Blake ousts Federer from Olympics; Williams sisters out of singles

Tennis Betting Lines

08/14/2008 - Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Blake has finally slayed the dragon.

The eighth-seeded Blake had been 0-8 against Super Swiss Roger Federer going into Thursday's tennis quarterfinal match at the Olympics, but the American pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory.

It was a night filled with highs and lows for the Americans. On the women's side, the Williams sisters were bounced from singles play. Fourth-seeded Serena was taken down by fifth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Seventh-seeded Venus, bidding for a third Olympic gold medal, was beaten by China's Li Na, 7-5, 7-5.

The start of the tennis session was delayed more than four hours by rain, but Blake was steadfast in his first win against Federer, who will fall from his perch atop the rankings next week when Spaniard Rafael Nadal takes over that slot.

Federer though won't get a chance for Olympic gold, as Blake surged ahead in the tiebreaker with a fabulous passing shot before falling to his knees in elation at the end.

"This is unbelievable," said Blake. "It's not very often you get to say you beat the No.1 player in the world anytime, but to do it at the Olympics with USA on your chest, I'm so proud to be part of this team."

Blake's semifinal encounter will be against 12th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

It was an amazing accomplishment for Blake, considering he'd won just one set against Federer prior to Thursday night.

"Maybe if you play him enough times he's bound to have an off day," said Blake. "He didn't play his best today, but I felt like I served well when I needed to, especially in that tiebreaker."

A break of serve in the ninth game of the first set sent Blake on his way to the lead. Federer dropped the first three games of the next set, but rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force the tiebreaker. The problem was 56 unforced errors set back Federer.

The other semifinal will be between Nadal, the second seed, and third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic. Nadal powered past Austrian Jurgen Melzer, 6-0, 6-4, while Djokovic rallied to beat Frenchman Gael Monfils, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Also on the women's side, ninth seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat France's Sybille Bammer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Zvonareva will play Dementieva in the semis.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was set to play sixth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina in the other quarterfinal, but rain put a halt to the match before it was supposed to start well after 1 a.m. local time. It was postponed to Friday.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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