Wimbledon gives the great British public a chance to embrace tennis as though it was the only thing that matters during the summer, despite not taking a blind bit of interest in the sport for the rest of the year.
With even the most fervent Englishman and woman now realising Tim Henman is never going to lift the trophy on Court One, they have a new hero to support in (Scotsman) Andrew Murray.
This betting preview highlights the main contenders for the men’s and women’s singles championships, along with a selection of free bet offers to celebrate what is the highlight of the tennis calendar.
Wimbledon Mens Singles
Roger Federer is unquestionably the bookmakers favourite to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon having being unbeaten for four years and an incredible 48 matches on grass. Federer has prepared well for the tournament, beating main challenger Rafael Nadal in the final of the Hamburg Masters Series. It is difficult to see past another victory for the grass court specialist and this is reflected in the stingy odds on offer.
Rafael Nadal is perhaps the only realistic challenger to end Federer’s Wimbledon domination and while he lost to him in Hamburg, Nadal was victorious over four sets to clinch a third consecutive French Open. While he is a clay court specialist, Nadal reached the final of Wimbledon last year and will want to go one better this time around.
Andy Roddick has reached the Wimbledon final twice, losing to Federer in 2004 and 2005 and could be a “darrk horse” for the title. He has a good record in this tournament but has not performed well recently, including a first round exit in the French Open to Igor Andreev.
Novak Djokovic has made fantastic progress since exiting Wimbledon in the fourth round last year and the bookies rank him as fourth favourite. He won the Masters Series in Miami and reached the semi final of the French Open, where he was beaten in three sets by Nadal.
Lleyton Hewitt is the last person before Federer to win Wimbledon, way back in 2002. However, he has lost his last nine matches against Federer.
Andrew Murray, the current British number one, has been plagued by injury this year, hampering his preparation for the tournament. Murray reached the fourth round last year but has not reached the quarter finals of any Grand Slam during his short career thus far. He is certain to receive a vast amount of patriotic bets which the bookmakers will gladly lap up to try and offset an expected bumper payout on Federer.
Tim Henman has been backed by deluded British tennis fans for “one last hurrah” for about the last 10 years and it is unlikely he will make any serious impact at Wimbledon despite being a good grass court player. Henman has suffered with injury and loss of form this year and has just one win to his name all season - a round robin victory at ATP Las Vegas.
Selected Odds
Roger Federer 1.40 (Ladbrokes - £20 in Free Bets!)
Rafael Nadal 7.0 (VCBet - £50 in Free Bets!)
Andy Roddick 13.0 (Betfred - £25 in Free Bets!)
Novak Djokovic 17.0 (Sporting Odds - £100 in Free Bets!)
Lleyton Hewitt 21.0 (Extrabet - £25 in Free Bets!)
Andrew Murray 29.0 (Sporting Odds - £100 in Free Bets!)
Marcos Baghdatis 41.0 (Paddy Power - £25 in Free Bets!)
David Nalbandian 51.0 (Sporting Odds - £100 in Free Bets!)
James Blake 67.0 (Sporting Odds - £100 in Free Bets!)
Fernando Gonzalez 67.0 (Sporting Odds - £100 in Free Bets!)
Tim Henman 251.0 (Paddy Power - £25 in Free Bets!)
Wimbledon Ladies Singles
Serena Williams has been enlisted as the bookmakers favourite to add to the Wimbledon titles she won in 2002 and 2003. Williams has fought back from injury which saw her tumble out of the top 100 ranked players and is now eighth in the world. Justine Henin knocked her out of the French Open at the quarter final stage.
Justine Henin reached the Wimbledon final last year and is seen as the second favourite. Number one ranked Henin is in good form, winning her fourth French Open title and also recording victories in Doha, Dubai and Warsaw this season.
Maria Sharapova will hope to put her injury problems behind her and show why she is regarded as one of the world’s top grass court players. She saw off Serena Williams to win the tournament in 2004 and reached the semi finals in both 2005 and 2006.
Amelie Mauresmo is the current champion but has suffered with injury on the run up to the tournament. However, she won last year after a warm-up that constituted of just one match and has reached finals in Antwerp, Dubai and Strasbourg this year
Jelena Jankovic reached the fourth round last year but is expected to progress further this time around. Ranked fourth in the world, Jankovic reached the semi finals of the French Open, where she lost to Henin and has won clay surface tournaments in Charleston and Rome this year.
Venus Williams has recovered from injury to try and add to the titles won in 2000, 2001 and 2005. While she won a title in Memphis this year, she suffered a third round exit in the French Open at the hands of Jankovic.
Selected Odds
Serena Williams 3.5 (Bet365 - £100 in Free Bets!)
Justine Henin 4.5 (Coral - £10 in Free Bets!)
Maria Sharapova 6.0 (Betfred - £25 in Free Bets!)
Amelie Mauresmo 10.5 (Extrabet - £25 in Free Bets!)
Jelena Jankovic 11.0 (Ladbrokes - £20 in Free Bets!)
Venus Williams 15.0 (Bet365 - £100 in Free Bets!)
Nicole Vaidisova 15.0 (Coral - £10 in Free Bets!)
Ana Ivanovic 17.0 (Paddy Power - £25 in Free Bets!)
Svetlana Kuznetsova 26.0 (Extrabet - £25 in Free Bets!)
Nadia Petrova 51.0 (Ladbrokes - £20 in Free Bets!)
Martina Hingis 51.0 (Paddy Power - £25 in Free Bets!)
