Day 7 in Wimbledon 2009 will forever be remembered as a triumphant day in tennis history.  Not because of an exhausting match between two brilliant players, but because it marked the first day that the new retractable roof over centre court was called into action because of rain.  That’s right everyone, Day 7.  Write it into your diaries.

Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo were battling it out for their spot in the next round when their match came to a halt halfway through the second set because of the rain.  The players exited to the locker rooms while the 1,000-ton roof was set into motion.  Over the next ten minutes an appreciative crowd cheered as the new roof rolled to a slow and steady close.  Another 30 minutes passed while the air circulated to create perfect playing conditions, and the game was back underway.

Safina managed a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the former French Wimbledon champion thus securing her place in tennis history as the first player to win a match under the new centre court roof.  So prepare yourselves everyone because here comes a little trivia that you might want to hold onto for future reference.

-    First point scored under the new roof goes to Dinara Safina
-    First game won under the new roof goes to Amelie Mauresmo
-    First match won under the new roof goes to Dinara Safina

Continuing with the new roof excitement, Andy Murray faced off against Stanislas Wawrinka under the new addition to centre court.  Unfortunately, the new roof took a back seat to some pretty fine performances from these two friends.  Wawrinka took the lead early on in the first set, causing some panic among British fans.  It didn’t look good for Murray as his opponent took a 4-0 lead in the first set.

Murray managed to gain some ground in the fifth game of the second set after warding off a couple of break points.  From then on, Wawrinka’s game wasn’t quite as ferocious as the first two sets, but Murray’s was.  In a fine demonstration of determination and skill, he took the third set, made it through the fourth and managed to hang on to the fifth.  It was a brutal four hour slugfest, but Murray, much to the delight of his fans, was victorious with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win.

Elsewhere at the Wimbledon courts, Roger Federer defeated Robin Soderling with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) win.  Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic and Tommy Haas also won their respective matches to continue their Wimbledon dreams.  On the women’s side, Venus Williams defeated a tearful Ana Ivanovic after the Serbian had to pull out during the second set due to a leg injury.  Serena Williams easily ousted Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska put a stop to Melanie Oudin who upset Jelena Jankovic late last week.  It was a memorable day indeed.

The Ladies’ Singles Quarterfinals get underway tomorrow and BetUS is currently offering the following odds:

Venus Williams v Agnieska Radwanska
Moneyline
Williams: -1000
Radwanska: +500

Dinara Safina v Sabine Lisicki
Moneyline
Safina: -250
Lisicki: +185

Victoria Azarenka v Serena Williams
Moneyline
Azarenka: +225
Williams: -350

Francesca Schiavone v Elena Dementieva
Moneyline
Schiavone: +225
Dementieva: -350

Germany have capped off a remarkable tournament in the UEFA Under-21 Championships with a 4-0 thrashing of title favorites England.

Mesut Özil, the 20-year-old Werder Bremen midfielder, had a hand in each of the four goals that created history by being the largest winning margin in an U-21 final. An England squad lacking the experience and talent of both striker Fraizer Campbell and keeper Joe Hart never had a hope of challenging the match after the first goal slipped past Scott Loach.

Özil set up the opener with a sneaky through-ball to Gonzalo Castro who was never going to be caught. The rest of the first half was all Germany, but they failed to find the back of the net until the 47th minute. A free kick from Özil doubled Germany’s lead and it was all-too-clear that England were suffering for their loss of Joe Hart; Loach really should have had the shot from 35 metres out covered.

The third goal saw the collapse of England both defensively and mentally. Having missed an easy attempt four minutes earlier, Sandro Wagner was adamant not to go home without a goal. He snapped up his first from a combination attack with Özil and then made it two when he teamed up again with the man-of-the-match to curl the ball around Loach.

The win at Malmö last night completed a hat-trick of youth squad wins for Germany, having already lifted the Under-17 and Under-19 trophies. Even more remarkable was the attacking display; prior to the final, Germany had only scored four goals in four matches and yet, within the space of 90 minutes, they managed to claim an incredible four unanswered goals.

International football will now take a break for a short while until regular World Cup Qualifiers start up again in August. But don’t fret, football fans, there is still plenty of club action on offer, starting Tuesday with the third round of the US Open Cup. This round of the tournament introduces the MLS teams to the lower-tiered clubs and will make for extremely interesting viewing.

