Betting.Betfair

I've been writing this preview of the side markets for the last six men's grand-slam finals, going back to the French Open in 2011, and, when Ferrer went up a set against Djokovic in their semi-final, instead of doing the sensible thing and taking some profits on my outright bet, I instead trawled back through those finals to see how successful these side-market bets have been. Well, 23 bets have been recommended, 11 have won, and they've returned a profit of 24.26 points to recommended stakes. Here's hoping the success continues. [u]Most Aces[/u] To date, head-to-head, Murray has served more on 12 occasions (86 per cent), to Djokovic's one (7 per cent), with one match ending in a tie. All this tells you that Murray should be 1.17 to serve most aces, with Djokovic at 14.0. It's fairly...

[u]Novak Djokovic (1) 1.44 v Roger Federer (3) 3.25 13:00 Centre Court[/u] [i]H-to-H 12-14[/i] This really ought to be the Wimbledon final, it's the reigning champion and world No.1 against the six-time winner and arguably the greatest player of all time... don't miss it. These two have met 26 times and their head to head record shows Federer with a slight advantage, but recently it's Djokovic who has been on top. Not only has the Serb won six of their last seven encounters, but he has also won four of their last five Grand Slam matches and he hasn't even given Federer a set in their two previous meetings this year. The form points towards a Djokovic win but it's unlikely to bother Federer. The Swiss maestro has supreme confidence in his grass court game and although he certainly...

[u]Roger Federer (2) v Mikhail Youzhny (26) 13:00 Centre Court[/u] [i]H-to-H 14-0[/i] The head-to-head stands at 14-0 in favour of Federer, make it 15-0 after today. They met last month on grass in Germany where Federer won 6-1, 6-4 to preserve his unbeaten record against Youzhny. Even though Youzhny has had a good Wimbledon it is very difficult to see him extending Federer. He had his tournament wobble against Benneteau, but can win easily to conserve his energy for a likely semi-final against Djokovic [b]Selection: Federer[/b] [u]Novak Djokovic (1) v Florian Mayer (31) 13:00 Court 1[/u] [i]H-to-H 2-0[/i] It's very hard to see beyond Djokovic. Mayer is the lowest ranked seed to make it through to the quarter-finals, though there has been a renaissance in his career as he hits thirty....

[u]Viktor Troicki v Juan Monaco (15) 11:30 No. 2 Court[/u] [i]H-to-H 2-1[/i] Monaco must be suffering from altitude sickness as he's never even won a match at Wimbledon before this year, let alone got to round three. In fact the fourth round is the furthest he's got in any Grand Slam, French & US. Will he add Wimbledon to that list? This time last year Troicki was seeded 13 at Wimbledon, buoyed by his part in Serbia's Davis Cup triumph. He has since slid down the rankings, but has survived two five-setters to get to round three and will overturn the rankings to progress. [b]Selection: Troicki[/b] [u]Alejandro Falla v Denis Istomin 11:30 Court 18[/u] [i]H-to-H 1-1[/i] Falla has had two really good wins against Isner and Mahut, both over five sets, which must have give him confidence...

With Roger Federer providing more evidence of a career in decline, and Andy Murray highlighting the ever-widening gulf between his ability and likely grand slam success, we find ourselves with the same final line-up as at Wimbledon, but this time we know more. Djokovic closed the small gap in their head-to-head record at SW19 that day, and in stunning fashion. A fourth-set blip aside, the Serb was dominant. That silenced the doubters (myself among them) who felt that Djokovic had struggled to put away weaker players to reach that final; and who felt that his four consecutive wins over Nadal prior to Wimbledon meant little - after all, every time the two had met in a grand slam, Nadal had outplayed Djokovic. That hoodoo overcome, it's easy to build a strong case for Djokovic. He has...

Andy Murray claimed his second title of the season in Cincinnati on Sunday. Despite that success, he can still be backed at 6.8 to win his first Grand Slam at the US Open which begins next week. Here's why you should be desperate to get on board... [u]Cincinnati glory augurs well... [/u] Andy Murray's victory in the Cincinnati Open, the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series event before the US Open, is hugely encouraging for his chances in New York. Six of the last eight champions have gone on to reach the final at Flushing Meadow, with three heading home with the biggest cut of the prize money. His previous Cincinnati win came three years ago and prompted easily his best US Open showing, finishing as runner-up, having never even made it to the quarter-finals on his five other attempts. [u]...especially...