The Men’s Quarterfinals finished up and I managed to call three of the four matches.  As I (and many others I’m sure) predicted, Roger Federer easily advanced to the Semifinals after a straight sets win over Ivo Karlovic.  This marks his 21st successive major Semifinal.

Andy Murray will be joining Federer in the Semis after a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 win over Juan Carlos Ferrero.  It will be Murray’s first appearance in the Wimbledon Semifinals.  British fans couldn’t be happier and probably a bit relieved that it wasn’t another four-hour trial like his match against Wawrinka.

Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt had a five-set epic battle in which Roddick managed to come out victorious.  The American beat the Australian 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4.  Roddick came on strong, starting the first set with a 3-0 lead but Hewitt took the set back.  And so it went, back and forth between these two popular players until Roddick sealed the deal after converting his second break point in the ninth game.  Victory came on his first match point.

The real surprise of the day was the match between Tommy Haas and Novak Djokovic.  Haas proved that experience is indeed a powerful tool after claiming a 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-3 win over the world no. 4.  Haas’s serve-and-volley style coupled with a strong backhand worked well for the German, but his sheer determination to win turned out to be his biggest asset.  There was no way he was going to lose this match.  He upset the world no. 4 and will be advancing to the Semifinals.

The courts are heating up, and the Semis will see some pretty intense matches.  Federer will face off against Haas for a chance at the finals, and Murray will face Roddick.  BetUS is offering the following odds:

Roger Federer v Tommy Haas
Moneyline
Federer: -1600
Haas: +700

Andy Murray v Andy Roddick
Moneyline
Murray: -375
Roddick: +235

But before all of that, the Women will faceoff in their Semifinal round.  It’ll be a showdown between Russia and the US as Venus Williams goes up against world no. 1 Dinara Safina and Serena Williams faces Elena Dementieva.  All four top seeds have advanced, which marks the first time this has happened in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2006.

The Williams have been dominating their opponents in this tournament and it will be interesting to see if Safina or Dementieva will be able to put a stop to their winning streaks.  Neither of the Russians has been able to pull out a Grand Slam win but it’s not from a lack of trying.  Safina has made it to the Finals on a few occasions, but just can’t seem to keep her nerves under control long enough to put up a decent fight.  And this marks Dementieva’s 43rd Grand Slam, but the no. 4 seed has yet to secure a spot in the Finals.

On the other side of the net, the Williams’ shelves are stacked with hardware, and, unfortunately for all of their opponents, another win seems imminent as they play their best on the grass.  Venus has not lost a set at Wimbledon since the third round in 2007.  And though Serena’s wins have been more evenly dispersed across all four Grand Slam tournaments, she is particularly looking forward to another Wimbledon title.  Perhaps Safina and Dementieva will put up more of a fight than the sisters have faced so far at Wimbledon, but my guess is that it will be another face off between Venus and Serena in the Finals.

BetUS is offering the following odds:

Dinara Safina v Venus Williams
Game Hcp
Safina: +4 ½ -110
Williams: -4 ½ -130

Moneyline
Safina: +400
Williams: -700

Elena Dementieva v Serena Williams
Game Hcp
Dementieva: +4 ½ -110
Williams: -4 ½ -130

Moneyline
Dementieva: +400
Williams: -700

Lucas Glover turned the leaderboard on its head today with a come-from-behind victory to snatch the US Open at Bethpage from Phil Mickelson and Ricky Barnes.

Glover had an inconsistent tournament that included a second day 64 to bring him -7, before a worrying +3 on the final day of play just carried him through to win by 2 strokes.

Unfortunately for Mickelson – whose wife Amy begins treatment for breast cancer next month – his steady form just wasn’t enough to see him to the winner’s podium, and he recorded a record fifth US Open runner-up finish. After eagling the 13th, Mickelson was tied for the lead, but two late bogeys at 15 and 17 pushed him back to a second-place tie with David Duval and
Ricky Barnes.

While Mickelson may not be ecstatic about another US Open gone begging, he should be proud of his consistency over the past four days. If anyone is to be disappointed it should be Ricky Barnes. Barnes was sitting on -8 after the third day of play, but he never recovered from a bogey at the 1st on Monday and slipped to a frustrating 76, +6 for the day.

