Wimbledon is the third of four annual tennis grand slams, and it is played every summer at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. The first-ever Wimbledon Championships were held in 1877, and it is the oldest of the grand slams and is also considered the oldest tennis tournament in the world.
This year’s Wimbledon Championships runs from July 2 to 15, 2018, with the draw to be held on June 29th. A total of £34m worth of prizes will be given away at the All England Club, with the first-round losers earning £39k each and the winners for both the men’s and women’s singles title taking home £2.25m apiece.
Let’s take a quick look now at who the oddsmakers have installed as early favorites to win this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
We listed down below the Top 10 favorites at Bovada as of June 23, 2018:
Federer is to Wimbledon what Rafael Nadal is to the French Open: the perennial favorite to win the tournament. But while Nadal was a -200 entering the 2018 French Open, Federer comes into Wimbledon with plus money at +150, so it’s great to play the favorite in this tournament.
Federer has won Wimbledon eight times, including last year, where he dominated Marin Cilic in the finals 6-3, 6-1, and 6-4. Federer has a 168-24 (.875) career record playing in grass and is 4-0 this year, winning the Stuttgart Open last June 17, 2018. Federer is 21-2 overall this season and should be well rested after deciding to skip the clay court season.
He isn’t a heavy favorite, really, but with the plus money on Roger Federer at Wimbledon? That’s not going to be there as the tournament progresses. So if you like to bet on the favorites, you might as well take the plus money now.
He may not yet be the Novak Djokovic of 2016, but after making the quarterfinals at the 2018 French Open and the semifinals at the Rome Masters, we can safely say that Novak is back. Sure, the serve isn’t what it used to be yet, and his unforced errors can be checked. But when you look at him play, he’s got the swagger of the baddest tennis player from two years back.
Aside from his current form, let’s consider Djokivic’s Wimbledon resume. He’s played in four of the last seven finals at the All England Club, winning three Wimbledon titles over that period. If history serves us right, Djokovic is a bargain at +650, especially if he makes the finals again.
At +800, Alexander Zverev gives a little hedging room as the tournament gets deeper. Zverev hasn’t had much success in Grand Slams, really, but he’s coming off a quarterfinals stint at the 2018 French Open. Zverev seems to be finding his stroke this season, as he’s an overall 34-9 this season, including 6-2 in grand slam tournaments.
Zverev has won two tournaments this year (on clay, though) and has been to four finals trips. He has beaten four top-10 players already this year and is a career 6-3 in Wimbledon play. His round of 16 finish at the All England Club last year was his best grand slam performance before this year’s French Open.
Although he hasn’t played in grass this season, Marin Cilic is having a good year with his 22-9 overall record. He hasn’t won any tournaments this season, but we all know that he’s a consistent player when it comes to grand slams, making the quarterfinals in five of the last eight grand slam tournaments he’s played in.
He reached the 2017 Wimbledon Finals last year only to be annihilated by Roger Federer. Overall, he’s made the quarterfinals in his last four appearances at the All England Club. These trends are what you should consider when you have a player at +1200 because it gives you hedging room from one to three matches. If Cilic maintains his quarterfinals success in grand slams, you are going to make money from playing him, regardless of the result.
He’s been hit and miss this year with a record of 15-8, none played in grass. Neither has he had success at Wimbledon, as he has never made it out of the fourth round in this tournament. But considering he is coming off an injury, he is having a good year and is playing his best tennis in years.
He’s beaten three top-10 tennis players this season and reached the finals at the Monte Carlo Open. You can never count out Nishikori when he is healthy because he is one of the fiercest competitors out there. He may not win the tournament, but you can definitely make money from him hedging early because of his juicy +6600 odds.
Like the men’s top favorite, the women’s favorite also comes with plus money here. Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is currently priced nicely at +450. Serena won this tournament five times in eight years before skipping it last season due to the birth of her child.
Her comeback bid at the French Open ended in retirement due to an arm injury in the fourth round. But considering that was her first major tournament in a year, she proved that she is still the woman to beat when she is healthy. Given that she’s had enough time to rest and recover since the French Open, Serena Williams has a very good chance of winning again this year. And yeah, don’t forget that she’s only priced at +450.
What list of favorites would this be without the defending champion? At +800, Garbine Muguruza is definitely a steal. She isn’t just the current Wimbledon champion, but she’s also made the finals here in two of the last three years and has won 79% of her matches at Wimbledon.
Muguruza looked solid in the 2018 French Open before losing to eventual winner Simona Halep in the semifinals. When her cross shots are falling for her these days, she is tough to beat. Again, at +800, she’s a steal to win this tournament and also provides hedging room late in the tournament.
There is no questioning her abilities, but her tendency to falter in big matches or let a match slip away after a mistake has always been her drawback. But that mental weakness should be gone right now after she won the 2018 French Open, proving that she is a big-time player.
Halep is having a good year with her 35-6 overall record and 2 WTA titles won. She has made it to at least the quarterfinals of this tournament in three out of the last four years. With the monkey off her back now, she is a must-play at +1600.
Another female player at +1600 is Madison Keys. The 2017 US Open finalist has been to at least the quarterfinals in each of the last three grand slams she has played in, including the most recent French Open, where she did a great job minimizing her unforced errors and controlling her power.
She’s won 71% of her matches at the All England Club, and when she gets going, she has the ability to blow past her opponents. Given her recent success on the big stages, there is plenty of value on Keys right now at +1600.
After losing in the first round at the 2018 French Open where she was the defending champion, you know that Jelena Ostapenko would want to bounce back badly because that’s the kind of competitor that she is.
She’s currently having an on-and-off season, but when she’s on, she definitely can beat anybody in the women’s game. Ostapenko has beaten six top-10 players since last season, and she also made the quarterfinals here last year. She certainly has a lot of value here at +2200.
Like we did with Rafa at the French Open, we’re going with the perennial favorite here in Roger Federer. He’s well rested and should be ready to defend his title successfully. In the women’s draw, we want to go with Serena Williams, but given that she withdrew from the French Open with an injury, that scares us a bit.
Simona Halep is our pick for the women’s side because not only has she been consistent in this tournament, but she is also coming off a win at the French Open. With that perceived mental weakness out of her head right now, she should be coming into her own and starting to win grand slams.
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