Serbs, Belgians even after first day at Fed Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Charleroi, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serbia and Belgium are even after the first day of play at their Fed Cup quarterfinal.

Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia the first point on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, but Yanina Wickmayer pulled the hosts even in the best- of-five tie with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Bojana Jovanovski.

The players had to fight through cold conditions, even though the matches were played indoors, as temperatures outside the Spiroudome were on the negative side of freezing. Overnight snow also affected the building's heating system.

Flipkens, ranked 176th, had plenty of chances to upend the former world No. 1 Jankovic in the opening match. However, she managed to convert just 2-of-11 break-point chances.

Wickmayer was looking at a potential third set in the day's second match, but rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the second by winning the final five games.

The winners from Saturday will square off in the first reverse singles match on Sunday, as Jankovic will face Wickmayer. Flipkens and Jovanovski are slated for the second singles match, while Jankovic is also scheduled for doubles duty with Aleksandra Krunic against the Belgian duo of Tamaryn Hendler and Alison Van Uytvanck.

Belgium owns one Fed Cup title, while Serbia is still in search of its first championship. The Belgians are 2-0 all-time versus the Serbs.

The winner will face the Russia-Spain victor in the semifinals in April.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

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As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
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17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

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While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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