Spain, Argentina tied at 1-1 in Davis Cup final

Tennis Betting Lines

11/21/2008 - Mar del Plata, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008 Davis Cup World Group final commenced Friday, as visiting Spain and host Argentina are knotted at 1-1 following the opening singles rubbers.

The best-of-five championship round got underway when Argentine star David Nalbandian spanked Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, but Feliciano Lopez surprisingly pulled Spain even with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over rising world No. 9 Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro at Mar del Plata.

The world No. 11 Nalbandian outclassed the 12th-ranked Ferrer in just under two hours on the indoor hardcourt here at Estadio Islas Malvinas.

Ferrer failed to take a lead at any point on Day 1 and was under constant pressure due to some solid serving and tremendous net play by Nalbandian.

The former Tennis Masters Cup champion and former Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian whipped Ferrer with the help of seven aces, and the gritty Argentine broke the Spaniard's serve a whopping seven times, compared to only two breaks for the eventual loser.

Nalbandian improved to 4-6 lifetime against Ferrer, including wins now in three of their last four encounters. This marked their first meeting this year and their first-ever Davis Cup matchup.

"I don't think it was one of my best matches, but I played very well," Nalbandian said. "I played very solid from the first point, so that gave me confidence point by point. I think I played a match of very high level, not much on the time, very short, and that's very good for the whole weekend."

The 26-year-old Nalbandian is now 17-4 in his career Davis Cup singles.

The 27-year-old lefthanded Lopez then stunned the 6-foot-5 del Potro in 3 hours, 19 minutes, despite a 24-ace barrage from the tall Argentine. Lopez fired 19 aces of his own on his way to victory. Both players could manage only two breaks apiece over four sets of tennis.

Trailing 2-3 in the final set, del Potro doubled over in pain and called for a trainer. After play resumed, the lanky Argentine was unable to overcome the game Lopez.

The 31st-ranked Lopez is now 2-2 lifetime against the 20-year-old del Potro, including a perfect 2-0 mark this year.

Saturday's pivotal doubles bout currently calls for an Argentine duo of Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri to meet a Spanish tandem of Lopez and fellow southpaw Fernando Verdasco, while Sunday's reverse singles currently pit del Potro against Ferrer and Nalbandian versus Lopez.

The Spaniards, captained by Emilio Sanchez, also have Davis Cup rookie Marcel Granollers at their disposal. Granollers joined the squad last week when world No. 1 superstar Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal, citing a knee injury. The amazing Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champ.

The formidable Argentine squad, captained by Alberto Mancini, is seeking its first-ever Davis Cup title, while the Spaniards already own two championships, with both coming this decade, in 2000 and 2004. Argentina was the runner-up two years ago and also back in 1981.

Spain is 2-0 all-time versus Argentina, which is hosting for the first time ever in this series. The Spaniards prevailed at home way back in 1926 and again in 2003.

The Spaniards, who are 2-3 in their all-time Davis Cup finals and appearing in their fourth final this decade, reached this year's final by beating the 32-time and defending champion United States 4-1 in a semifinal in Madrid, while Argentina got past Russia 3-2 in Buenos Aires, with del Potro winning a fifth and deciding rubber.

The Argentines have won 13 straight Davis Cup ties as the host.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.









Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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