Wimbledon Betting Odds Previews of Men's and Women's Tournament

We know our friends at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have been having fun at our expense. We do carry syndicated betting previews in MLB where one of the writers starts out with the inane “both teams will be gunning for victory”. Pulitzer Prize writing no, but great information for the sports bettor abounds on the Offshore Insiders Network.

Speaking of, our partners at Bodog have a sensational tennis betting odds preview of the men’s and women’s Wimbledon action.

So which Williams sister will it be when it comes to your Wimbledon betting at Bodog?

After all, why would you look anywhere but at the Williamses considering they have played each other in three previous Wimbledon finals, with Venus Williamswinning last year (not dropping a set) and Serena Williams taking the title in 2002 and 2003. At least one of them has appeared in eight of the last nine finals. Venus has won five Wimbledon titles since 2000, including the last two.

The sisters, whose power games are well-suited for grass, are in opposites halves of the draw, so a fourth consecutive final meeting could be in the cards. Serena is the betting favorite on Bodog at 5/2, while Venus is No. 2 at 11/4. Neither player has played since the French Open, where Serena was ousted by eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters and Venus was thumped by Agnes Szavay in the third round.

There's no question that Serena is playing much better tennis than her sister right now, and the draw is much more difficult for Venus with players like world No. 1 Dinara Safina, Kuznetsova, former Wimbledon champ Amelie Mauresmo and former No. 1s Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic in Venus’ half of the bracket. Don’t expect her to make it through and tie Billie Jean King with a sixth title.

Safina is 8/1 odds to win Wimbledon after reaching her second straight Grand Slam final at the French Open but losing again with a major championship on the line. She has yet to win a major and some are questioning her confidence on the big stage. The Russian has never advanced past the third round at the All England Club.

It's never super profitable to bet on the favorite in individual sports like tennis, but the smart money must go on Serena at Wimbledon.

Friday's surprising news that defending champion Rafael Nadal will miss Wimbledon because of his bothersome knees does more than rob tennis fans and bettors of a possible epic final replay against Roger Federer.

It also elevates Andy Murray to the favorite in my opinion.

The Brit is currently 11/4 to win tennis' lone grass-court major. That's second to Federer (4/5), who has won this tournament five teams and might be poised to break Pete Sampras record of 14 Grand Slam titles as well as return to No. 1 in the world off his French Open championship. Federer should be the overwhelming favorite.

But Murray is the big winner of the Nadal news. That's because Murray, now seeded No. 2, was in the same half of the Nadal draw (and thus won't have to play Federer until a possible final). The Spaniard had reached the final at the All England Club in the past three years and routed Murray in straight sets in a 2008 quarterfinal.

Now the highest-rated possible semifinal opponent for Murray is Argentine Juán Martín del Potro, the world No. 5, who is a clay-courter and has only won two career matches at Wimbledon.

Perhaps most important is that Murray is 6-2 in his career against Federer, including two victories in two tries this year and four in a row. It's clear he has confidence against the Swiss star.

Murray also enters having just become the first British champion of the warm-up Queen's Club tournament in 71 years. It was his first-ever grass-court title and continued what has been a great year, with Murray going 40-6 with four titles (second in championships to Nadal).

"I'm playing very well just now," Murray said to reporters. "I feel physically strong."

Obviously history is against Murray, considering no British men's player has won this tournament since Fred Perry in 1936. But at 11/4, put some money down on history finally repeating itself. Think that would be big news in England?

More Bodog betting previews are on our free sports picks and articles section.