WIMBLEDON 23.06-06.07.2008

[engineer]

The draw is today and there are qualifiers still going.

The Championships, Wimbledon 2008 - Grand Slam Tennis - Official Site by IBM

[Martens]

i already read a lot of comments about wimbledon2008 men draw

i have the feeling that we will not see a nadal federer final

but i am not sure if a new winner will arise

nadal is better and better evey year, actually grass suits his game perfectly, despite what people claims, nadal is the best in the world when moving to net....

nadal outright winner @3.5 deserves the risk of some money

and also, personally i give zero chances to djokovic here, wawrinka might beat him and throw him out ,if not somebody earlier

take care of Chardy also, perhaps a new and better tsonga...

take care of andrew murray also guys, probable opponent to nadal, with massive chances to do something great here

lets see, i will chose some first round matches tomorrow

[Bishop of Southport]

Saw Kutuzova play in the Qualifiers at Roehampton and in my opinion is a cracking price at 11/8 to beat Peng. Saw a number of games and she was by far the most impressive performer and think she has more than a 50 -50 chance against the steady Peng, so 11/8 is worth a dabble. She goes for her shots and if they are going in like they were at Roehampton I don't think Peng will have the answers.

[mrmuzeman]

I think Nadals odds are really really good at 5/2 (Betfair). Id honestly have him priced up around 6/4 this year. Based on his increasing hold over Federer I think he'll roger Roger in the final if it happens. He was very close last year and theres no question his games improved from then.

I was expecting Nadals odds to come closer to my 6/4 estimate after the draw was made placing Djokovic in Federers half but amazingly Nadals and Federers odds didnt really change. Ive no idea how Federer can be 5/4 before the draw then Djokovic becomes a likely opponent and this doesnt affect his win chances whatsoever. Djokovic is definitely a live contender, hes been a better player than Federer this season no question.

VAMOS NADAL!

[Beanie]

Cheers Bish, will have a gander at that one.

I also like the price on Nadal after his performance at Queens...the only thing holding me back(well not really as I'm already on) is that I've read conflicting reports about the speed of the courts at Wimbledon...the commentators said during Queens that Wimbledon would be slower, but all I've been hearing recently is that they are quicker...anyone know for sure?

Anyway, I really like Nadal for this - it was his match v Karlovic that convinced me at Queens where he showed both an amazing will to win, and how clever a player he is in finding a way to win. Murray could cause problems with the crowd roaring him on but those are the situations Rafa thrives on.

[rcgills]

No time for much reasoning behind any of these, having spent most of the morning deciding on my bets (in between Tennis Info's constant crashes ), but here they are:

Men's event:
Nishikori @ 2.66 1pt (lowish stakes, as he's withdrawn from a couple of tournaments recently, injury may still be an issue)

Monfils @ 1.5 5pts (has already beaten Guccione on grass earlier this month)

Women's event:
Lay Vaidisova @ 1.3 to win 2.5pts (been in absolutely terrible form this year)
Lay Vaidisova 2-0 @ 1.72 to win 2.5pts (as above)

U Radwanska @ 2.66 1.75pts (junior Wimbledon champ from last year, overpriced here IMO)

Mattek 2-0 @ 2.34 1.25pts (Mattek in excellent form in last couple of months, Bremond has done nothing of note in the last couple of years)

Sequera @ 3.17 1.25pts (Looks a closer match-up to me than the odds would suggest, met this month, Ruano Pascual won, but it went to 3 sets)

Lay Kvitova @ 1.75, liability 1.25pts (odds look the wrong way round to me here)

Lay A. Bondarenko @ 1.21, liability 1pt (South hasn't been doing too badly of late, on her favourite surface and with home advantage, think Bondarenko looks slightly vulnerable here)
Lay Bondarenko 2-0 @ 1.57 to win 2.5pts (as above)

And the silly accumulator of the day - Mattek/Mauresmo/Rybarikova/Wawrinka/Gonzalez/ Strycova/Stosur/Amanmuradova @ 15.02 - 1pt

[rcgills]

As for the outrights, 2 for me so far, 1 in the men's and 1 in the women's.

Ferrero @ 1000. QF-ist last year, decent enough record at Wimbledon. Took the price before the draw was made and to be honest the draw hasn't been that kind to him, Querrey first up, Wawrinka probably lying in wait in the 3rd round and Djokovic in the 4th, but still think Ferrero is a dangerous player here, I'll let this one run until the 4th round if he makes it that far, and then see what to do from there.

Hantuchova @ 250. Draw for the first few rounds looks pretty comfortable for her, Wickmayer as a potential 3rd round match could be tricky but is winnable. Hasn't played for a couple of months, but was in decent form at the start of the year. Hopefully the first couple of rounds can serve as a gentle introduction to get her into form, if they do then I think 250 is a pretty decent price for the no. 10 seed.

Will probably look for some more once the first round is out of the way.

As for the Nadal v Federer debate, I also think Nadal has got what it takes to win this one, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to go against Federer. He's still the man to beat on grass, and will remain so IMO until Nadal or Djokovic can prove otherwise.

[engineer]

Cheers, guys for all the input, now I just found some time to look at today's set of fixtures.

[engineer]

Can't argue with RC on his fancies and I'll be on Matek, Radwanska and against Kvitova, Vaidisova and Bondarenko...

[engineer]

Also like that Kutuzova, cheers, Bishop

[Beanie]

Originally Posted by Beanie

I've read conflicting reports about the speed of the courts at Wimbledon...the commentators said during Queens that Wimbledon would be slower, but all I've been hearing recently is that they are quicker...anyone know for sure?

Any word on that fellers?

[engineer]

My fancies (today I'll go for players who seem overpriced to me, but hold decent chances):

Darcis to beat Baghy @6.0 - 1.5 pts

Baltacha to beat kerber @3.0 - 2 pts

Horna to beat Karanusuc @3.25 - 2 pts

U Radwanska @2.78 - 3 pts

Vanek to beat Andreev @7.0 -0.75pts

Llodra to beat Ancic @3.4 - 2.5 pts

Perebiunis to beat Kvitova @2.26 - 3 pts

Pin to beat Zaflavova @2.14 - 3 pts

[engineer]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Any word on that fellers?

Not from me, Beanie, still didin't have time to investigate more...

[engineer]

And about Nadal I reckon he'll have hard time against Roddick at the semis. Not sure about Roddick's form and physical conditiion though.

[rcgills]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Any word on that fellers?

Sorry Beanie, haven't really heard anything about that either way, so can't really help much.