Day 2 Womens – Punters shy in backing Serena to progress
Published:Serena Williams opens her Wimbledon challenge against the world number 56 Aravane Rezai on Tuesday, yet the American is just 1/16 to win.
When you consider the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are trading at 1/200 in their opening round matches, you can see that there isn’t too much support behind Serena bagging a fifth Wimbledon title.
Rezai lost to Britain’s Elena Baltacha in Eastbourne last week and shouldn’t prove too much of a problem for Serena, although the two have met once before in Australia and Rezai took Serena three sets.
Heather Watson vs Mathilde Johansson
British hopes are high for Watson following a strong performance in Birmingham last week and there is every reason to believe she will justify her 1/2 favouritism in her first round match against Johansson on Tuesday.
Johansson may be ranked 29 places higher than Watson, but she has been plying her trade in the lesser tournaments on the WTA Tour and Watson’s grass court experience over the past two weeks stands her in good stead.
The two have never met before but we fancy Watson to progress 2-1 at 3/1.
Maria Kirilenko vs Alberta Brianti
Both players enter this match on the back of first round defeats in their only grass court tournaments this year, but it’s their match-up in Thailand earlier in this year which makes this an intriguing betting contest.
Kirilenko is the 2/7 favourite to win this match and is ranked 28 places higher than her opponent, but the Italian took Kirilenko three sets in February and punters can find plenty of value in backing Kirilenko to win 2-1 at 3/1.
Ana Ivanovic vs Melanie Oudin
Like Kirilenko, Ivanovic should progress through her first round match with Oudin but if their only previous encounter is anything to go by, this tie could prove a lot tougher than Ivanovic’s 1/8 odds suggest.
Ivanovic had to come from a set down to beat Oudin last time and is 11/2 to come from behind and win on Tuesday.
