The third Grand Slam of the year is upon us with the stars of tennis descending on SW19 in London for the Wimbledon Championships. This historic and prestigious tournament always delivers some amazing tennis and plenty more of the same can be expected over the next two weeks.
We have a women’s preview to come but in this preview we will focus on the men where Roger Federer defends the title and is the favourite to win the tournament once again. This has an open feel to it this year though.
Recent Winners
2017 – Roger Federer
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
The Format
The 128 players in the competition have been slotted into a pre-drawn bracket with the tournament a straight knockout right from the start. Every match in the competition will be played out over the best of five sets with no tiebreak in the final set. That set will have to be won by two clear games. The champion will be crowned on Centre Court on July 15.
Top Quarter
The defending champion Roger Federer is the number one seed this year and he is in the top quarter as a result and sets a good standard. He could have an immediate chance to get revenge for his loss in the final of Halle as Borna Coric is seeded to be his last 16 opponent. Kevin Anderson could be a quarter final opposition for Federer with the other seeds in this section being Leonardo Mayer, Adrian Mannarino, Sam Querrey, Richard Gasquet and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
There are some heavyweights among the unseeded players in this section with the power serves of Gilles Muller and Ivo Karlovic primed to do damage on this surface. Gael Monfils, Andreas Seppi and Joao Sousa can all be dangerous on their day as can Daniil Medvedev and Ryan Harrison.
Second Quarter
Last year’s beaten finalist Marin Cilic is the top seed in the second quarter and having won Queens last week we know he will arrive here in outstanding form. He is seeded to meet Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter final but the other seeds, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Pablo Carreno Busta, John Isner, Milos Raonic, Lucas Pouille and Filip Krajinovic will all have other ideas.
Stan Wawrinka is the standout name in this quarter of those who are not seeded. In truth apart from Steve Johnson there isn’t too much in the form of unseeded players in this quarter so it would be a surprise if the second week of the tournament is not loaded with the seeds in this part of the draw.
Third Quarter
One of the strongest sections in the draw is the third one where Alexander Zverev is the top seed. Just like in the French Open he is in the same quarter as Dominic Thiem but it remains to be seen whether they will go on to meet in the quarter final. Damir Dzumhur, Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Kyle Edmund and Fernando Verdasco all combine to make this a loaded seeded section.
Bernard Tomic, David Ferrer, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Denis Istomin are among the names who are not seeds who are in this quarter and while they will be hoping to come through as a surprise package the route for them to do that would appear to be a tough one.
Bottom Quarter
Rafael Nadal is the top seed in the bottom quarter, 10 years on from him winning that amazing final against Roger Federer in 2008. Juan Martin del Potro is the other leading seed and they could meet in the quarter final. Denis Shapovalov, Jack Sock, David Goffin, Diego Schwartzman, Fabio Fognini and Marco Cecchinato are the other seeds in what would be a strong section if this was a clay court event rather than a grass one.
Eastbourne winner Mischa Zverev, Pablo Cuevas, Gilles Simon, Queens semi-finalist Jeremy Chardy and Feliciano Lopez are sit in this quarter as unseeded players. Andy Murray would also have done but he withdrew from the tournament on Sunday afternoon.
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Outright Betting
I think Roger Federer is the man to beat but he’s no real value this year at 15/8 so I’ll look for an each way bet in the other half of the draw where Juan Martin del Potro really stands out. It would be more ideal if he had played a grass court tournament to prepare for this but it isn’t like he’s never played on grass before but he’s in an absolutely plum draw.
His quarter is loaded with clay court specialists and even Rafael Nadal, who might not even make the quarter final given that he hasn’t been that far here since 2011, is no grass court specialist. His toughest test could come in the form of Novak Djokovic in the semi-final but del Potro beat him in the Olympics at this venue so even that wouldn’t be a massive hurdle. At 16/1 he looks a fantastic each way punt.
Quarter Betting
With the lack of rain around the UK in the lead up to this tournament I’m expecting the courts, especially the outside courts, to play firm and fast and as such I’m expecting big servers to have a good tournament and there are two of those that I like in the quarter betting.
In the second quarter there are a bunch of big servers but John Isner at 16/1 could be a big price. We all know about his credentials from that crazy match here years ago but we should appreciate that he has probably played his best tennis of his career this year, as highlighted when he won Miami. He has underachieved in this Slam in particular but I’m prepared to overlook that as he is playing such good tennis these days. I’ll have a dabble.
Nick Kyrgios can be absolutely anything and I’m sure the longer he stays in the tournament the stranger things around him will get but generally I find his best tennis comes against the better players and he’s in a quarter where he’ll need to be at his best. He has a wicked serve as we’ve seen throughout this grass court season and if he can just stay sane for 10 days he could easily be the man to come through the third quarter.
Tips
Back J-M.del Potro to win Wimbledon (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
WON – Back J.Isner to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
Back N.Kyrgios to win 3rd Quarter for a 2/10 stake at 5.50 with William Hill
Back him here:
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