American (women's) tennis well is running dry

Tennis Betting Lines

08/18/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you've been wondering if there's an American woman out there not named Serena Williams or Venus Williams that has a shot at winning a major title in the near future, well, you probably don't have to worry about it.

American tennis, especially at the WTA level, appears to be in a free fall. Just last week, the U.S. failed to place a player in the men's top 10 for the first time since the computer rankings were introduced way back in 1973, as top-10 fixture Andy Roddick dropped out for the first time in four years.

But I'm concerned about the American women in this particular article, as the mighty Williams sisters continue to be the only ones who are producing anything on the ladies' tour.

Serena is currently the standing world No. 1, which is no surprise considering she's the reigning Wimbledon and Aussie Open champ, and Venus is ranked fifth in the world and is a former No. 1. Serena boasts 13 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus checks in with seven. That's 20 between 'em.

And that's awesome.

But after Serena and Venus, it gets pretty ugly in the contiguous 48, with Melanie Oudin (44th) coming in as the only other top-50 American. And the next-highest American woman after Oudin would be Vania King, who checks in at No. 79.

Oof.

And guess what? There are no more American women inside the top 100 after King, who is a non-factor out there. At least the spry Oudin reached a U.S. Open quarterfinal in dramatic fashion last year, stunning a bevy of Russian stars, in come-from-behind fashion, along the way.

But the 18-year-old Oudin hasn't done much on the circuit since then, and still has yet to title as a member of the WTA Tour. She failed to get past the second round at this year's first three major events, including head- shaking opening-round exits at both the Oz and French Opens.

And King (who certainly is no Billie Jean King)? Fugetaboutit! She's only ever reached the third round at a Grand Slam event once (which occurred at last year's U.S. Open). She's been a first- or second-round loser at 16 other major tournaments.

But King (Vania King), unlike Oudin, has at least titled once on the circuit (four years ago in Bangkok).

Minnesota native Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who beat her Fed Cup teammate Oudin at a tournament in Montreal just this week, is just outside the top 100, at No. 101. Which means there are only four American women inside the top 100!

Yuck.

Thank goodness we (USA) still have Serena and Venus out there, otherwise we'd be watching a whole lot of American-less women's tennis.

The last American woman not named Serena or Venus to capture a major title was Jennifer Capriati at the 2002 Aussie Open. And you'd have to dip into the '90s to come up with a non-Williams American winner at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as Lindsay Davenport was the last to turn the trick at the All England Club, in 1999, and in New York, in 1998.

And Serena is the only American woman to capture our national title -- the U.S. Open -- over the last eight years.

And when's the last time an American not named Serena or Venus finished a season inside the top 10? Well that would be Davenport back in 2005, a year in which Lindsay finished No. 1.

Heck, in 2006 there were zero American women inside the top 10 at year's end.

Whatever happened to the good old days when American-born women dominated the top-10 landscape? Like in 1980, for instance, when five of the top 10 hailed from the U.S., including the top-two ladies in the world, Chrissie (Evert, that is) and Tracy Austin.

Will we ever see five American women inside the top 10 again? I seriously doubt it, considering how popular tennis has become all over the globe in the last quarter-century.

What's the (tennis) world coming to when there are more Belgians in the top 20 (Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer) than there are Americans (Serena and Venus)?

BELGIUM?

My native Pennsylvania, alone, is almost four times the size of Belgium.

The Russians, as a whole, dominated in recent years, but they're starting to cool off, with only one player, Elena Dementieva, residing inside the top 10 for the time being. But they certainly spread it around (in terms of success), with the likes of Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, and even Anastasia Myskina. Three of those women have corralled major titles; two have reached No. 1; and all have played in at least one major final.

Sure, the Williams sisters are still here, and the younger one is still a dominant force on tour, but Serena and Venus aren't going to be around forever, and the United States needs to produce at least one woman who can challenge for a top-10 spot sooner rather than later. And that woman currently does not exist (sorry, Oudin), although some have been starting to hype Coco Vandeweghe in recent weeks, despite the fact that the 18-year-old has yet to accomplish anything in "The Show."

By the way, Vandeweghe is the niece of former NBA star/executive/coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

About five years ago, California's Alexa Glatch was a "promising" American.

Was she?

Five years later...she stinks (as far as potential Grand Slam winners go).

Did You Know?: Venus has never finished as season as a year-end No. 1. And Serena's only accomplished the feat twice.

At the upcoming U.S. Open, Serena will certainly be among the favorites, as she always is. Venus...not so much. Oudin...an extreme longshot at best. And King (Vania King) and Mattek-Sands? Not in this or any other lifetime.

Dear USTA, It's time to get back to work!

Wwwcasinodomain Tennis Betting News

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

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

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA		 4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich		 9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson		 5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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