As we close in on the second and final week of Wimbledon, we can reflect on the opening week with one prevailing thought – those fabled seedings haven’t meant all that much. As Heather Watson, the unseeded, world number 59, wildcard invitation pushed Serena Williams, the undisputed best player in the world, the distance yesterday, as the unknown Dustin Brown calmly disposed of 14 time major winner Rafa Nadal, the evidence points to the superstars of the game have a chasing pack nipping at their heels.
Defending champion Novak Djockovic hasn’t escaped criticism in the build up to this year’s championships. After being outclassed in France by Stan Wawrinka, Djockovic had a stilted preparation to the tournament, opting not to play on grass at all before stepping out at the All England Club. Martina Navratalova has also said the heat is likely to affect Djockovic’s game the most out of the superstars. Of course, we aren’t going to suggest Djockovic go crashing out in the next round –despite a shaky opening encounter with Kohlschreiber he is yet to drop a set – perhaps backing Djockovic’s biggest challenger, Wawrinka, to reach the final at 22/5 with Bet fair becomes very tempting. For those who fancy a longshot, a Wawrinka/Federer final comes in at 18/1 with Skybet.
In the women’s draw, world number 30 Jelena Jankovic has just caused an upset by knocking out second seed and defending champion Petra Kvitova. Jankovic, a former world no. 1, represents great value against Radwanska, with an outright victory best priced at 7/4 with Ladbrokes. However, for an even better bet, backing Jankovic to win in just 2 sets is a massive 4/1 with Ladbrokes.
For Murray, the road to the semi finals seems simple. However, as we saw against Seppi, he is liable to quickly drop sets against players who can swiftly adapt their game. To win Wimbledon, Murray is best priced at 5/2 with Paddypower, but we feel there is money to be made before next Sunday. Whilst odds for Murray v Karlovic aren’t available yet, look out for odds on the game going 4 or 5 sets. Elsewhere, we think Kyrgios v Gasquet has the makings of a classic, and are backing the game to go the full 5 sets at 9/4 with Boylesports.
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Click to ClaimJordan is a University of Southampton graduate who produces blogs and betting previews for Howtobet4free as well as running the popular @howtobet4free_ Twitter account on matchdays.
