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06/04/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Four-time champion Rafael Nadal and last year's runner-up Robin Soderling will battle in Sunday's men's final at the French Open.
The second-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal toppled 22nd-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer, playing in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), while the fifth-seeded Soderling outlasted 15th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, also playing in his first-ever major semi, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday at Roland Garros.
Soderling shocked an injured Nadal in the fourth round here last year, which halted the Spaniard's run as the four-time champ. Nadal had been 31-0 on the famed red clay before losing to the big-hitting Swede.
Nadal will appear in his fifth final here in six years, seeking a fifth title. Only Bjorn Borg, with six championships, has won more French Open titles than Nadal in the Open Era (since 1968).
The powerful Nadal is a six-time major champion, including four straight French Open titles from 2005-08. He's now 37-1 lifetime at this Parisian major.
Nadal would supplant Roger Federer atop the men's rankings for a second time with a title here this week. The Spaniard is seeking his fourth straight championship on the tour, having recently titled at Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, a trio of ATP Masters tournaments.
Soderling, meanwhile, will compete in his second straight Roland Garros finale. He lost to the great Federer in last year's French Open finale, but avenged that setback here this week by stunning the super Swiss in the quarterfinals.
Nadal cruised through the first two sets on Day 13, as he broke Melzer a pair of times in an easy first set and tallied two more breaks in the second. Up 5-4 and serving for the match, Nadal had a slight lapse. He lost four consecutive points, including a double-fault to give Melzer the break for 5-5.
The set went to a tiebreaker after both players held serve. A missed overhead by Nadal gave Melzer a quick 2-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Nadal responded with three straight points before back-to-back errors from Melzer gave the Spaniard a pair of match points at 6-4. Melzer, though, saved both -- the second with a perfectly placed drop shot.
A forehand winner gave Nadal his third match point, which he converted when Melzer drilled a shot into the net.
The powerful Nadal, who turned 24 on Thursday, is now 3-0 lifetime against his fellow lefthander Melzer.
Soderling cruised through the first set against Berdych on Friday before the Czech returned the favor for an easy win in the second.
In the third set, Berdych broke Soderling to grab a 6-5 edge and then held his serve to surprisingly go up two-sets-to-one in the slugfest.
In set number four, the big Swede got a big break he needed to secure a 4-2 advantage and would ease his way to a set win after that.
The fifth set opened up with back-to-back breaks, but Soderling would assume control with the biggest break of the bout, as he grabbed a 4-3 lead in the deciding stanza. Soderling then held and broke again to reach a second straight final here. The Swede converted on his first match point on a sunny Friday when Berdych knocked a backhand wide to cap a lengthy match-ending rally.
Soderling advanced in 3 hours, 27 minutes despite being out-aced (21-18), tallying eight double faults, and recording 22 more unforced errors (63-41). The Swede did, however, have two more breaks of serve (6-4), which proved to be the difference in the end.
The 6-foot-4 Soderling is now 5-3 lifetime against the 6-foot-5 Berdych.
Nadal will play in his 52nd career final (39-12) and seek a 40th overall title. He's 3-1 in his 2010 championship tilts.
The 25-year-old Soderling is 5-8 in his career ATP finals, including 1-1 this year. He titled in Rotterdam and lost in the final in Barcelona this season.
Soderling will try to give Sweden its first champion here since Mats Wilander in 1988.
Nadal is 3-2 lifetime against Soderling, including 2-1 at Grand Slams. Soderling beat Nadal in Paris a year ago, but the Spaniard topped the Swede at Roland Garros four years ago and doused Soderling at Wimbledon in 2007. Nadal's 2-1 in their clay-court encounters.
Soderling has won the last two matchups in this series.
Sunday's champ will collect just over $1.3 million.
<< Houston heads across the county to take on L.A.
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three days after suffering a heart wrenching
last-second loss to Red Bull New York in Harrison, NJ, the Houston Dynamo
travel across the country to take on the undefeated Los Angeles Galaxy at The
Home
<< Struggling Wizards visit Red-hot TFC
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards travel to BMO Field to
face Toronto FC on Saturday in hopes of snapping a seven-game winless streak.
Wizards (2-5-2) head coach Peter Vermes has seen his team lose four of its
last
<< UC Davis QB Denham won't play in 2010
Davis, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a surprising decision, quarterback Greg Denham
of reigning Great West Conference champion UC Davis has decided against
returning for the 2010 season in order to pursue a career in the ministry.
Aggies head coa
<< Artest sets the tone
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you use the 20/20 vision that hindsight provides, it's
pretty clear why the Los Angeles Lakers lost the 2008 NBA Finals to the Boston
Celtics -- they got punched in the mouth.
The defensive-minded Celtics were simply fa
Belmont Stakes - Bet on one of the "Dudes" >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Zito's Ice Box is the 3-1 morning
line favorite for this Saturday's Belmont Stakes, but his come-from-the-clouds
style might not be well-suited to the 1 1/2-mile race.
Only one horse since 1998
Manhattan's Pickett going pro overseas >>
Riverdale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manhattan guard Rico Pickett will leave the
school to pursue a professional career overseas, the school announced Friday.
Pickett was an All-MAAC selection last season as a junior, leading the
confe
NL West: There's no need to freak out on Lincecum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum loses back-to-back starts and the entire city
of San Francisco goes into a panic.
Oh my word, the two-time defending National League Cy Young honoree is mired
in a slump and may need Life Alert for the rest
Cavaliers GM Ferry resigns >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny
Ferry has resigned, the team announced.
Ferry had been the team's GM since June 2005, and the Cavaliers, led by LeBron
James, made the playoffs in every season durin
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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