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The 24th-seeded Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 17 years, provided little more than a speed bump for Murray on Wednesday although he showed a little fight in one of the match's most entertaining points.
"There was quite a few good rallies. I mean, he came up with some good shots," Murray said. "A lot of the long points, the fun rallies he was winning, he came up with some great shots."
"After a couple games, I was OK," said Nishikori. "He played really well today."
Nishikori was the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995 (Wimbledon) and he's also the first Japanese man in 80 years to reach the Aussie Open quarters.
The good friends Djokovic and Murray will meet for an 11th time at the ATP level, with the Serb holding a 6-4 lifetime advantage. Their lone Grand Slam meeting came in last year's final here, which Djokovic won easily, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic is 3-0 when they've met in semifinals of an event.
"Just more used to being in this position because of the experience," Murray said.
The 25-year-old Nadal and 30-year-old Federer will meet for a 27th time, with the Spaniard leading the all-time series 17-9. Nadal is 7-2 in their Grand Slam meetings, including wins in their last four matchups. The two stalwarts have met in a men's record eight major finals, with Nadal winning six of them. They are in the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005.
Federer, who hasn't won a Grand Slam event since titling here in Melbourne two years ago, has yet to drop a set at this latest Aussie fortnight. He'll appear in his ninth straight Aussie semi on Thursday.
Venus will play for the first time this year after being sidelined with Sjogren's Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain.
Team USA is captained by Mary Joe Fernandez, who will also have Christina McHale and Liezel Huber at her disposal next week.
"I am looking forward to having Serena and Venus on the team for the first time since I became U.S. Fed Cup captain," Fernandez said. "They bring so much to this team, not only for what they can do on court, but the influence they will have on Christina and the rest of the team."
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Friday's women's doubles final at the Australian Open will pit an 11th-seeded Italian tandem of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci against a strong unseeded Russia duo of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva. Errani and Vinci upended a seventh-seeded Czech pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, while Kuznetsova and Zvonareva ousted sixth seeds Sania Mirza of India and fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4. Hlavackova and Hradecka are the reigning French Open champs, having beaten Mirza and Vesnina in last year's finale in Paris.
Errani was a singles quarterfinal loser in Melbourne on Wednesday.
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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