Wimbledon 2017 Preview
Nothing has changed since we put out our first preview of this just over a week ago (read that preview here), but the draw has now been done.
It's seen Murray and Nadal placed in the top half, and Federer and Djokovic in the bottom. It's fair to say Andy Murray should be pretty pleased with that outcome, although the presence of Nick Kyrgios in his part will be a slight concern.
We'll dive straight into the quarter betting and waste no time in picking out Andy Murray as a great value bet to reach the semi-finals at least. A first round defeat to Jordan Thompson at Queens was obviously not quite what the doctor ordered, but Murray has now had a full two week rest ahead of this event, and in all honesty, that freshness could make up for any downside to not having adjusted to the surface. He's unlikely to be troubled in the first two rounds at all, and that should give him plenty of time to play himself into some sort of form.
Murray is 11/10 to win the quarter, but there are enough doubts about his rivals to suggest that is a good price. Stan Wawrinka is the next best at 13/2, but the Swiss has never played well on grass, so there is no reason to believe that should change suddenly.
Kyrgios has a big serve, and will definitely be a danger in the fourth round, but he's yet to really perform against the biggest names and needs to calm down to really reach his potential. Lucas Pouille remains inexperienced, while Tsonga is someway short of his best at the moment - particularly when playing to top players.
In Quarter 2, Rafael Nadal is the man the bookies like - offering him at 11/10. His game doesn't match perfectly with grass however, and while he's tasted success here in the past, we're inclined to feel that a tremendously taxing clay season may have taken it's toll and overlook him this year. Marin Cilic and Kei Nisikori may not have the games to stop Nadal, but at the price, there doesn't look a lot of value.
Quarter 3 houses Roger Federer, Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev, not to mention Grigor Dimitrov and John Isner. There are going to be some aces served that's for sure!
Federer is 8/13 for the section with Paddy Power, but we'd prefer to stick with our previous advice of backing the Swiss to win outright at 9/4 (still available if you missed out).
Raonic is a clear threat if he can turn up with his A game, but injuries and form have let him down this season and he's yet to really get motoring.
Quarter 4 looks like it has some more value, with Djokovic chalked up at 11/10 to reach the semi-finals. Many punters will be swerving Djokovic this year after his inconsistencies, but for us, he looks well poised to go again this week. The Serb is too good to stay down forever, and he comes here with Andre Agassi with him throughout the event, and off the back of a tournament win in Eastbourne on grass.
Furthermore, Dominic Thiem (a clay courter), Feliciano Lopez, Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych are his biggest threats - none of them send huge shivers down the spine, and while Lopez' big serve could cause problems, we shouldn't have the weapons to stop Djokovic - a man who won this title in 2015 and 2014 - from meeting FedEx in the semis.
1pt Federer to win Wimbledon at 9/4
1pt Murray to win Q1 at 11/10
1pt Djokovic to win Q4 at 11/10