The third Grand Slam of the year is upon us as the best male tennis players in the game descend on SW19 for Wimbledon 2017. So far it has been a year for the older generation in the slams with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal claiming the first two of the season and it will be interesting to see if the world numbers one and two Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic can hit back or even if one of the younger generation can break through.
Recent Winners
2016 – Andy Murray
2015 – Novak Djokovic
2014 – Novak Djokovic
2013 – Andy Murray
2012 – Roger Federer
2011 – Novak Djokovic
2010 – Rafael Nadal
2009 – Roger Federer
2008 – Rafael Nadal
2007 – Roger Federer
The Format
As with all the Grand Slams there are 128 players in the field who have been pre-drawn into a bracket. Each match is the best of five sets from the first round through to the final and there is no tiebreak in the deciding set.
First Quarter
Defending champion and top seed Andy Murray is the main draw in the first quarter. He is seeded to meet Stan Wawrinka in the quarter final but there are plenty of dangerous seeds between now and then for them to stumble against. Fabio Fognini, Nick Kyrgios, Lucas Pouille, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Sam Querrey and Fernando Verdasco complete the seeds in the section.
The unseeded players that could be dangerous in this section include Denis Shapovalov, Kevin Anderson and the recent Eastbourne semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev in what looks a competitive section.
Second Quarter
It is all about Rafael Nadal in this part of the draw as the French Open champion goes in search of back-to-back majors. His main danger from a seeding standpoint is Queens finalist Marin Cilic. The other seeds in his way are Karen Khachanov, Ivo Karlovic, Gilles Muller, Kei Nishikori, Roberto Bautista Agut and Steve Johnson.
There are some dangerous unseeded players in this section too including Philipp Kohlschreiber, Viktor Troicki and Donald Young but overall the top half has an open look to it.
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Third Quarter
The Australian Open champion and tournament favourite Roger Federer is in this part of the draw. He is on a collision course with Milos Raonic in this quarter. They are joined by Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Jack Sock, Alex Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, John Isner and Mischa Zverev from the seeded players.
Nicolas Mahut, conqueror of Andy Murray at Queens Jordan Thompson, Frances Tiafoe and Bernard Tomic are all dangerous players who weren’t ranked high enough to be seeded.
Bottom Quarter
Former winner Novak Djokovic is the marquee name in the bottom section. He is joined by the man who took care of him in the French Open in Dominic Thiem while the other seeds look strong too. Pablo Lorenzi, Richard Gasquet, Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, Queens winner Feliciano Lopez and Juan Martin del Potro combine to make this a very tough looking section.
It isn’t just the seeded players who have the potential to be dangerous. Adrian Mannarino just made a final in Turkey and he is in this section as is the man who beat him in Yuichi Sugita. Borna Coric, Gilles Simon, David Ferrer and former quarter finalist here Vasek Pospisil are also in what looks a tough quarter.
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Outright Betting
The bottom half of the draw might be loaded with big names but there is only one man I see as winning this tournament and that is Roger Federer. There has been no better player in 2017 than the GOAT and with injury questions over Murray and Nadal and form issues over Djokovic I think Federer is a very worthy favourite. He will have it tough in the second week but by then he could be in top form and when he is there he is still as close to unbeatable as it gets on grass.
In the other half of the draw there would be no surprise who comes through it. It is the half where the majority of the big servers are and the one I can’t ignore is Marin Cilic. Annoyingly for me and followers of this site he went down in a pair of tiebreaks at Queens in the final but he played well prior to that and most importantly he served brilliantly. If his serve holds up this week he is going to be so tough to beat and I’m not convinced Murray nor Nadal will be around long enough to do it.
Cilic has been a beaten quarter finalist in two of the last three years here losing in five to Djokovic in 2014 and Federer from 2-0 up last year. He’s playing better now and wouldn’t face either of those foes until the final. At 18/1 he looks a solid punt in the top half.
Quarter Betting
The top quarter looks wide open with Andy Murray not even certain to start the tournament let alone be in any shape in it. Stan Wawrinka doesn’t enjoy grass so there is a chance for someone to make a real name for themselves. I’m tempted by Sam Querrey here but a last 16 clash with Tsonga might be a round too soon for my liking.
Instead I’m going to chance the Queens quarter finalist and Eastbourne semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev. The Russian has a big serve and can mix it on the ground and if he can come past Wawrinka in the first round he could cruise through a few more rounds before the big names come along again. At 50/1 he is worth a nugget to see how far he goes.
It is a weird world we live in when here we are at the third Slam of the year and Novak Djokovic hasn’t yet escaped his quarter in one. I’m not convinced he comes through here either. The other top seed Dominic Thiem isn’t comfortable on grass so this is another quarter where a big price could escape.
Tomas Berdych is a former finalist here and was a semi-finalist last year before running into Andy Murray in insane form so we know he can play on the surface. He looked alright at Queens before being edged out by the champion Lopez. At a double figure price he could well be the one to escape this section if his serve holds up.
Tips
WON – Back R.Federer to win Wimbledon for a 5/10 stake at 3.25 with William Hill
Back him here:
PLACED – Back M.Cilic to win Wimbledon (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 19.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back D.Medvedev to win 1st Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Bet365
Back him here:
WON – Back T.Berdych to win 4th Quarter for a 2/10 stake at 13.00 with Coral
Back him here:
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