Brown's Old Firm red card rescinded. The 24-year-old midfielder was dismissed after clashing with Gers strike

Lions acquire Corey Williams from Cleveland >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions have acquired defensive lineman Corey Williams in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. In addition to Williams, the Lions also received a seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft and sent th

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Recaps >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - RaShawn Polk posted 20 points with four rebounds as Towson cruised past UNC-Wilmington, 91-74, in first-round action of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Troy Franklin scored 18 points

Lady Vols rout Ole Miss in SEC quarters >>
Duluth, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alyssia Brewer scored 21 points and Angie Bjorklund added 16 with five assists, as fourth-ranked Tennessee claimed a 76-51 victory over Ole Miss in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Alicia Man

Arsenal out to win one for Ramsey >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury suffered by Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is still fresh in the mind of many of his teammates, who are getting set to host Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The promising tee

Chargers make Cromartie deal official; bring back Wilson, Boone >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Chargers made it official on Friday and announced the trade of cornerback Antonio Cromartie to the New York Jets. San Diego will receive an undisclosed 2011 draft pick in return. In addit

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.