Henin rallies to win Wimbledon tuneup

Tennis Betting Lines

06/19/2010 - 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justine Henin finished her prep for Wimbledon with a three-set triumph over Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the final at the Unicef Open.

The top-seeded Henin rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on Saturday to win this Wimbledon tuneup for the second time. She also captured the grass-court title back in 2001 and parlayed it into a run to the final at the All England Club.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to elude the Belgian star, who is making her comeback to the WTA Tour after a nearly two-year retirement. She called it quits as the world's top-ranked player in the spring of 2008, then decided last fall to return for the start of the 2010 campaign.

It's been a solid year for Henin, who reached the final of her first two events -- Brisbane and the Australian Open. She lost both, the first to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters and the second to Serena Williams.

Henin won her first title of the year at the French Open tuneup in Stuttgart, then lost to eventual Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur in the fourth round in Paris, where she has won four of her seven career Grand Slam crowns.

Now it's on to Wimbledon. In seven career appearances at the AEC, she has been knocked out in the first round twice, lost in the semifinals three times and on a pair of occasions has finished as the runner-up. Her first career Grand Slam final came at the Big W in 2001 when she was beaten by Venus Williams. Amelie Mauresmo then denied Henin the crown in 2006, a year in which she reached the final at all four Grand Slam events and came away only with the title at the French.

Henin's first-round match this year in the London suburb will be against Latvia's Anastasjia Sevastova. She could meet Clijsters in the fourth round.

On Saturday, Henin notched her 43rd career title. She lost a set for the first time during the week when Petkovic converted the lone break point in the first set.

Henin, through, broke twice in the second set to force a decisive third, which Petkovic started with a 3-0 lead. However, Henin broke back in the fifth game and added another break for a 5-4 lead before serving it out.

This was the first meeting between the two players and Henin picked up a first prize of $37,000.

Petkovic, who was trying for her second career WTA title and first since last year at Bad Gastein, will open her first Wimbledon appearance against Anna Chakvetadze with a potential second-round matchup being Serena Williams.

Wwwy28mark6 Tennis Betting News

<< Cubs sign first-round pick Simpson
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have signed their top pick of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, pitcher Hayden Simpson, to an undisclosed contract. Simpson, 21, was taken 16th overall in the first round. The right-han

<< Jeter scratched with bruised heel
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was scratched from the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the New York Mets because of a bruised heel. Jeter has battled through a recent slump. He was

<< Elson takes over first at Saint-Omer Open
Lumbres, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Jamie Elson shot a three-under 68 on Saturday to move atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Saint- Omer Open. Elson finished 54 holes at seven-under 206 and is one stroke clear at Aa S

<< LeBron makes dramatic appearance at Akron rally
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -With thousands of his hometown fans on hand, LeBron James made a dramatic - and very late - appearance at ``LeBron Appreciation Day.''A crowd estimated at 3,500 had already begun to depart Akron's InfCision Stadium on Saturday when

<< Llodra captures Eastbourne title
Eastbourne, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Llodra of France notched a straight-set win over Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to claim the title at the Aegon International. The eighth-seeded Llodra earned a 7-5, 6-2 victory in Sat

Slovakia hopes for better result against Paraguay >>
Bloemfontein, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slovakia manager Vladimir Weiss described a 1-1 draw against New Zealand as a "minor sporting tragedy," but on Sunday, knows complete focus must switch to a crucial match against Paraguay. Slova

Edwards captures pole at Road America >>
Elkhart Lake, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won the pole for Saturday's inaugural Bucyrus 200 Nationwide Series race at Road America. Edwards, currently second in points, recorded a lap of 108.076 m.p.h. around the 4.048-mile, 14-t

Italy faces New Zealand without Buffon >>
Nelspruit, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both Italy and New Zealand enter Sunday's Group F FIFA World Cup contest at Mbombela Stadium on the heels of draws in their opening matches, but their emotions are quite different. The Italia

Brazil, Ivory Coast clash in Group G >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The schedule gets no easier for the Ivory Coast as it gets ready to face Brazil in its second Group G match at Soccer City on Sunday in the FIFA World Cup. A 0-0 draw against Portugal in the ope

Flyers acquire rights to coveted Hamhuis from Predators >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired the rights to pending unrestricted free agent Dan Hamhuis from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Ryan Parent. The Flyers have exclusive negoti

Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs.