Best Examples of a Betting Favorite Being Destroyed by Underdog (golf, Tiger Woods)
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We all know about the great upsets: Villanova over Georgetown, NC State over Phi Slamma Jamma, the Giants over an undefeated Patriots team, etc. But these contests were all close. What are the greatest examples of an underdog completely demolishing a favorite?
I was thinking the Denver-Seattle Super Bowl from a couple of years ago but Denver wasn't a clear favorite in that game. It wasn't so surprising that Seattle won as it was the way they won. I don't remember anyone saying Seattle had no shot against the Broncos.
The one sporting event that stands out to me is the 2014 Australian Open Final between Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka. Nadal had never lost a set to Stan Wawrinka in 13 matches and had destroyed an in-form Roger Federer just two days prior. The final was just a formality with the all-time great Pete Sampras in attendance to hand him the trophy.
Sticking with Tennis.... how about Roberta DiVinci beating Serena Williams in straight sets to ruin her grand slam hopes? Not sure what the odds were in that match but had to be huge.
Also... a golf one here... how about Y.E. Yang Shocking the golf world and running away from Tiger Woods to win the 2008 US Open?
Horse Racing... Seabiscuit defeating War Admiral by 4 lengths... and it ended up being War Admiral's best ever performance running a race at that distance (1 & 3/16 miles).
Sticking with Tennis.... how about Roberta DiVinci beating Serena Williams in straight sets to ruin her grand slam hopes? Not sure what the odds were in that match but had to be huge.
That was a three set match, not a straight setter.
And Vinci didn't "destroy" Serena. Vinci played well but you could Serena really choked that away. Nadal, on the other hand, got served. I don't think I've ever seen any other sporting competition where the "unbeatable" favorite got DESTROYED. It was not a competitive affair at all (except for the back injury Nadal faked, which momentarily threw Wawrinka off his game).
And Vinci didn't "destroy" Serena. Vinci played well but you could Serena really choked that away. Nadal, on the other hand, got served. I don't think I've ever seen any other sporting competition where the "unbeatable" favorite got DESTROYED. It was not a competitive affair at all (except for the back injury Nadal faked, which momentarily threw Wawrinka off his game).
oops.. my fault on the specifics of that match.. but either way a helluva an upset there.
And Vinci didn't "destroy" Serena. Vinci played well but you could Serena really choked that away. Nadal, on the other hand, got served. I don't think I've ever seen any other sporting competition where the "unbeatable" favorite got DESTROYED. It was not a competitive affair at all (except for the back injury Nadal faked, which momentarily threw Wawrinka off his game).
The back injury was not a fake, and I don't support either player (a devout Djokovic fan).
Still, Stan thoroughly deserved his victory as the damage was done in the 1st set and a half, and Nadal was already well and truly on the back foot.
Not sure how much of a favourite Nadal was, probably less than Djokovic at the French Open final last year, or at least they are equal as far as boilovers go- and both inflicted by Stan.
Just when i thought i had finally forgotten about that game...
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