Wimbledon Tennis Betting 2008

The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the oldest of the majors in tennis. Most reckon it to be the most prestigious and all top players regard it as a must-win to complete their lifetime collection of trophies. Unlike the other three majors, Wimbledon is played on grass. Online betting enthusiasts realise that this surface presents a greater challenge to players than clay, mostly because the ball loses less of its speed when coming off grass. Clay allows the player plenty of time to reposition for the next shot. As well as this, clay enables a player to spin the ball more than on grass.

Federer V Nadal

Because of these dramatically varying characteristics, players who excel on a clay surface often struggle against grass court specialists. The French Open  this year was won by Rafael Nadal but bookies place him second favourite at 2/1 behind Roger Federer at 6/5. The Swiss player is hard to beat on grass and although Nadal’s game almost ‘matches up’ to that of Federer on a grass surface; he is unlikely to have the edge here.

His defeat of Djokovic at Queen’s does little to inform sports betting fans about his challenge on Federer. Federer is a master on grass and it will take a couple of season’s defeats of him by Nadal to prove his supremacy. Djokovic, at 3/1 cannot be ruled out of contention. The Serbs are beginning to dominate international tennis and there seems to be an emerging national tenacity and self-belief which is self-fuelling as they march irresistibly forward. Many expect to see Djokivic have his day at Wimbledon, maybe not this year but sometime soon. Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, both at 20/1 are unlikely to trouble the top three and Murray, given recent form, is almost certain to take an early bath.

There’s no doubt that this year’s Wimbledon will be a fascinating one in the men’s arena. The differences that separate the main contenders can largely be measured in terms of specks of clay and blades of grass. Skill, determination and focus are givens with these three.

Maria Sharapova Hot Favourite?

The women’s tournament is a hard call. There are six or seven of today’s tennis divas capable of taking the top spoils in SW19 this year. Maria Sharapova is probably the top contender and, at 2/1 the bookies agree. She has an incomparable tenacity and work ethic and only needs to hope her shoulder problems remain dormant. The evergreen Williams sisters can always cause an upset, particularly Serena, at 9/4, and, if she’s hungry this year may well take the title. Her sister, Venus, reigning champ and currently on offer at 9/4 is an excellent world-class grass player and can never be discounted. The two Serbs, Ana Ivanovic, French Open winner quoted at 4/1 and Jelena Jankovic at 12/1, are on fire right now and won’t be far from contention.  Svetlana Kusnetsova and Dinari Satina, both 20/1 are neither the outsiders their price would suggest and could be the dark horses.