10/14/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I think we've spotted another shooting star on the WTA Tour. And that would be Dominika Cibulkova.
The sturdy 5-foot-3, 120-pounder opened 2008 at No. 52 in the world, but has shot all the way up to the Top 20...No. 20 to be specific. She actually got as high as No. 19 in August, and is at No. 17 in the WTA's Race to the Championships.
Cibulkova is one of two Slovakians in the Top 20, with Daniela Hantuchova (14th) being the other.
There are no other Slovaks inside the Top 50.
The 19-year-old Piestany native/Bratislava resident has quietly tallied 39 match wins this year (39-26), including victories in 14 of her last 22 outings. She reached her first career finals this season, losing to former No. 1 Russian Maria Sharapova at Amelia Island and red-hot Russian Dinara Safina in Montreal, where she surprised the likes of Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva in the second round, former Top-10 Russian Nadia Petrova in the third, current world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals and 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli in the semis to propel herself into the Top 20 for the first time in her young career.
Wow...that was some week for her!
And en route to the title match at Amelia Island, Cibulkova upended fellow rising star Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Top-10 performer Anna Chakvetadze and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who's a woeful 0-3 against the ever- improving Slovak for the year.
Then, just last week in Moscow, Cibulkova topped yet another former top-ranked star, French Open champion and Aussie Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, to reach no less than her seventh quarterfinal of '08.
Cibulkova, whose preferred surfaces are clay and hardcourt, first got everyone's attention back in February by subduing former Top-10 Swiss Patty Schnyder in a second-rounder and then Wimbledon champ Venus Williams in the third round on some hard stuff in Doha, the site of this year's season-ending Championships.
Unfortunately for the tenacious Slovakian, she was just 4-4 at the majors this year, including opening-round setbacks at the Aussie Open and Wimbledon. But she did reach the third round at the French and U.S. Opens and the Olympic Games. She also advanced to the third round in Paris last season.
The bubbly Cibulkova, who's been playing tennis since the age of seven and is coached by Vladimir Platenik, joined the professional ranks back in 2004 and has been steadily progressing ever since. She closed out 2005 at No. 555 before shooting all the way up to No. 156 by the end of 2006, No. 52 by the end of last year, and to her current perch at No. 20.
She soared as high as No. 3 at the junior level back in 2005, and most figured she would make some noise at the next level.
I don't know if Cibulkova, who is idle this week due to an upper respiratory tract infection, has quite enough game to get inside the Top 5, but the Top 10 should become a reality for the blossoming star in the very near future.
Move on ova for Cibulkova.
<< Yankees part ways with 3B coach, pitching instructor
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees announced Tuesday that they
will not renew the contract of third-base coach Bobby Meacham, and that they
have dismissed pitching instructor Rich Monteleone.
Meacham was one of the two
<< Ballack doubtful for match against Wales
Monchengladbach, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - German captain Michael Ballack is
doubtful for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Wales after picking up a
thigh injury in Saturday's 2-1 win over Russia.
Ballack, 32, missed Monday's trai
<< Report: Cowboys' Jones suspended indefinitely
Bristol, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones has
reportedly been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for an altercation with a
personal security guard at a Dallas hotel last week.
According to ESPN on Tuesday,
<< Blue Jays' Beeston returns as CEO
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime Toronto Blue Jays executive Paul
Beeston has returned to his old title of CEO on an interim basis.
The Blue Jays announced on Tuesday that Beeston, who was the first employee
hired by the ex
First-place Houston hopes to open gap vs. San Jose >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston has won consecutive MLS Cups without one
Western Conference title, but can take a major step toward clinching its first
regular season crown Wednesday against San Jose.
The Dynamo finished second in th
Timberwolves' Telfair suspended for three games >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair
has been suspended without pay for three games for pleading guilty to a
weapons possession charge in the state of New York, the NBA announced
Tuesday
AFC East: Could Jets Soon Be 7-2? >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Looking ahead in the National Football League is a
dangerous thing indeed.
For proof of that fact, ask the Redskins and Giants how those games against
the lowly Rams and Browns, respectively, went this past weekend.
But
NFC South: Garcia the guy again in Tampa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The quarterback situation for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
could very well turn out to be a season-long revolving door, but the status
quo will be maintained for at least one more week.
Head coach Jon Gruden stated shortly a
Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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