Nadal, Federer win Rome openers; Murray falls

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04/29/2009 - Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and former world No. 1 Roger Federer highlighted Wednesday's second-round winners, while U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray went by way of the upset at the $3.645 million Italian Masters tennis event.

The three-time Rome titlist Nadal whipped Italian crowd favorite Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-3, while a second-seeded Federer handled towering Croat Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-4 on the red clay at Foro Italico. Federer is now 8-1 all-time versus the 6-foot-10 Karlovic.

Nadal captured this event three years in a row from 2005-07, including a victory over Federer in the 2006 finale. Federer is a two-time runner-up at this French Open tune-up.

The reigning Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion Nadal is fresh off his fifth straight Barcelona and fifth consecutive Monte- Carlo clay-court championships. The super Spaniard has won his last 26 matches on red clay and is 143-4 on the surface since 2005, including 12-0 this season.

Nadal and Federer were two-of-eight seeds to receive opening-round byes this week.

Big Day-3 second-round upsets came when Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco knocked out a fourth-seeded Murray 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 and Austrian Jurgen Melzer toppled seventh-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). The Miami Masters champion Murray, who fell for only the fourth time all year, considers clay to be his least-favorite surface.

Fifth-seeded Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro advanced with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Serbian Viktor Troicki, while sixth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco continued his fine 2009 season with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over American Mardy Fish and eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon fought back to dismiss Italian wild card Fabio Fognini 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3.

In other second-round action involving seeds, No. 10 Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka beat Russian qualifier Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (7-5); No. 12 Chilean Fernando Gonzalez grounded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-4; No. 13 Spaniard Tommy Robredo bested German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 7-6 (7-5); No. 15 Croat Marin Cilic held off Belgian Christophe Rochus 6-0, 5-7, 6-2; and No. 16 Czech Radek Stepanek stifled Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-1. Wawrinka was last year's Rome runner-up to Novak Djokovic. Gonzalez was the 2007 runner-up here to Nadal.

Three other second-rounders saw Swede Robin Soderling edge out Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, German qualifier Mischa Zverev drive out Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 and Frenchman Richard Gasquet get past Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. Mathieu, Gasquet and Stepanek saw double-duty here on Wednesday after rain disrupted the schedule here on Monday and Tuesday.

The first round finally concluded on Wednesday, as Gasquet upended ninth- seeded fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, Mathieu ousted 11th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 and Stepanek outlasted France's Florent Serra 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-5. Ferrer was last week's Barcelona runner-up to the high-flying Nadal.

The third round will be staged here on Thursday, including matches for Nadal, Federer and a third-seeded Djokovic. Nadal will face Soderling, while Federer takes on Stepanek and the reigning Rome champion Djokovic meets Robredo.

The 2009 Rome titlist will take home $565,000.

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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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