Jankovic, Hantuchova advance in UAE

Tennis Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and eighth-seeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova were among Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $1.5 million Dubai Duty Free Women's Open.

The 2005 Dubai runner-up Jankovic drilled France's Aravane Rezai 6-1, 6-1, while Hantuchova humbled Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 at Dubai Tennis Stadium.

American Meghann Shaughnessy moved on by besting Swiss qualifier Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-3, 6-4.

Additional first-round wins came for Austrian qualifier Tamira Paszek, Italian Mara Santangelo, Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues and Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina. Santangelo, who will take on Jankovic in the round of 16, was a runner-up in Bangalore, India last week.

This week's top seeds are French Open champion Justine Henin, last week's Antwerp titlist and 2002 Dubai winner Amelie Mauresmo, Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2001 Dubai champion Martina Hingis. Henin defeated Russian Maria Sharapova in last year's Dubai finale, beat Kuznetsova in the 2004 title bout and also titled here in 2003.

Henin will face Paszek in the second round here on Wednesday, while Mauresmo will encounter Dushevina, Kuznetsova will battle Shaughnessy and Hingis will tangle with Medina Garrigues.

The 2007 Dubai champion will earn $231,080.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.