I really feel for Mickelson and even, to an extent, Tiger Woods – who was always playing catch-up after a bad first round. But Barnes’s win just goes to show that majors are extremely tough tournaments to call.

Woods missed the chance to add to his 14 major titles and seems doomed to wait at least another few years if he wants to overtake Jack Nicklaus’s world record of 18.

Rain was certainly a factor throughout the tournament. Some players, like Woods, just couldn’t refocus after the wet conditions of the first two days – Woods only hit 38 of 56 fairways and 48 of 72 greens in regulation. Others, however, thrived after the rain subsided and took advantage of some sloppy play and bogey-riddled rounds.

Congratulations should go to Lucas Glover, and commiserations to Mickelson. Maybe next year, Phil.

Be sure to keep your eye on the PGA Tour over the next few weeks. The Travelers Championship, AT&T National, and John Deere Classic will all be great tournaments to watch for signs of who is on form to win the British Open on July 16-19. BetUS has already posted Future odds for several players in the running to take out the championship.

Incredible. That’s the only word for it. I optimistically Twittered last night that I would love to see Egypt take down the Italians in their Confederations Cup group game, but by no means was I taking myself seriously.

I awoke this morning to a match that seemed to be heavily in favor of the 2006 World Cup winners, but a magical 40th minute header from Mohamed Hamos turned out to be the decisive goal. Sure, Italy upped the ante in the second half and should have scored a couple of times, but you can’t take this special victory away from Egypt. They completely deserved to win, especially after that devastating 4-3 loss against Brazil in the final minutes of game one.

However, I think the majority of praise should go to Egyptian stopper Essam El Hadary; that guy is incredible. I really felt for him a couple of months ago when FIFA banned him from club football for four months after a chaotic transfer saga involving his former club Al-Ahly, and current Swiss team FC Sion. But credit must be given for his determined nature; he stepped up to the plate in Johannesburg last night and gifted Egypt with a very good chance of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.

Saturday and Sunday will host the final matches of each group, with seven of the eight teams still in contention. The USA will have to beat Egypt by five goals if they are to have any chance of progressing to round two, which looks incredibly unlikely after two poor efforts against Italy and Brazil. Likewise, Italy will have to down undefeated Brazil on Sunday if they want to secure a place in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the tournament, Spain have already qualified for the next round while New Zealand have failed to earn a single point. Only Iraq and South Africa are left to challenge the last semi-final berth. While Iraq’s match on Saturday is a must-win, they have a far easier challenge against New Zealand than South Africa, who face Spain. Both teams have yet to concede a goal, however Spain dominated New Zealand 5-0 in their first game, whereas South Africa had an awkward start to their campaign. A draw against the World Number One football nation would see South Africa safely through, but a loss could open the door for Asian champions Iraq to steal their place.

This tournament is shaping up to be really exciting, and I find myself more and more enthralled with every aspect of it, even to the level that I was throughout Germany 2006. BetUS has posted odds on every Confederations Cup match, and the Egpyt-USA match is especially interesting. Egypt – ranked 40th in the world – are clear favourites over 14th placed USA. Be sure to keep up to date will all the matches, and don’t forget that BetUS offers Live Betting as well.

Iraq
Handicap: -1 -155; Moneyline: -225
Draw
Moneyline: +285
New Zealand
Handicap: +1 +125; Moneyline: +550

Spain
Handicap: -½ -130; Moneyline: -135
Draw
Moneyline: +215
South Africa
Handicap: +½ Ev; Moneyline: +375

Egypt
Moneyline: -140
Draw
Moneyline: +270
USA
Moneyline: +300

Italy
Moneyline: +200
Draw
Moneyline: +225
Brazil
Moneyline: +115

TheDoctor’s note: I don’t think you can go past Spain in this tournament. They are fielding possibly their strongest team of all team, even stronger than last year’s squad that took out the EURO title. With the likes of Torres, Fabregas, Iniesta, and David Villa I wouldn’t be betting against them, even if they end up facing a powerful Brazil outfit.