Clijsters overcomes Henin; Venus reaches Wimby QFs

Tennis Betting Lines

06/28/2010 - Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim Clijsters came from behind to defeat her fellow former world No. 1 Belgian stalwart Justine Henin, while five-time champion and former top-ranked star Venus Williams also joined the parade into the quarterfinals Monday at Wimbledon.

The eighth-seeded U.S. Open champion Clijsters dropped the first set against the 17th-seeded Henin before charging back for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision on Court 1 at the All England Club.

Clijsters prevailed in 1 hour, 28 minutes despite striking only one ace and piling up six double faults. She did, however, tally one more service break (3-2) than her great rival.

The two-time U.S. Open champion Clijsters is now 13-12 lifetime against Henin, including 3-5 now in Grand Slams.

The seven-time major champion Henin, who was this year's Australian Open runner-up to Serena Williams, still needs Wimbledon to complete the coveted career Grand Slam. She reached finals here in 2001 and 2006, but lost to five- time champion Venus Williams and Amelie Mauresmo, respectively.

Henin was fresh off her grass-court title in The Netherlands.

Clijsters' quarterfinal opponent will be 21st-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva.

The second-seeded 2009 Wimbledon runner-up Venus advanced to the quarters by handling surprising Aussie Jarmila Groth 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Court 2 at the AEC. The crowd on Court 2 booed Venus upon her late arrival for her Day-7 match.

Venus, who has reached the final here eight times in the last 10 years (5-3), will next face Tsvetana Pironkova, after the Bulgarian defeated 11th seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-4. Bartoli was the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up to Venus.

The 22-year-old Pironkova is a first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

Another upstart, Czech Petra Kvitova, manhandled third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-0 on Monday. The Danish Wozniacki was last year's U.S. Open runner-up to Clijsters.

The 20-year-old Kvitova will appear in her first-ever major quarter.

Fourth-seeded Serbian star Jelena Jankovic retired Monday from her fourth- round bout against the aforementioned Zvonareva.

Jankovic took a spill early in her match and received treatment on her back, trailing Zvonareva 6-1, 3-0 at the time. The Serb would retire three points later.

The 25-year-old former world No. 1 Jankovic has yet to make it past the fourth round in her career at Wimbledon.

Zvonareva will now play in her first-ever quarterfinal at the All England Club.

Also on Monday, ninth seed Li Na of China upended No. 7 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals here for a second time. Li appeared in her first-ever major semifinal at January's Aussie Open.

Radwanska had previously never lost to a player seeded outside the top six at Wimbledon.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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