Kvitova, Sharapova win Aussie openers; Stosur upset

Tennis Betting Lines

01/17/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Stosur crashed out of her home Grand Slam on Tuesday, while Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova recorded easy first-round wins in first-round play at the Australian Open.

The sixth-seeded Stosur, who won the U.S. Open title last year, dropped a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea. She had never advanced beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, but had also proved to be a Grand Slam contender after reaching the French Open final in 2010.

But she has displayed inconsistent form, and committed 33 unforced errors in Tuesday's loss. Stosur also hit just 12 winners.

The second-seeded Kvitova is in search of her second Grand Slam title, having won Wimbledon last year. She convincingly beat Russian Vera Dushevina, 6-2, 6-0, in 61 minutes on Tuesday and moved into the second round to face Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Irina-Camelia Begu in her opening match.

Kvitova, 21, reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne last year before losing to Vera Zvonareva.

Sharapova, the fourth seed, needed just 58 minutes to record a 6-0, 6-1 win against Argentine Gisela Dulko. The Russian Sharapova won the Australian Open in 2008, but struggled recovering from injury in following years. However, she had a resurgence of sorts last year, reaching the fourth round in Melbourne before getting to the semifinals at Roland Garros and losing to Kvitova in the Wimbledon final.

Sharapova will face American Jamie Hampton in the second round.

German Sabine Lisicki, the 14th seed, advanced Tuesday with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win against Swiss Stefanie Voegele. She did not qualify for the Australian Open last year, but was a surprise semifinalist at Wimbledon.

Other players to win Tuesday include 15th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 17th-seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova, 23rd-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci and 27th-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko.

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Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.