Williamses increase their odds

By Lonnie White

July 3, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Although Venus and Serena Williams had won six of the last eight Wimbledon women’s finals, including Venus’ title last year, neither sister was considered a favorite before this year’s tournament.

That status, instead, belonged to 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who began the tournament with 2-1 to 3-1 odds, according to oddsmakers. Even Ana Ivanovic, ranked No. 1 in the world entering the tournament, fielded better odds than Venus and Serena.

Now fast-forward to today’s semifinals, and the Williams sisters have returned to their roles as the players to beat.

According to betED.com, Serena Williams is a -600 favorite over 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie, who upset Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals. Zheng, the first Asian player to reach the semifinals at a major tournament, is listed at +450.

Venus Williams is listed as a -360 favorite over fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva, who is at +300. Venus has a 5-2 all-time record against Dementieva.

In Sportsbetting.com’s updated odds to win this year’s women’s championship, Venus and Serena are both listed at 1-1, with Zheng and Dementieva at 12-1. At Bodoglife.com, Venus is listed at 6-5 with Serena at 11-10, followed by Dementieva at 8-1 and Zheng at 10-1.

Golf

The post-Tiger Woods’ 2008 golf tour moves to Maryland for this weekend’s AT&T; National, and for the second week in a row, Jim Furyk will enter as a favorite.

At Golfodds.com, Furyk is listed with 12-1 odds, ahead of Hunter Mahan and Mike Weir (20-1), and Robert Allenby, Anthony Kim and Stuart Appleby (25-1) to win at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

A group of golfers listed at 30-1 odds for this weekend includes K.J. Choi, Steve Stricker, Trevor Immelman, Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, Rod Pampling and Ben Crane. Rocco Mediate, who lost to Woods in a 19-hole playoff at the U.S. Open, and veteran Fred Couples are listed at 50-1.

If Furyk wins, it would be his first victory in 18 starts this season and a nice bounce-back after he finished in 36th place in last week’s Buick Open, which he began as a 10-1 favorite.

Kenny Perry, who began with 12-1 odds and won the Buick Open last week, is not playing at Congressional this weekend.

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