11/16/2008 - Shanghai, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic defeated Russian star Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets on Sunday to capture the championship at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup.
The second-seeded Djokovic handled the fourth-seeded Davydenko 6-1, 7-5 on Day 8 at Shanghai's Qi Zhong Stadium.
The 21-year-old Djokovic prevailed in 1 hour, 42 minutes, as he broke Davydenko's serve four times, compared to only one break for the 27-year-old loser.
Djokovic raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and never looked back.
Davydenko actually saved some match points while trailing 3-5 in the second set and would eventually pull even in the stanza, but the inspired Serb was just too much for him on Day 8 and Djokovic ultimately closed out the match with an unreturnable serve.
"For me I think was today a very difficult day," said Davydenko. "He played very good."
"Against Djokovic you need to be perfect, also play very fast and very good. That's what he did, and I didn't. I really had no chance."
Djokovic, who won this week's four-player Gold Group, went 4-1 for the week, including a victory over Davydenko in the round-robin portion of the event. Davydenko wound up 3-2 for the week, with both losses coming against Djokovic.
The world No. 3 Serbian Djokovic is now 2-1 lifetime against the world No. 5 Davydenko, with all three meetings coming this year. The speedy Russian prevailed in a Davis Cup bout earlier in the season.
The Belgrade native Djokovic now owns 11 career titles in 17 finals and went 4-3 in his 2008 title tilts. Davydenko went 3-2 in five finals this season, including a big Masters Series title in Miami. He dropped to 14-5 in his career ATP finals.
Djokovic captured his first-ever major title at the Aussie Open back in January. He went 64-17 this year and captured a bronze medal at the Olympic Games here in China.
The 6-foot-3 Djokovic pocketed $1.24 million this week, while Davydenko settled for $615,000 at this exclusive $4.45 million tournament.
Swiss great Roger Federer won this event the last two years, but was eliminated from semifinal contention by Scottish star Andy Murray here on Friday. Davydenko upset a weary Murray in Saturday's semis.
In Sunday's doubles final, the second-seeded tandem of Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking by dousing the top-seeded duo of American twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. The 2003 and 2004 Masters Cup champion Bryans had been the year-end No. 1 team the previous three years.
Nestor-Zimonjic went 3-1 against the Bryans this season.
The 36-year-old Nestor, paired with Bahamian Mark Knowles, also captured the Masters Cup doubles title last year.
This prestigious event will shift to London next year.
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the Edm
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Johnson connected on 2
Orlando wraps up trip at Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to close out a three-game road
trip with a perfect mark when they take on the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at
Time Warner Cable Arena.
Orlando has won the first two tests of the trek and six of
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streak tonight, when they open a three-game road trip against the New York
Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Dallas is coming off a 102-100 loss to the Orland
Pistons pay a visit to Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of conference powerhouses get together tonight in
the desert, where the Detroit Pistons pay a visit to the Phoenix Suns at US
Airways Center.
The 7-2 Pistons have won the first three tests of their four-gam
Nuggets, T-Wolves square off at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets will welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves
to town this evening for a showdown at the Pepsi Center.
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victory over the defending
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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