Almagro ousts Berdych to reach Nice final

Tennis Betting Lines

05/20/2011 - Nice, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro upset Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych on Friday to reach the final at the $640,000 Nice Open, a final clay-court French Open tune-up.

The third-seeded Almagro handled the second-seeded Berdych in 6-4, 6-4 fashion in just under an hour-and-a-half on the red clay at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club.

Almagro is now 2-3 lifetime against Berdych -- all on clay.

The 25-year-old Almagro will now appear in his fourth final of the year, seeking a third championship. The world No. 12 Spaniard is 9-3 in his career finals -- all on clay.

Almagro's opponent on Saturday will be unseeded Romanian Victor Hanescu, who upended fifth-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-3 on Day 6. The Australian Open quarterfinalist Dolgopolov stunned top-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer here on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Hanescu is 1-3 in his career finals, with his lone championship coming in Gstaad three years ago. This marks his first final of 2011.

Almagro is 3-0 lifetime against Hanescu, including a 2-0 mark on clay. The Spaniard has already beaten the Romanian twice this season, in Auckland and Acapulco.

Saturday's winner will collect $102,000.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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