Fifty weeks of waiting and it’s arrived.
While it’s possibly too early to pour out the Pimms this Monday, we can get in the Wimbledon mood when defending men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic opens play on Centre Court at 1pm.
The world number one faces wildcard James Ward, ranked 177th, and his odds of 1/200 concur that his defeat is near impossible. Djokovic is looking to land his third consecutive Grand Slam and is the 8/11 favourite to win this year’s title at the All-England Club.
Although the leading fancy in the betting, he’s not a leading fancy of mine, and I find myself hoping the robotic Serb will be knocked off his perch.
But more about that later.
With Maria Sharapova shrouded in controversy and sidelined for the next two years, and Serena Williams having a long extended reign at the top, women’s tennis might just be ready for a new ‘face’ and some believe it could be that of Garbine Muguruza’s. The likeable Spaniard was runner-up here last year, and is 9/2 to go one better this time around.
Her Wimbledon journey begins today, where she’s 1/4 to beat feisty Italian Camila Giorgi, the underdog at 3/1. The pair have met three times, with Girogi actually leading by one, but Muguruza arrives with a French Open under her belt, and this will be their first clash on grass.
This evening it WILL be worth waiting for Roger Federer who’s 1/100 to get off to a winning start against Argentina’s Guido Pella.
As he’s coming back from a knee injury, which saw him ruled out of Rolland Garros, he could be a bit rusty and therefore open to dropping a set. For this reason I think the 5/1 on offer for him to win 3 sets to 1 could be a nice little wager.
However, I’m more interested in backing the 34-year-old at 12/1 to reclaim the Wimbledon title, which he last won for the 7th time back in 2012. Admittedly, he’s getting on, but his incredible athleticism, finesse and creativeness on the court make him so much more appealing than the two bores, Djokovic and Murray, who lie ahead of him.
While injury is never ideal, the forced break may well have done him a favour, particularly at this later stage of his career. Prior to that he played back to back events in Stuttgart and Halle, Germany, playing seven matches in 10 days, which he says gave him confidence that his body passed the test ahead of Wimbledon. Fingers crossed…
Hopefully the rain doesn’t delay play too much, and we get off to a wonderful start. Now, I’m off to make some cucumber sandwiches.
Toodledoo
