Tennis Betting: Who’s going to win Wimbledon?
WHO WILL WIN WIMBLEDON?
Men’s Singles
Always an exciting tournament, the 2008 men’s singles Championships could potentially be the most memorable in recent years.
Roger Federer was last beaten on the grass courts of the All England Club by Mario Ancic in the first round of the 2002 Championships. Subsequently, he has been undefeated in 35 Wimbledon matches, the score being
102 – 8 in sets and 671 – 394 in games. This remarkable run of success has brought Federer to the brink of a record sixth consecutive title. However, though apparently unstoppable at Wimbledon, Federer has had a disappointing 2008, suffering unexpected defeats at the hands of Andy Murray, Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek. As a result, he has eased considerably in the Wimbledon tennis betting, now a best-priced 5/4 with Ladbrokes, having trading at odds-on for a considerable period.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal must be considered the greatest threat to Federer’s continued dominance of the Wimbledon Championships. The beaten finalist for the last two years, Nadal thrives on his rivalry with Federer and appears to be closing the gap between them on grass courts. Nadal came close to breaking Federer’s grass court stranglehold last year, and will go into this year’s Championships with his confidence at a high, following his demolition (granted on clay) in the French Open at Roland Garros. He has attracted substantial interest with bookmakers offering tennis betting online, Ladbrokes having laid a bet of £20,000 at 5/1 about Nadal winning at Wimbledon. His Wimbledon betting odds have been shortening for some time and he now trades at a best-priced 12/5 with 888sport. World number two, Nadal demonstrated the well-being of his grass court game by coming from behind to beat Serbian Novak Djokovic in the final of the Artois Championships. However, seemingly not wishing to be outdone, Federer was winning, virtually at the same time, in Halle, Germany for the fifth time in his career.
Although Rafael Nadal is the main danger to Federer, there are one or two other players which it would be unwise to dismiss when considering who will win Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic of Serbia has beaten Federer twice in the last 12 months. He is evidently not unfancied in some quarters, his Wimbledon betting odds being only a best-priced 4/1 with totesport. However, Djokovic lacks experience on grass, and having played in only 3 Wimbledon Championships, at the tender age of 21 may lack the experience to lift the title. American Andy Roddick, having been sidelined with back / shoulder injuries, put up an excellent performance in the Artois Championships on his return, only losing out to Rafael Nadal in the semi-final. He will arrive at Wimbledon in good form, and at 25/1 with vcbet is a “working man’s” price in the Wimbledon tennis betting.
Briton Andy Murray has proved he can win tournaments, two in 2008, has proved he can beat the best, leading Roger Federer 2-1 in head-to head matches. Grass is his best surface and he has home advantage. He is 5th best in the Wimbledon tennis betting at a best-priced 33/1 with sportingbet. Theoretically, he must have a chance of winning. However, his position in the Wimbledon betting odds is probably a result of the hype that inevitably surrounds any British player with even an outside chance of winning. It requires a great (too great) leap of faith to foresee Murray troubling the “big boys.”
In summary, the answer to the opening question of “Who will win Wimbledon?” is Roger Federer. With a chance to rewrite the tennis history books, he should not be underestimated.
Ladies’ Singles
Having hopefully found the answer to half of “Who will win Wimbledon?” attention turns to the Ladies’ event. The Ladies’ Singles Championship appears to be a pretty open event, compounded by the recent retirement of world number one Justine Henin.
No long ago, the consensus in tennis circles was that Serena and Venus Williams lacked to sufficient focus to be champions. However, the Williams sisters have an uncanny knack of proving the “experts” wrong. Venus has four Wimbledon titles to prove the point, and is the reigning champion. Given her form preceding the 2007 renewal, her seeding of 23 looked over generous. The 2007 ladies champion surely had to come from the quarter-final involving Justine Henin and sister Serena. Venus blindsided everybody, blowing away world number two Maria Sharapova in her last 16 match. She became the lowest ranked player and lowest seed to lift the Rosewater Dish, breaking her own record of two years previously when seeded 14. Venus and Serena always seem to produce the most when observers expect the least. It was only last year that Serena went into the Australian Open ranked the world number 81. Nonetheless she stormed to the title, her eighth career Grand Slam victory, wiping out Sharapova in the final. At the respective ages of 28 and 26, Venus and Serena arrive at Wimbledon ranked six and seven in the world. The Wimbledon betting odds have Serena at a best-priced 3/1 with Ladbrokes, while the pick of the tennis betting online prices regarding Venus is skybet’s 5/1. It may prove perilous to dismiss either.
