Clijsters rallies into quarterfinals in Melbourne

Tennis Betting Lines

01/22/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters kept alive her bid for a second straight Australian Open title by rallying for a three-set victory over China's Li Na in a rematch of last year's final.

The 11th-seeded Clijsters seemed to twist her left ankle midway through the first set after taking a tumble, and then fought off four match points to overcome the fifth-seeded Li, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

A four-time Grand Slam champ, Clijsters was behind 6-2 in the second set tiebreak, but somehow rallied by winning the next six points. She evened the tiebreak at 6-6 with a brilliant lob winner and then finished off the set when her Chinese opponent sent a return long.

Clijsters won the first four games of the third set, but Li rallied to close within 5-4, even fighting off a match point. The Belgian then ended the lengthy affair when Li sent a backhander into the net, one of 46 unforced errors by the 29-year-old.

Up next for Clijsters will be either top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki or 13th-seeded former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.

Also Sunday, third-seeded Belarusian slugger Victoria Azarenka advanced to the quarterfinals. Azarenka, who titled in Sydney last week by beating Li Na in the marquee finale, beat veteran Czech left-hander Iveta Benesova, 6-2, 6-2. Azarenka has yet to drop a set at this year's first major.

The match, which lasted 77 minutes, saw Azarenka take advantage of 26 unforced errors from Benesova. Next up for Azarenka will be No. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat No. 22 seed Julia Goerges, 6-1, 6-1.

"It's going to be a really tough battle," Azarenka said. "Mentally it's difficult. She's a very difficult player to play against. But we'll see. I mean, I'm going to be out there trying my best and fight hard."

Azarenka, who is on a nine-match winning streak, moved to 4-0 all-time against Benesova.

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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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