Wozniacki cruises into second round at U.S. Open

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09/01/2010 - Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki had no trouble advancing through to the second round at the 2010 U.S. Open, while former world No. 1s Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova were also among Tuesday's first-round winners.

Wozniacki, who can become the top player in the world with a win in this tournament, needed just 61 minutes to breeze past American Chelsey Gullickson 6-1, 6-1.

Fresh off a title in New Haven, Wozniacki is looking to build off last year's runner-up finish at the U.S. Open to Kim Clijsters. She will next face Kai- Chen Chang, who beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-4.

The fourth-seeded Jankovic went the distance to sneak past Romanian Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Jankovic moved on in 2 hours, 20 minutes, despite piling up 48 unforced errors in a sloppy match on a very hot day in New York. On-court temperatures soared well over 100 degrees. The promising 18-year-old Halep actually served for the match.

"It was a tough match," Jankovic said. "It was, you know, my first match here. For me, those first matches are always the toughest. It was really hot and windy."

Jankovic, who was the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to American great Serena Williams, will face Croat Mirjana Lucic in the second round.

Sharapova, the 14th seed, avoided the upset with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jarmila Groth. The three-time major champion and 2006 U.S. Open titlist has not advanced past the third round here since her win and has failed to make a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam event since the 2009 French Open.

"(Groth) came out there today and really swung and didn't give me much time to do anything out there," Sharapova said. "She served really well in the first set, and I wasn't returning that well. She was quite difficult to get a rhythm in the beginning, but I just hung in there. In tennis, you have three sets to play."

Former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia joined Jankovic and Sharapova in the second round with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 decision against 39-year- old Japanese Kimiko Date Krumm. Kuznetsova prevailed in just under two hours on the Grandstand Court.

The two-time major champion Kuznetsova, seeded 11th at this particular fortnight, titled here in Flushing in 2004.

Also advancing was seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who rolled over Zuzana Kucova 6-2, 6-1. Zvonareva is coming off her best performance at Grand Slam, finishing as runner-up to the injured Serena Williams at this year's Wimbledon. She has never advanced past the fourth round here.

A big upset came when Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko upended eighth-seeded Chinese Li Na 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. The big-hitting Li was an Australian Open semifinalist back in January.

Another upset was recorded when Andrea Petkovic toppled 17th-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4). Petrova was coming off a runner-up finish to Wozniacki in last week's Pilot Pen Tennis event at New Haven.

Ninth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska rolled past Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4, 6-3, while 15th-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer mauled Russian Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-2. Wickmayer was a surprise semifinalist here a year ago.

Eighteenth-seeded Aravane Rezai of France advanced with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) victory over Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova.

Other seeded winners on Day 2 were No. 22 Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, No. 23 Maria Kirilenko, No. 25 Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru and No. 31 Kaia Kanepi.

A mild upset came when once-promising Austrian Tamira Paszek overcame 26th- seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Another mild upset came in the form of Lourdes Dominguez Lino, who beat 30th-seeded Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Also reaching the round of 64 were the aforementioned Lucic, Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder, Chinese Peng Shuai, Austrian Yvonne Meusburger, Poland's Urszula Radwanska, German Julia Goerges, Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan, Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, American Beatrice Capra, Czech Iveta Benesova, and Swede Sofia Arvidsson.

Other winners on Tuesday included Akgul Amanmuradova, Dominika Cibulkova, Sabine Lisicki and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

The 2010 U.S. Open champion will earn at least $1.7 million.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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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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