Sports Blog 28/06/2016: Tennis Preview – Wimbledon 2016, Monday 27th June to Sunday 10th July 2016

Rain, rain go away, come again another day (or, ideally, until next month), as it's time for Wimbledon 2016!

Men’s Singles
Unsurprisingly Novak Djokovic, who recently won the French Open for the first time (and therefore holds all 4 major titles), is favourite for this year’s competition. The Serbian supremo is chasing a calendar Grand Slam following his victories in Australia and France, and is already through to the 2nd round following a 3 set demolition of Britain’s James Ward in his opener. That leaves Djokovic at an Outright Index spread of 40-43 (where the winner gets 60 points, the runner-up 40, the losing semi-finalists 20, losing quarter-finalists 10 and the losing last 16-ers 5), with a fixed odds price of 4/5

Djokovic’s shadow, Andy Murray, is close behind his bitter rival, at an Outright Index spread of 29-32 alongside fixed odds of 11/4. Murray suffered yet another defeat at the hands of Djokovic at the Roland Garros, losing in 4 sets in the final after having tasted victory by winning the 1st set 6-3. Murray faces fellow Brit Liam Broady in the 1st round, and is expected to breeze through at a Match Supremacy spread of 23-25.

Outside of these perpetual frontrunners lurk a few familiar faces. Roger Federer, without a Grand Slam win since his Wimbledon victory 4 years ago, is at an Outright Index spread of 14-5-17.5, faces Argentina’s Guido Pella in the 1st round. Federer’s fellow Swiss countryman Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, is at an Outright Index spread of 8.5-11.5, and faces the USA’s Taylor Fritz in his opening game.

Women’s Singles
Much as Djokovic is the automatic top pick in the men’s draw, Serena Williams is the clear favourite once again at Wimbledon, heading into the tournament at an Outright Index spread of 30.5-33.5 alongside a fixed odds price of ... Yet Williams has looked fallible in 2016, losing both the Australian and French Open finals in the first half of the year. Williams takes on Amra Sadikovic in the 1st round, and sits at a Match Supremacy spread of 23.7-24.7.

Hot on the heels of Williams is Garbine Muguruza. The Spaniard claimed her 1st ever Grand Slam title in France, beating Williams in 2 sets having lost last year’s Wimbledon final to Serena 6-4 6-4. Muguruza kicked off her 2016 Wimbledon journey against Italy’s Camila Giorgi, just about beating her in 3 sets.

The other woman to beat Serena Williams in a Grand Slam final this year, and at an Outright Index spread of 11-14, is Angelique Kerber, who won the Australian Open for the first time back in January. Yet Kerber collapsed in France, dumped out in the 1st round by the Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens. She also has a spotty record at Wimbledon, with a semi-final appearance in 2012 and a quarter-final finish in 2014 surrounding by 1st to 3rd round exits. Kerber faced British wild card Laura Robson in her opener, winning 6-2 6-2.

Recent Posts: