Jankovic, Dementieva advance at soggy French Open

Tennis Betting Lines

05/27/2010 - Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On a Thursday dominated by rain, former top-ranked star Jelena Jankovic and former runner-up Elena Dementieva managed to sneak in second-round victories at the French Open.

The fourth-seeded Jankovic was tested in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 decision over Estonian Kaia Kanepi, while the 2004 Roland Garros runner-up Dementieva got past Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) on a wet Day 5 at the year's second Grand Slam event.

The two-time French Open semifinalist Jankovic moved on in 2 hours, 24 minutes, while the two-time Grand Slam finalist Dementieva advanced in 2 hours, 21 minutes.

Up next for Jankovic will be 27th-seeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, while Dementieva will encounter capable Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

Inclement weather forced the postponement of several matches on Thursday, including one for reigning world No. 1 Serena Williams. The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon titlist from the United States will have to wait until Friday to play her second-rounder against German Julia Goerges.

The start of Thursday's action was delayed by rain for 4 1/2 hours and additional delays occurred after that.

Twelfth-seeded former No. 1 Maria Sharapova, fresh off her clay-court title in Strasbourg last week, was leading Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 2-2 and 22nd- seeded former No. 1 Justine Henin was ahead of Czech Klara Zakopalova by an identical 6-3, 2-2 score when played was called for the day.

Henin is a four-time French Open champ who is playing here for the first time in three years. She retired from tennis in the spring of 2008 and returned to the WTA Tour back in January, when she finished as the Aussie Open runner-up to her arch-rival Serena.

In other action involving top-16 seeds, No. 11 Chinese Li Na leveled France's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2, 6-2, No. 18 Israeli Shahar Peer overcame American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 and Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova ousted No. 8 Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3.

Meanwhile, 17th-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone drilled Aussie Sophie Ferguson 6-2, 6-2, the aforementioned Bondarenko blew past Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-3, and No. 28 Russian Alisa Kleybanova took out former French Open champ Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-0. The unseeded former world No. 1 Ivanovic has steadily dropped in the rankings since titling here two years ago.

This marked Ivanovic's earliest exit in six trips to Paris.

"It was a combination of a few things," Ivanovic said. "I don't think I played that bad, actually. For a while I think she didn't miss a ball at all."

Ivanovic did not play well, as evidenced by seven double faults and 17 unforced errors in 15 games. She also had her serve broken five times in an uneventful 66-minute affair.

Mild upsets came when Aussie citizen Anastasia Rodionova topped 21st-seeded fellow native Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-4 and Wozniak waltzed past 32nd- seeded Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-1.

One other second-rounder saw Aussie Jarmila Groth ground 39-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date Krumm 6-0, 6-3. Date Krumm ousted two-time French Open runner-up and former No. 1 Dinara Safina in the opening round this week.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.