U.S. takes a 2-0 lead over Belarus at Fed Cup

Tennis Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Americans Christina McHale and Serena Williams were both winners on Saturday to give the U.S. a 2-0 advantage over Belarus in a Fed Cup World Group II matchup.

This is the first-ever Fed Cup meeting between the two countries in the best- of-five matchup.

McHale was scheduled to play against newly-crowned world No. 1 star Victoria Azarenka, who is coming off her first-ever Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, but the 22-year-old Belarusian withdrew from the match earlier in the day with a lower back injury.

The American teenager instead faced off against Anastasia Yakimova and easily dispatched her 6-0, 6-4.

McHale was up 4-0 in the second set before Yakimova won the next four games, but McHale rallied to take the next two and the first rubber for the U.S.

Yakimova committed eight double faults in the match and hit 27 unforced errors, while McHale converted on 6-of-8 break opportunities in the nearly 1 1/2 hour match.

The former No. 1 American Williams came on next and battled through the first set against Olga Govortsova before rolling in the second to earn a 7-5, 6-0 victory.

Govortsova converted on her lone break chance in the first set, but also committed seven double faults and 19 unforced errors. Williams then dominated the second set despite hitting 14 unforced errors.

Sunday's reverse singles in Massachusetts will pit the U.S. Open runner-up Williams against Azarenka, who is still eligible to compete if healthy, and the New Jersey native McHale versus Govortsova, while the doubles currently call for an American duo of Venus Williams and Liezel Huber to battle a Belarusian pairing of Azarenka and Govortsova on Day 2.

The winner here will advance to the World Group playoffs and have a chance to compete for the Fed Cup title next year.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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