Karlovic reaches semis in rainy Nottingham

Tennis Betting Lines

06/21/2007 - Nottingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tall Croat Ivo Karlovic was the lone quarterfinal victor on a rainy Thursday at The Nottingham Open, a final grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.

The 6-foot-10 Karlovic slammed 24 aces on his way to defeating 6-foot-5 Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (12-10), 7-5 at The City of Nottingham Tennis Centre.

Karlovic will face Russian Dmitry Tursunov or Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Friday's semifinals. Garcia-Lopez was leading the second-seeded Tursunov 6-4, 3-6, 2-1 when their match was suspended because of rain.

A bout between top-seeded and two-time defending champion Richard Gasquet and his eighth-seeded fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement was postponed, while a match between fourth-seeded Swede Jonas Bjorkman and sixth-seeded Frenchman Paul- Henri Mathieu was suspended until Friday, with the veteran Swede leading 1-0 in the first set. The 2006 Wimbledon semifinalist Bjorkman was last year's runner-up here to Gasquet and captured this tournament in 1998 and 2002.

Gasquet is a perfect 12-0 lifetime here.

Three quarterfinals will have to be completed on Friday before the semis can commence.

Mlige Tennis Betting News

<< Robredo ousted in Ordina quarters
Den Bosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dutch qualifier Peter Wessels upset top-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo in Thursday's quarterfinal action at the grass-court Ordina Open, a final Wimbledon tune-up. The world No. 7

<< Lima, Jacquelin share BMW lead
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose-Filipe Lima and Raphael Jacquelin posted matching rounds of seven-under-par 65 Thursday to share the lead after the opening round of the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Nord- Eichenr

<< Horton agrees to record deal with Panthers
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers announced on Thursday that they have agreed to terms on a franchise-record six-year contract with forward Nathan Horton. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, quoting Canada'

<< Girardi turns down O's
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Girardi declined an offer from the Baltimore Orioles to become their next manager on Thursday, according to a report on MLB.com Thursday. The 42-year-old Girardi, the National League Manager

<< Brewers responding after no-no
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sometimes, before you can begin the road of recovery, you need to first hit rock bottom. Over dramatic, yes, but that moment may have happened for the Milwaukee Brewers over a week ago. Milwaukee had just 10 wins in its la

Ancic to miss Wimbledon >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Croat Mario Ancic withdrew from Wimbledon 2007 on Thursday, citing a continuing illness. Ancic, who was slated as the 18th seed at the fortnight, has been sidelined for months with mononucl

Giambi agrees to meet with Senator Mitchell >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi announced on Thursday that he has decided to meet with baseball steroids investigator and Senate majority leader George Mitchell. On June 6, Major League

Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles make three-player trade >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake acquired forward Robbie Findley and defender/midfielder Nathan Sturgis from the Los Angeles Galaxy for four-time MLS All-Star midfielder Chris Klein on Thursday. "Trading a veteran with

Catalanotto lifts Rangers past Cubs >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Catalanotto's base hit in the bottom of the ninth pushed Texas past Chicago, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game interleague series. Against Bob Howry (3-4), Kenny Lofton led off the ninth wit

Bucks exercise options on Bogut, Villanueva >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks have extended the contracts of both center Andrew Bogut and forward Charlie Villanueva on Thursday. The moves were completed by picking up the fourth-year options on

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.