Federer and Serena Are Wimbledon Betting Favorites
June 9, 2009
Their results may have been different in France but Roger Federer and Serena Williams each cross the Channel to England as tennis betting favorites to win respective men's and women's singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships, outside London, June 22-July 5.
Federer, who completed the career Grand Slam when he finally conquered the clay courts of Paris to win his first French Open, June 7, is much more comfortable on the lightning quick grass courts of the All England Tennis Club where he earned five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles (2003-07) before Rafael Nadal halted the streak in last year's finals.
Sent off as a 9/1 future book third choice on the painfully slow red clay at Roland Garros, Federer is no higher than 6/5 at any of the 14 international books surveyed with 11/10 being the most common odds. A winner of a record-equaling 14 Grand Slam championships, Federer's career match record at Wimbledon is a staggering 44-5, including 41-1 since 2003.
Nadal, who was ousted in the fourth round of this year's French Open after winning 31 straight matches and four consecutive championships (2005-08) there and won the first Grand Slam of 2009 in Australia and is the defending champion here, is the second choice in futures behind Federer. The Spaniard's prices, which generally fall in the 3/1 to 4/1 range, not only reflect Nadal's preference for clay but his recent well-documented complaints regarding his injured knees.
Andy Murray, who like Nadal is between 3/1 and 4/1 at most future book betting outlets, could be poised to win his first Major. A runner-up at last year's US Open, Murray will have the home crowd rooting for him.
Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, is the only other player in future book single digits. Djokovic is offered at odds of 7/1.
Prices escalate quickly after that with Robin Soderling, the runner-up at this year's French Open and the man who beat Nadal in Paris, rated a 25/1 chance, the same odds as Andy Roddick, the runner-up here in both 2004 and 2005 and the US Open champion in 2003.
In addition to straight wagering, some books are offering odds of 11/8 that Federer and Nadal again meet in the finals at Wimbledon.
The winner of 10 Major titles, Serena Williams opened as a narrow 5/2 favorite to capture her third Wimbledon women's singles crown. She won back-to-back titles in 2002-03. Oddsmakers believe that Venus Williams, Serena's older sister, will be Serena's stiffest competition. Held at odds of 11/4, Venus has collected five Wimbledon singles championships, including first-place trophies in three of the last four years (2005, 2007-08).
Bookmakers peg the likelihood of an all-Williams Wimbledon final at odds of 6/1.
A resurgent Maria Sharapova, who made it to the quarterfinals at the French Open following successful surgery on her right shoulder, is the third choice at odds of about 6/1. Sharapova claimed a women's singles title at Wimbledon in 2004.
Dinara Safina, who finished runner-up at the French Open as the modest betting favorite, is offered at odds of 8/1 to claim her first Major.
Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova all are offered in the 12/1 to 16/1 range in futures. Azarenka, who has climbed to the world's No. 8 ranking, has reached the third round at Wimbledon the last two years and has won mixed doubles championships at both the US and French Opens.
Ivanovic, a former No. 1, won the French Open in 2008 and made it as far as the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2007.
Jankovic, who was ranked No. 1 in the world for 17 weeks before being bumped from the top rung by Serena Williams on Feb. 2, 2009, has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon each of the past three years and owns a mixed doubles championship on the grass courts from 2007.
Kuznetsova is a two-time Major champion, including this year's French Open win over Safina and a 2004 victory at the US Open.
The competition between Federer and Nadal, along with the sibling rivalry between the Williams sisters, should make for an interesting Wimbledon Championship for tennis betting fans.
