Wimbledon: Ladies Single Betting Analysis

Whilst the betting for the men's Championship at Wimbledon is being dominated by one man, Roger Federer, the Ladies event is as open as it has been for many years. This is clearly indicated in the way that there are eight entrants quoted at no better than 14/1.Gone are the days of Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf or even the Williams sisters dominance at SW19. There are no genuine die hard grass court specialists currently amongst the elite, and this should make for a fascinating fortnight.Best Odds - Wimbledon Ladies EventSharapova, M 11/4 - Blue SquareHenin-Hardenne, J 11/2 - Blue SquareClijsters, K 6/1 - Sporting oddsWilliams, V 15/2 - PaddyPowerVaidisova, N 9/1 - PaddyPowerMauresmo, A 10/1 TotesportHingis, M 10/1 - Blue SquareKuznetsova, S 14/1 - WillhillPetrova, N 25/1 - Stan JamesWilliams, S 35/1 - Blue SquareSafina, D 50/1 - Blue SquareIvanovic, A 66/1 - Blue SquareDementieva, E 80/1 - Ladbrokes Myskina, A 80/1 - Ladbrokes Li, N 100/1 - Sporting oddsKirilenko, M 100/1 - Blue Square Maria Sharapova leads the way at 11/4, and with just 4 defeats ever in 38 grass court matches, she perhaps has a fondness for the lawns shared by few in the dressing room. It was this Championship that fired her to superstardom two years ago, when claiming the title as a relatively unknown 17 year old. (Although, not unknown to users of this website, who will have followed the advice to back her at 16/1). This remains her only Grand Slam title, and despite reaching four semi finals on various surfaces in the intervening period, she has never made it to another final. One of these semi finals came at Wimbledon last year, but the Russian failed to reproduce her excellent tennis from earlier rounds when convincingly beaten by Venus Williams, who was seeded at 14. Sharapova is ranked at number four in the world, and usually manages to get through to the business end of any tournament she enters. However, there is a concerningly poor conversion rate. For example, the 19 year old has made it to the semi final stage of six of seven outings during 2006, but only one title has been claimed, at Indian Wells. There is better value elsewhere, and it is also concerning that she failed to win on grass at Edgbaston last week, as none of the other perceived threats to her Wimbledon aspirations were taking part. Following her defeat of Sharapova last year, Venus Williams went on to claim a third Wimbledon title in dramatic circumstances. Lindsey Davenport not only served for the match in the second set, but also had a match point in the third before going down 9-7 in the final set, after the longest final in history. Davenport will not be taking part this time around, but Williams will, and the grass of Wimbledon is arguably where she feels most at home. 15/2 is available, and perhaps destiny was already pointing to her love affair with Wimbledon when one considers that the famous trophy for the Ladies title is called the Venus Rosewater Dish. Nobody taking part currently has more replicas on their mantelpiece than the former world number one. It has been a poor 12 months though, and the 26 year old is now one of the veterans on Tour. This season has been largely blighted by injury, with the low point being a first round exit at the Australian Open. Her limited schedule has seen her reach two quarter finals and a semi in three outings since though, including the French Open last month. A player who has a 42-6 wins to losses ratio at Wimbledon should not be discounted, but we do not ha quite enough confidence in her recent form to take this price. The two Belgians, Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters are the two other highly fancied contenders. They met in the semi finals at Roland Garros last month, with Henin-Hardenne taking the spoils, and eventually the title. This is the way it has been with regularity over the past few years. Both are highly talented players, but when it came to the crunch, it has generally been Henin-Hardenne who has succeeded. Three times she has got the better of her compatriot in Grand Slam Finals. Taking the US Open last year was no less than Clijsters deserved after several seasons pushing hard, but the 22 year old has only one semi final appearance from six visits to Wimbledon, and as such the 6/1 does not tempt us. Henin-Hardenne has a far better pedigree in our opinion, and is only a shade shorter at 11/2. The five time Grand Slam winner needs this one to complete the full set, and we see every chance for her to do so. She will arrive at Wimbledon with confidence sky high after winning the French Open, and a final and two semi finals at Wimbledon in the last four years show there is clear ability to compete on grass. Three titles have gone her way this term, and although the rankings have her down at number three in the world, we feel she is actually the top player on the planet right now. If