Nadal cruises into Rome final; Djokovic rallies past Federer

Tennis Betting Lines

05/02/2009 - Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal continued his clay-court dominance, and defending champion Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down to beat Roger Federer in semifinal action at the Italian Masters.

Nadal, a three-time Rome champion, easily handled Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in a 6-3, 6-3 triumph to run his clay-court winning streak to 29 matches. He is 146-4 on the surface since 2005, including a perfect 15-0 this season.

Djokovic, in the first semifinal of the day, took advantage of a rain delay in the second set to regroup and rally from a set and a break down to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Federer.

The third-seeded Serb beat Federer for the first time in three meetings on clay and improved to 4-7 lifetime against the second-ranked Swiss superstar.

Federer, who also lost to Djokovic in the Miami semifinals last month, has yet to win a title in 2009. His lone appearance in a final was a five-set loss to Nadal at the Australian Open.

Nadal had little trouble Saturday against the 12th-seeded Gonzalez in a rematch of the 2007 Rome final. He had three breaks of serve in the first set, wrapping it up in 34 minutes, then opened a 3-0 lead in the second and cruised to the finish.

The top-seeded Spanish superstar has already claimed clay titles at Monte Carlo and Barcelona -- in addition to hardcourt wins at the Australian Open and Indian Wells -- in preparation for a run at a fifth straight French Open crown. The year's second Grand Slam gets under way at Roland Garros on May 24.

Nadal captured this French Open tuneup three years in a row from 2005-07 but was a second-round loser last year to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero. That setback is the last time Nadal was beaten on his beloved clay.

Djokovic took advantage last year and beat Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in the final.

To reach his second straight Rome final and third Masters title match in the last three events, Djokovic took advantage of an hour-long rain delay to stage a rally.

Federer failed to take advantage of five break point chances in the first set before finally converting the sixth, which gave him a 5-4 lead. He held serve to take the set, then broke serve in the first game of the second set and had another break point chance for a 3-0 lead.

Djokovic managed to save that point and went on to take the game to trail 2-1 before rain halted play.

After the delay, Federer held serve and had another chance to break for a 4-1 edge. Djokovic, though, again battled back and won the next five games to square the match at a set apiece.

Federer again gained the upper hand early in the third set with a break for a 3-1 lead, but Djokovic immediately broke back at love and rolled from there. He didn't drop another game and finished it on his second match point when Federer dumped a backhand into the net.

Djokovic will play in his third straight final, having lost to Andy Murray in Miami last month before dropping a three-set match to Nadal two weeks ago in Monte Carlo. He did win his other 2009 title match, beating David Ferrer in Dubai, and owns a career record of 12-8 in ATP finals.

Nadal, meanwhile, is 35-9 all-time in ATP finals with an astounding 24 of those title wins coming on clay.

Sunday will mark the 17th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic. The Spaniard has a dominant 12-4 record against the Serb, including 7-0 on clay, with a Davis Cup win this year in addition to the Monte Carlo victory two weeks ago.

Should Djokovic lose on Sunday, he would also relinquish his No. 3 ranking to Murray on May 11.

The 2009 Rome titlist will take home a first prize of $565,000.

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Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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