BetUS has posted odds on the games and two matches in particular have piqued my interest: Charleston Battery (USL 1st Div.) vs. Chivas USA (MLS), and DC United (MLS) vs. Ocean City Barons (USL Premier Development League). The Charleston-Chivas game has interesting odds, especially considering that the USL First Division club was runner-up in last year’s US Open Cup.

On the other end of the spectrum is tournament surprise packet Ocean City, who is the only 4th-tier club to have progressed to the third round. While they are up against reigning titleholders DC United, don’t write them off just yet – football can be a crazy game.

Be sure to check out BetUS for all the latest odds on the upcoming US Open Cup games.

Rochester Raging Rhinos: +260
Draw: +225
Columbus Crew: -110

Charleston Battery: +250
Draw: +230
Chivas USA: -110

Washington DC United: -500
Draw: +400
Ocean City Barons: +1200

Minnesota Thunder: +330
Draw: +250
Kansas City Wizards: -150

There is still a while to go until UFC 100 on 11 July, but there have been odds up for this event for quite some time. Many are billing it as the biggest event in UFC history, though UFC president Dana White seems to be oddly calm. Regardless, it’s going to feature two title fights, for the heavyweight and welterweight divisions, the coaches from The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 will be fighting one another, and the rest of the card looks to be packed full of exciting fights.

To start with, the heavyweight fight between interim champion Frank Mir and champion Brock Lesnar has seen a fair bit of discussion. Obviously fans of the division have been waiting quite some time to see this match-up settled. At sportsbooks, Lesnar is the favorite, with BetUS giving him -240 and Bodog giving him -250. Frank Mir has been given +190 odds at both of these sportsbooks.

I really am puzzled as to why Lesnar is being favored in this fight. Is it his win over Randy Couture? Did that suddenly make him undoubtedly the top of the heavyweight division? Okay, yes, it gave him the title, but was Lesnar really the top contender? No offence to Randy or to Lesnar’s victory, but Couture was 45 at the time and hadn’t fought in over a year. Let’s not get too excited about Lesnar’s abilities just yet.

Also, Mir has already defeated Lesnar before – Lesnar’s only loss in an incredibly short MMA career. Sure, Lesnar may have been set to win until he got caught in Mir’s kneebar… but he got caught in a kneebar! He’s a wrestler, so I’m not at all surprised that he can control where a fight goes, but submissions are their own area, and Lesnar hasn’t exactly had to improve his submissions defence for his last two fights. I think a bet on Frank Mir makes a lot more sense than a bet on Brock Lesnar, as the odds for Lesnar look way too short for how close this fight really is.

The welterweight fight between Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves has GSP as the favorite, and with good cause. BetUS places GSP at -300 and Alves at +220, while Bodog takes it even further, with GSP at -340 and Alves at +260. I wouldn’t argue with these odds, I’d just avoid betting on this fight. I see no reason GSP won’t win convincingly, and there are better bets to make for this event. Remember, betting on outcomes that are almost a sure thing generally just means a pitiful payout if the expected result comes in, or else a staggering loss in the case of an upset.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. Thiago Alves has victories over many notable opponents, including Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan. He is well-versed in Muay Thai and BJJ, and he’s young at 25, with a lot of fight experience for that age. Nevertheless, GSP has been mind-bogglingly dominant of his division, with both of his losses having been avenged. I don’t think it’s unfair to expect a GSP victory.

I’ll finish up for now with the Mike Bisping vs. Dan Henderson fight. I want Bisping to win, I like Bisping, and I think he has the ability to win. Thus, while I’m going to say that Mike Bisping is going to win, you may not want to place a bet based on that due to my incredible bias. There are reasons I think he’ll win, but let’s look at the odds.

BetUS and Bodog both have Henderson as the favorite. BetUS puts the fight as -230 for Henderson and +180 for Bisping. Bodog has it -250 for Henderson and +190 for Bisping. I’m not so blind as to think that Dan Henderson isn’t a formidable fighter. Former PRIDE welterweight champion and middleweight champion, he’s fought some incredible competition in his time. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really won against the top competition in the UFC.

It’s this lack of wins in his toughest UFC fights that makes me much more confident in Bisping’s chances to win this fight. While reports of Bisping possibly looking to engage in a wrestling contest with an excellent wrestler are troubling, I imagine this is an attempt to further round out his skills rather than a drastic change in tactics for him. I also believe that if Bisping stays on his feet or drives the action with takedowns, Henderson will lose on points. Unless Bisping gets caught with Henderson’s scary right hand, I think the fight will end in a submission for Bisping or a split decision.

There’ll be more here on UFC 100 when it gets closer, but that’s all for now.