Wimbledon Betting: Betting Choice Preview

Grass courts, strawberries and cream, Henman Hill, Centre Court, rain delays, Cliff Richard, Pimms on the lawn, the Royal Box, Fred Perry's statue?these are just some of the images synonymous with Wimbledon, the Championships which begin on Monday and will fill our newspapers and BBC television screens for the next two weeks. Despite the fact that as a nation we have produced barely any genuine stars in the last 30 years, the event captures the imagination virtually like none other.There is something quintessentially British about Wimbledon, and few players or fans the world over would argue with its status as being the most prestigious tennis tournament of them all.As always, the best players win the world will congregate at SW19, but there is no doubting who the current king of centre court is. One look at the winners' board will show Roger Federer's name for the past two years, and many are expecting the Swiss ace to complete the hat-trick in a fortnight's time.He is clearly the best all court player in the game today, but, although six titles have been won during 2005, none of these have been Grand Slams. Two semi finals are all he has managed at the Australian and French Opens with eventual winners ending his run on both occasions, (rather spookily both on the birthday's of their victors.)Grass is his most natural surface though, with a pinpoint serve that proves just as effective as the bullets of say, a Goran Ivanisevic, and a willingness to play to a serve and volley game plan. His returning is excellent, as are his groundstrokes on both sides. All in all, there is no obvious weakness.It was Federer that took Pete Sampras's crown, and there is no sign of him giving it up for many years to come. He loves the event and is on record as saying he would not swap even an eighth or ninth Wimbledon title for a first in the French Open and he has not lost a match on a grass court since 2002. However, 33/50 is a short price with seven matches to be played and we fail to see how any player can be worth backing at this price, with a top class draw to contend with. We expect him to win, but the level of our confidence does not match this offering.We see the best mode of betting for this tournament then to scour the bottom half of the draw to find the man most likely to make it to the final and so reap an each way harvest.The bookies, and the seeding committee see the chief contender as being Andy Roddick. The American has been made second seed, and despite the protestations of Pat Cash on behalf of Lleyton Hewitt, we feel he absolutely deserves this position. The final was reached last year, and he won Queens last week, the traditional warm up event for Wimbledon. This was the third success in as many years there though, so this is by no means an indication that he will actually win the big one.The major advantage of being seeded two, as opposed to three, is that Federer will be avoided until the final. Two years ago it seemed certain that the man with the biggest serve in the history of the sport would win Wimbledon, but his progression has shown signs of waning in the last 12 months. He could not defend his title at the US Open, and a dismal humbling by Lleyton Hewitt at the Masters Cup prompted him to part company with his esteemed coach, Brad Gilbert.Hard court titles have been won in San Jose in Hosuton this term, and a light return from the clay court campaign is all that would be expected. He did manage to make the semi finals at the Australian Open also, and so deadly is his serve that only a returner of the highest quality can perform against it. There are few players in his half who have this quality in our opinion, and so, at 5/1 an each way bet is worth taking. This pays out at half the odds if the final is reached.Everyone in the bottom half will be delighted to have avoided Federer and Hewitt, and all of those seeded will fancy their prospects of going all the way to the final.So, we move onto the sixth seed, Tim Henman. It is eight years now since Pete Sampras reassuringly told us that Henman would "win this thing one day", and yet the ravenous British public are still waiting. Was the great man wrong? Or does Tiger Tim still have a chance?His volleying remains the best in the sport and his principle weapon. It has caused problems to the worlds best, especially on the skiddy grass courts but much depends on how well he is serving. If limp second serves are being delivered, as has been the case too often, any high calibre players will be firing returns at his feet all day long, and not even Henman's net skills can live with that.2004 was arguably his best season to date with semi finals reached at the French and US Opens, although a quarterfinal defeat to Mario Ancic at Wimbledon was disappointing. It was the ninth successive year that the second week was made though, and anything less than this would be a shock.Some have been saying that the draw has not been kind, but for a man for whom winning is now the only objective, just seeing Federer and Hewitt in the other half will be seen as a blessing. If the likes of Jarkko Nieminem, his first round opponent cannot be beaten, then why are we even contemplating his success? There are some tricky players around him, including the big serving Wayne Arthurs, but the first real challenge should lie in the 4th round should Sebastien Grosjean lie in wait.The Frenchman has made four Grand Slam quarterfinals in his career, and has won on grass, in Nottingham in 2000. He also has the knowledge of beating Henman in the 2003 quarter finals, although his recent form has not been great.The winner of that match is likely to take on Roddick in what would be a huge quarterfinal. It is a tough quarter and all three of these men would grace the latter stages of a Grand Slam, as they have before. We would fancy Roddick over either though.The other (third) quarter looks weaker, and one man who stands out to us at a best price of 100/1 is Thomas Johansson. The Swede, who shot to fame by winning the 2003 Australian Open has also won twice on grass. Both of these came in successive weeks in 2001 but he showed that he can still play on the surface at Queens, when he got the better of Henman just last week.He lost to Federer here last year, but we believe has the game to go well this time around, in what looks like the weakest quarter of the draw. Rafael Nadal is the highest seed at number four, but despite his prodigious talents, his clay specialisms do not traditionally translate well onto grass. David Nalbandian is always dangerous and is a former finalist from 2003, but a recurring wrist injury has blighted the current season. Eight career titles have been won by Johansson and it generally takes a man of real class to put him out. As well as Federer, other men to defeat him at Wimbled are Pat Rafter in 2000 and Andy Roddick in 2001. We forecast a repeat of the latter of these matches in the semi finals, and although A-Rodn would be fancied, 100/1 each way is too good to leave alone.