2004 Champion Maria Sharapova has opted to change her schedule in the run-up to Wimbledon 2008. She has decided to miss her usual warm-up tournament in Birmingham and focus solely on Wimbledon. Though beaten in the 4th round last year, Sharapova has plenty of Wimbledon experience and is favourite in the Wimbledon tennis betting for the Ladies’ Singles Championship at a best priced 9/4 with 888sport.
2008’s most heart-warming, newsworthy tennis story is rise of the sport in Serbia, a troubled nation that has found welcome relief in Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. Ana Ivanovic’s recent success at Roland Garros made her Serbia’s first female singles champion, defeating Jankovic in the semi-final. Both women are prominent in the Wimbledon tennis betting, which neither could have dreamed of a few years ago. The Balkans conflict took a heavy toll on Serbia and tennis facilities in the country were laughably pathetic. Despite, or possibly because of this, Jankovic, 23, and Ivanovic, 20, have come through to the top of the women’s game, matured by the severity of those early years. Jankovic came close to giving up tennis in the spring of 2006 when she lost in the first round of nine out of ten tournaments. However, defeating defending champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon caused a rapid change of mind. She subsequently won 4 titles in 2007, including on grass at Birmingham and Wimbledon’s Mixed Doubles. Tennis betting online has Jelena Jankovic at a best-priced 14/1 with totesport.
Dan Holzman, a Swiss businessman, heard of Ana Ivanovic’s youthful promise and organised her resettlement in Basle, along with an interest-free £250,000 (long since repaid) loan to help set up her career. A delighted Holzman was in Paris to watch the progress of his investment as Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam final on her third attempt. Twelve months previously, Ivanovic had been consumed by nerves in the French Open final as Justine Henin thrashed her 6-1 6-2. The same happened at the 2007 Australian Open, where she finished runner-up to Maria Sharapova. However, she got it right at the third time of asking, beating Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 at Roland Garros. Wimbledon betting odds have Ana Ivanovic at a best-priced 5/1 with totesport.
“Who will win Wimbledon?” is particularly tricky with regard to the ladies’ event. The top three ranked players, namely Sharapova, Ivanovic and Jankovic are all capable of beating each other, depending on what day it is. Adding the Williams sisters to the mix muddies the water even further. Additionally, former champions Lindsay Davenport (33/1 with Bet365) and Amelie Mauresmo (80/1 with Boylesports) are also lurking.
Your correspondent suggests a small interest in the vastly overpriced Jelena Jankovic at 14/1 with totesport, of which he has already availed himself. 80/1 is far too big for Amelie Mauresmo, so a sentimental couple of bob has been invested.
All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds
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“2008’s most heart-warming, newsworthy tennis story is rise of the sport in Serbia”
did you mean rise of tennis sport in Serbia because Serbia was world champion in all mayor team sports besides football ,we were world champions in basketball,voleyball ,waterpool in last 6-7 years so sport here was always sky high
Don’t worry, believe me the Williams sister’s will do what is required to win, and win they will!
[...] Tennis Betting: Who’s going to win Wimbledon? [...]
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Ladbrokes offer 8/11 about Venus Williams winning the 4th quarter of the ladies singles draw, while Victor Chandler offer 13/8 about any other player.
Bet £579 on Venus Williams @ 8/11 , returning £1000.01
Bet £381 on “Any other player” @ 13/8 returning £1000.13
If Williams wins, the profit is £1000.01 – total stake of £960 = £40.01
If any other player wins, the profit is £1000.13 – £960 = £40.13