Wimbledon is one of the highlights of the summer sports season, and even though this year’s tournament has been overshadowed to an extent, fans and players will be eager to return to the famous venue and to challenge for the oldest and most famous tennis tournament of all.
For tennis betting fans, betting on Wimbledon is a key focus as the grass season gets under way, and with many deals around from betting companies, such as the Fubo promo, there is sure to be plenty of betting activity over the next few days and weeks.
But whether you are betting on the winner or just trying to work out how the tournament will go, the first place to look is at the main contenders and this time around there are clear favorites in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, in the shape of Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek.
Novak Djokovic has won the last three Wimbledon titles, and has won it six times overall. He was defeated by long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the French Open but unlike Nadal – and the still-injured Federer – he can claim to be the only one of the Big Three in good physical shape.
And there is clearly plenty of motivation for Djokovic at Wimbledon this year, after a difficult few months. He has struggled to find any momentum or form, beginning with the Australian Open debacle and continuing with a string of inconsistent performances. He has withdrawn from four tournaments this year, failed to reach the semifinals three times, lost one semifinal (against Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid), and lost the Serbia Open final to Andrey Rublev.
Although this isn’t Djokovic’s best moment in his career, long-time fans will point out that it isn’t the first time he has risen from the ashes. His desire to prove people wrong, yet again, might be a powerful motivator. On the other hand, when Djokovic is distracted or not mentally prepared, he can often lose to players you would not expect.
Given Nadal’s injury worries and his own Wimbledon record, Djokovic is the clear and justified favorite for Wimbledon. The concern for his fans and for the Djokovic camp is that he goes into this tournament with a lot of baggage, in particular the travails of the last few months that have damaged his reputation in some people’s eyes, along with the pressure of chasing Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam list, a race in which he fell further behind in Paris. Whether he can get past these issues and find his best form remains to be seen, but if he can, a seventh Wimbledon title should be his for the taking.
In the women’s tournament, Iga Swiatek is the dominant force going into Wimbledon. The world number one, who has just won her second Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open, dominates the betting for Wimbledon and is clearly the woman to beat.
Swiatek, who turned 21 at the end of May, hasn’t dropped a game since February 16. She has already won five WTA titles this year, including four 1000-level tournaments, climbing to the top of the WTA rankings in April and at the time of writing has nearly twice as many points as the next highest player.
She defeated Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in the 2022 French Open women’s singles final in Paris, winning for the second time at Roland Garros in her career. It was also her 35th win in a row, tying Venus Williams for the longest winning streak by a female tennis player this century; a record that has stood since 2000.
She is also the first female tennis player to win at least 35 straight matches in the Open era, joining Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Venus Williams.
Her public statements about her Wimbledon chances have been surprisingly muted. Clay is obviously her preferred surface and in two previous attempts in women’s singles at Wimbledon, she failed to get past the fourth round. So those who want to look for alternative winners have some evidence.
On the other hand, it should be remembered that she won the 2018 Wimbledon Girls’ Singles, which suggests she doesn’t struggle too badly on grass. She also has strong volley skills and has been improving her mobility on grass in recent months. Above all, as we saw with Rafael Nadal in 2008 and 2010, the very best players can excel on any surface. We can be sure that Swiatek will be a formidable opponent and a deserving favorite at Wimbledon.