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Thursday 19th June
Wimbledon has become a bit
predictable over the past few years as a result of the complete domination
of Roger Federer, but are we about to see a changing of the guard? Federer
is normally long odds on to grab the men's title, and when you consider
that he hasn't been beaten on grass since 2002, it is easy to see why
punters are prepared to take those odds. But, this year there hasn't
exactly been a rush to back Federer, even though he is priced at 2.00
(longer than he has for 3 years), it seems that punters think that his
reign may come to an end. There have been a few chinks in the Federer
armoury starting to appear, he was beaten prior to Christmas when it was
least expected, and of course he was on the receiving end of a nice old
flogging in the French Open. Rafael Nadal has always had a question mark
hanging over him on any surface other than clay, but the enormity of his
French Open win, and victory in Halle last week has seen Nadal shorten
into 3.20 to win Wimbledon. While we have found very few takers for
Federer, there has been a lot of bets coming through for Nadal, who opened
the week at 3.75. The only other player given any consideration at all is
Novak Djokovic (5.00), although he is another who has had problems with
consistency.
Maria Sharapova is 3.75 to win the
women's title, and it would be fair to say that this year would be the
most open ever, with question marks hovering above the head of most in the
betting. Sharapova is at her best on grass, but was bundled out of the
French Open after a couple of torrid battles against opponents in the
early part of the draw, and the Williams' sisters suffered the same fate.
Perhaps time has caught up to with the Williams' girls, and they have been
hard to sell with Serena at 4.50 and Venus sitting on 5.50. We know only
too well that you can never write them off, but it seems as though punters
want to wait and see if they are at their best before backing them. We
have seen some early action on Ana Ivanovic (including one bet of $1500)
at 5.00 following on from her impressive win in the French Open, and with
the tip being that the Wimbledon courts will be a lot slower this year,
then Ivanovic has the game that may see her add the Wimbledon title to her
list as well. |