05/09/2008 - Rome, Italy (Tennis Betting) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters. Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and former top-ranked star Andy Roddick avoided upsets in order to reach Saturday's semifinals at this clay-court French Open tuneup.
The 27th-ranked Stepanek stunned the top-seeded Federer in straight sets in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7), at Foro Italico. Federer was the runner-up at this event in 2003 and 2006.
Stepanek pulled off the upset in 1 hour, 55 minutes with the help of eight aces and a pair of service breaks.
The 29-year-old Stepanek is now 2-4 lifetime against Federer, who had won their previous four meetings, including a third-round one here in 2006.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer dropped to 22-6 this season and has captured only one title in seven tournaments thus far in 2008.
The third-seeded Serbian Djokovic was dismantling Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 1-0 when the Spaniard retired.
Djokovic is now 23-5 this year and will battle Stepanek here on Saturday.
A sixth-seeded Roddick outlasted 14th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) in 2 hours, 13 minutes. The massive-serving American, who fired 11 aces and piled up seven double faults on Day 5, improved to 24-4 this year, including a pair of titles.
Up next for Roddick will be Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, who recorded an upset by besting eighth-seeded American James Blake 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Wawrinka will break into ATP's top-20 as a result of his semifinal appearance here.
This week's winner will take home $558,000.
<< Federer falls; Roddick reaches Rome semis
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 superstar Roger Federer
suffered a quarterfinal setback Friday at the hands of gritty Czech Radek
Stepanek at the $3.5 million Italian Masters. Meanwhile, former top-ranked
star Andy Roddic
<< Walking the MLB line
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there's one sport that lends itself
more to winning wagers than the rest, it has to be Major League Baseball.
Unlike football or basketball, point spreads do not come into play, so the
late meaningless t
<< Serena suffers QF loss in Berlin
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in two days,
Dinara Safina knocked off a top-10 superstar, as the Russian ousted previously
red-hot American Serena Williams on Friday to reach the semifinals at the
$1.34 m
<< Quenneville will not return as Avs coach
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday
that Joel Quenneville will not return as head coach for the 2008-09 season.
"After meeting with Joel, we mutually agreed that the best decision for both
parties
A's reliever Foulke activated off DL >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics activated reliever Keith
Foulke from the 15-day disabled list on Friday.
He had been on the DL since April 19, retroactive to April 11, with neck
stiffness.
In seven games this
Shakeup could soon be in store in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Citizens of San Diego may be renowned for their laid-back
and easy-going approach to life, but the patience of the hometown Padres'
brass has got to be wearing thin with the way the team has performed over the
past three week
Red Bulls, Galaxy clash in East, West battle >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of Major League Soccer's biggest
markets will clash when the New York Red Bulls travel to California to take on
the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.
Both teams are trying
Bayern leads race for AC Milan's Gattuso >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich is reportedly leading the
race to sign AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.
The Italy international would team up with compatriot Luca Toni at the Allianz
Arena if the transfer goes throug
MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!
The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.
The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.
Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!
Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!
Offers live help online chat customer service. Endorsed as one of Predictem.com Staff favorites.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
Sports Betting News: Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting