Wimbledon Tennis – Day 7
After the thrills and spills of the Middle Sunday there is a sense of the serious stuff really beginning at Wimbledon on Monday when the second week of the tournament begins with the last 16 on both singles draws being played out in full on what is always the stand-out day at SW19.
The stars all come out to play on the same day for the last time on Monday before the draws split into separate days to complete the week so we’re all set for a really good, quality laden day of tennis on the lawns at Wimbledon.
Sunday Recap
There were no real surprises on Sunday but those who got their hands on the much sought after tickets were not left empty handed. Fans on Court 2 saw an epic from John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga which the Frenchman won 19-17 in the fifth set.
On Court One there was a super match between Sloane Stephens and Svetlana Kuznetsova which the Russian won 8-6 in the decider before Nick Kyrgios and Jiri Vesely eased to victory while over on Centre there were comfortable wins for Coco Vandeweghe, Serena Williams and Tomas Berdych.
We came out of Sunday with a winner and a loser from our two bets with Vesely coming through in straight sets but sadly for us Barbora Strycova was in one of her feisty moods and never landed much of a blow on Ekaterina Makarova.
The lack of shocks on Sunday means we are all set up for some really good matches on Monday.
Centre Court
A huge day of tennis on the main court begins with the man who has graced it with such distinction many times in action when Roger Federer takes on Steve Johnson. The defending ladies champion Serena Williams then faces Svetlana Kuznetsova before Andy Murray takes on Nick Kyrgios for a place in the quarter final.
Court 1
Two really strong women’s matches kick off the schedule on the other show court. Simona Halep vs Madison Keys provides an interesting clash of defence and finesse vs power. Venus Williams then takes on Carla Suarez-Navarro before the sole men’s match on the court which is the all-French clash between Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the winner potentially playing Andy Murray in the quarter final.
Court 2
Our outright pick in the women’s draw is in action to open up proceedings on Court 2 as Angelique Kerber takes on Misaki Doi before two tasty men’s matches take centre stage. Arguably the tie of the round is the one between Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori in a repeat of the 2014 US Open final and them comes Milos Raonic vs David Goffin.
Court 3
Another excellent women’s match begins things on Court 3 with the number three seed Agnieszka Radwanska taking on Dominika Cibulkova before Ekaterina Makarova goes up against Elena Vesnina. The men’s match on this course sees Jiri Vesely taking on Tomas Berdych in an all-Czech battle.
Best of the Rest
The other four matches take place on the outside courts mixed in with a load of doubles contests. Among those playing in singles action are Bernard Tomic and Lucie Safarova while the huge serving clash between Sam Querrey and Nicolas Mahut is sure to draw quite a crowd on Court 18.
Betting
I have to say I really like the look of this card on both the men’s side of the draw and the women. I think we’re in for some really top matches but not all the odds reflect that and in fact I like bets in half of the men’s matches and almost half of the women’s too so this second Monday is really going to make or break my personal tournament. Apart from one bet I’m keen to avoid anyone who went near the court on Sunday as guessing about recovery times and things isn’t for me.
In the men’s draw I would probably have got involved with Marin Cilic had I not been on him outright and that bet got very real over the weekend so I can leave that match alone and seek out the best value elsewhere. There are a number of supposed one sided matches where 3-0 scorelines are the favoured outcomes with the odds but I don’t see certain matches like that. The first of those is Roger Federer vs Steve Johnson.
I think Federer is rightly expected to win this but Steve Johnson has been playing some nice stuff and if he wanted a preparation run for playing Federer he just had one when he beat Grigor Dimitrov in the previous round. Johnson contains enough power on the serve and his forehand to keep Federer honest and with the Swiss star still coming back to full fitness this feels like a match he will be extended in. I guess with that in mind the danger is that Johnson wins 3-0 but Federer won’t go easy so I like over 3.5 sets there.
I like the same bet in the David Goffin vs Milos Raonic match too. These two have met twice in their careers so far with a win apiece and both matches went three sets so I don’t really see how under 3.5 sets is the favourite here. I’d be surprised if Raonic doesn’t win the match but Goffin gets enough balls back into play to keep the Canadian honest and grind out a set or two before potentially going down.
