Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July)

[edtkh]

With the highlight of the tennis calendar barely a week away, thought it's high time we got a thread going again for the year's third Grand Slam. While the seeds won't be announced till Wednesday 15th June and the draws are still unavailable as yet, here's a quick preview with more to follow when the draws are out. ;) Looking at the Men's Singles, this year's tournament is as straightforward as last year's in terms of picking a winner as Roger Federer (1.75 @ Betfair) seems nailed-on to defend his title. The draw permitting, Andy Roddick (7 @ Betfair/2.54 @ Betfair for 'Winner w/o Federer' market) looks to be establishing himself as a firm contender to book a date with Federer in the July 3rd final, given the horrendous form the other frontrunners are in. Among the other frontrunners, I honestly can't see Lleyton Hewitt (21 @ Betfair), Tim Henman (32 @ Betfair), Rafael Nadal (28 @ Betfair) mounting a serious bid for the title as they are still struggling for match fitness and form with the tournament due to start in a week. Truth be told, I'll hardly be surprised if both Henman and Nadal get the boot from the competition before the QF as Henman simply doesn't seem to have the bottle to grind out matches while Nadal's all-action, scrambling game simply isn't cut out for grass as his defeat by Waske at Halle would testify. Looking further afield, Safin, Ancic and Karlovic (all 32 @ Betfair) could prove excellent back-and-lay propositions if they get a favourable draw. I wouldn't be too surprised either should Grosjean (100 @ Betfair) and Malisse (300 @ Betfair) get a good run in the tournament as well since both have proved themselves to be quality players on grass with good combination of big serves and quality returns when they're on song and the conditions are right. In addition, both can boast of having made at least a SF appearance at Wimbledon. In the Women's draw, it's a toss between Serena Williams (5.5 @ Betfair) and Maria Sharapova (4.1 @ Betfair) for the title IMO. I can't see Henin-Hardenne (4.4 @ Betfair) threatening those 2 too much as her game wouldn't really adapt to a quick surface like grass as well as she does on the slower hardcourts and clay. Anything beyond those 3 would really be a lottery as any regular followers of the WTA tour would know most of the others have a seriously suspect mental strength and simply do not - in most instances -have what it takes to dig deep when the chips are down. Personally, my favourite for the tournament has got to be Serena Williams and I feel the 5.50 available for her is just way too big even though her match fitness is questionable considering she hasn't played a competitive match since the Rome Italian Masters. However, on the back of her pedigree on grass - she made the last 3 Wimbledon finals, winning in 2002 and 2003 - and how she has a knack of finding form just at the right time(as she did at this year's Australian Open when she saved matchpoints against Sharapova in the semis and went on to beat Davenport in the final) for the big tournaments, I feel she's still a very decent shot for she's just someone you can never write off in any Grand Slam. For interest's sake, Alicia Molik (46 @ Betfair) and Jelena Jankovic (67 @ William Hill) could well prove decent back-and-lay propositions - assuming they can hold out mentally - as they have both got big serves which would no doubt help their game on grass. More to follow when the draws are out and the tournament gets underway... ;) Cheers & Good Luck! :ok

[tyreeq]

Re: Tennis : Wimbledon 2005 (20th June - 3rd July) Hewitt's Match fitness is a little worry - but I can see him being seeded no.2, with Roddick no.4 (Nadal 3) based on the ATP rankings, which means that both Roddick and Hewitt will be in the opposite half to Federer. This makes them both great bets in the w.out Federer market, with Hewitt at 8.00 a great offer IMO. If he is fit, with his H2H vs. Roddick at 6-1 I can see him winning that semi-final should they both get there -although point to note is that the only time they met on Grass, at Queen's last year, was Roddick's only win. Nevertheless, a big punt on Roddick and a small cover on Hewitt should guarantee some profit, if the draw is indeed as I expect... On that last point though, Wimbledon have been known for not sticking exactly to the rankings when seeding their players...