it hadn't been for illness striking during the final of the Australian Open, Henin-Hardenne would be here in search of a one year Grand Slam. Two defeats here have come at the hands of Venus Williams, but the American is no longer the formidable force she once was, and we would fancy the Belgian to avenge these losses should the occasion arise. A fierce competitor, but with an elegant grace, she has always been popular with the Wimbledon crowds and is our headline pick to go all the way this time around. Amelie Mauresmo is the current world number one, and victory at the Australian Open was worthy reward for a fine player, even though it came because of the withdrawal of Henin-Hardenne. Mauresmo has always enjoyed this event and seems to appreciate having the spotlight taken away after the persistent glare cast in her direction during the French Open in late May. However, since an electric start to 2006 that saw three events go her way in succession, Mauresmo has filed to win again, and was disappointing in losing to Nicole Vaidisova at Roland Garros. The 26 year old is at 10/1, a mark shared with two others. One of these is Vaidisova herself. The 17 year old Czech became the darling of Paris at the French Open but was cruelly exposed in the semi finals. She played well enough to win her semi final with Svetlana Kuznetsova and even had match points, but visibly succumbed to pressure and compounded everything by starting to cry on court. We do not want our money supporting somebody who certainly appears to lack the composure and maturity to take a title of this magnitude. And in addition, she is an untried quantity on this surface. One person you can not level these accusations at however is Martina Hingis, who is also at 10/1. The former World Number One returned from a three year absence at the beginning of 2006. She has not had things all her own way though, and has found the latest crop of talent harder to dictate to that that o the late nineties. One victory came on clay at Rome, but grass was never her favourite surface, despite winning here in 1997, and reaching the semis a year later, her overall record is poor by her inflated standards. The last Wimbledon memory she has to call upon is a first round defeat to Virginia Ruano Pascual when the top seed in 2001. In the quest for an outside bet, we had to do no more than look to the warm up event in Birmingham, the DFS Classic. In an event including Maria Sharapova, the lady who took the title was Vera Zvonereva, and she is rated at 200/1 by the bookies for Wimbledon. This may have been her first title on grass, but she has won three previously on other surfaces and will clearly travel to London in fine spirits. It has been a bad season so far, but The Russian has twice made it to the 4th round at Wimbledon, and is worth a minimal side bet at this price. Other ladies worth mentioning include Svetlana Kuznetsova, the beaten finalist at the French Open. Another part of the Russian talent pod, the 19 year old has twice made it to the quarter finals at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year. 14/1 is available, but the loss in Paris could effect her positively or negatively, and we would rather observe this from a distance. The final player who we are putting on our betting verdict is another Russian, Nadia Petrova. She offers better value at 25/1, and the world number five has taken four titles during 2006. Her form has been consistently good over the past 12 months, with quarter finals being reached at four consecutive Grand Slams, prior to a first round exit at Roland Garros. Although untested in Grand Slam finals, Petrova is 24 and so has plenty of experience which makes us believe she has every chance of performing well under the spotlight. She has beaten players of the quality of Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo, and Patty Schnyder already during 2006 and will come into this event away from the media glare as she does not quite rank as one of the firm favourites. She has twice made the quarter finals at SW19 and is in the best form of her career, so 25/1 offers a nice each way option which pays out at half odds if the final is reached.Whilst the betting for the men's Championship at Wimbledon is being dominated by one man, Roger Federer, the Ladies event is as open as it has been for many years. This is clearly indicated in the way that there are eight entrants quoted at no better than 14/1.Best odds Wimbledon ladiesSharapova, M 11/4 - Blue SquareHenin-Hardenne, J 11/2 - Blue SquareClijsters, K 6/1 - Sporting oddsWilliams, V 15/2 - PaddyPowerVaidisova, N 9/1 - PaddyPowerMauresmo, A 10/1 TotesportHingis, M 10/1 - Blue SquareKuznetsova, S 14/1 - WillhillPetrova, N 25/1 - Stan JamesWilliams, S 35/1 - Blue SquareSafina, D 50/1 - Blue SquareIvanovic, A 66/1 - Blue SquareDementieva, E 80/1 - Ladbrokes Myskina, A 80/1 - Ladbrokes Li, N 100/1 - Sporting oddsKirilenko, M 100/1 - Blue Square