Finally I’m not convinced Andy Murray gets the job done in straight sets either. Nick Kyrgios has the game on grass to give Murray some problems especially if the Scot has a dodgy day serving but the beauty of taking over 3.5 sets is that Murray only needs a 15-20 minute flat spot on serve for Kyrgios to run away with a set which is actually a good thing given that the Aussie was on court on Sunday.
I expect Murray to come through but with the pressure cranked up after Djokovic’s demise he might take longer than he would initially like to get the W.
I’ve no idea how long Sam Querrey vs Nicolas Mahut will last but I wouldn’t recommend anyone watching to book an early table for dinner. This has marathon written all over it whichever way you look. The two met on the grass last month in a minor tournament which had a tie-break and two tight sets in it and that is how I see this one going.
I fancy Mahut to come through in the end but there isn’t going to be many breaks of serve in this one unless there is a complete meltdown somewhere so as long as this doesn’t end in straight sets, and I don’t think it will given how relatively closely matched the two are, I don’t see there being less than 43.5 games in this one. A couple of tie-breaks and a couple of one break sets is enough to cover that line and that looks likely to me. We are unlikely to get sets won 6-1 or 6-2 with the way these two serve.
Speaking of tie-breaks their first set in Holland went to a tie-break and both are banging down service exhibitions at the minute so I see no reason why this one won’t begin with a tie-break either. I’m surprised an opening set breaker is odds against but I’m happy to get involved there.
Moving over to the women’s draw and there are a number of tight looking matches. I’m really looking forward to the Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova match as well as the Madison Keys vs Simona Halep one but Serena and Kuznetsova were on court on Sunday which puts me off getting involved there although instinct tells me the 5.5 game start the Russian is getting is huge especially as she’s beaten Serena this year. In the other game there isn’t quite enough value anywhere to tempt me in.
Thankfully the value does exist elsewhere though and it begins right out of the gate with Dominika Cibulkova against Agnieszka Radwanska. This is the second time in two weeks these two will be meeting after they clashed at Eastbourne last month. Cibulkova won a mini classic that day and I think she is good value to win this one too.
I watched Cibulkova against Eugenie Bouchard in the previous round and the Slovakian blasted Bouchard, an amazing defender of the court, off of the court and that leads me to think she’ll overpower Radwanska too. Already in this tournament the Pole has had to face a lady serving for the match against her and if she isn’t in top form here with the way the dynamic Cibulkova is hitting the ball this will be a match won by the lower seed.
Lucie Safarova is the seeded player in her match with Yaroslava Shvedova but I’m sure she won’t need reminding she has never beaten her lower ranked opponent in three previous meetings. All three previous matches were on hard courts but Shvedova beat Safarova in the Australian Open last year so we know she doesn’t melt on the big stage and she won their Indian Wells meeting this year so her dominance is recent too.
Safarova had a cliffhanger of a marathon with Garbine Muguruza’s conqueror in the previous round which might well have taken its toll. At the very least it shows she isn’t on top form whereas Shvedova has already seen off Elina Svitolina and Sabine Lisicki in this tournament, the latter with a very good performance. At odds against she has to be the value to cause another upset.
Venus Williams is another player who needed an extended third set to come through the last round and that was the second time in the tournament she had been forced to a decider and even in the first round she only won 7-6 6-4. While her last match was on Friday, at 36 these extended matches are likely to catch up with her.
Carla Suarez-Navarro dropped a set in the second round no doubt much to her annoyance but she has blown two opponents away since that dropped set and is crunching the ball nicely. She has a style that gets opponents chasing around the court and how long Venus is going to want to do that for, or more importantly, is able to do that for I don’t know. I suspect it won’t be as long as she needs to. With that in mind odds against on the Spaniard looks good to me there too.
Tips
Back R.Federer vs S.Johnson – Over 3.5 sets for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Paddy Power
WON – Back D.Goffin vs M.Raonic – Over 3.5 sets for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Paddy Power
Back N.Kyrgios vs A.Murray – Over 3.5 sets for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Paddy Power
Back them here:
Back S.Querrey vs N.Mahut – Over 43.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Unibet
Back it here:
Back S.Querrey vs N.Mahut – 1st Set Tie-Break for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Skybet
Back it here:
WON – Back D.Cibulkova to beat A.Radwanska for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with Bet365
Back her here:
WON – Back Y.Shvedova to beat L.Safarova for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with NetBet
Back her here:
Back C.Suarez-Navarro to beat V.Williams for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfred
Back her here:
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