Day 1 Mens: Murray has no reason to fear a first round upset
Published:Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal open their Wimbledon campaigns on Monday as punters look forward to two weeks on incredible tennis betting action.
Murray has expressed his fears about a potential first round exit but the Wimbledon odds would suggest the Scot should have no problems progressing past Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver and is 1/100 to do so.
Nadal finds himself even shorter than Murray in the Wimbledon betting at 1/200 to beat Michael Russell, and the two top four seeds should easily seal their place in round two.
But there is plenty of value to be found by punters in the first round of Wimbledon betting and one match that does so is Donald Young’s tie with Alex Bogomolov Jr.
Donald Young vs Alex Bogomolov Jr.
Bogomolov had a strong run in Hertongenbosch last week before losing to Xavier Mallise in the quarter-finals, and at 8/11 to beat Young, the American offers plenty of value.
Young is ranked 43 places lower than Bogomolov in the rankings and lost their only head-to-head tie back in 2007, and after a second round exit in Eastbourne last week it’s difficut to see why he’s a 1/1 shot to win.
We like the price on Bogomolov but we like the 10/3 for him to win 3-1 even more.
Gilles Muller vs Tommy Haas
Haas had been out for 14 months until his return at the French Open last month, but a first round exit at Roland Garros coupled with a first round exit in Halle leaves the German very short of match fitness.
Muller and Haas have met in a Grand Slam before when Muller came from two sets down to win 3-2 in the 2008 US Open, and the Luxembourger can prove profitable at 7/2 to lose the first set and win the match.
Muller is struggling form form but is playing consistently and he should justify his 4/6 price.
Radek Stepanek vs Fernando Verdasco
This is the tie of the first round and there are a few reasons to be more than a little weary of Verdasco’s 4/7 odds to beat Stepanek.
Verdasco may have triumphed on the last two occasions these two have met, but Stepanek wa victorious here at Wimbeldon in a five-set thriller back in 2006, and has three victories to Verdasco’s two in head-to-heads.
Stepanek took a set off Nadal at Queens before losing to Kei Nishikori at Eastbourne last week, and has shown solid grass court form.
Verdasco has been struggling for form this season and this may be another classic with five sets available at 2/1
