The third Grand Slam of 2016 has arrived. The Championships or Wimbledon as it is more commonly known is the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament on the planet. It all begins on Monday the 27th June at approximately 8:00 PM AEST.
The prize money has increased a whopping 6.4% for the Men’s and Women’s champions. Each will take home a £2 million check. The total prize pool is also up 5.1% from 2015. Prize money aside this season of tennis has really turned into the Novak Djokovic show.
Djokovic’s win at the French Open secured his career slam, his 12th total grand slam and he is also just the third person ever to hold all grand slam titles at once. He is now on the quest to join Rod Laver as the only other player to win all four majors’ in a calendar year. There is one other achievement that would immortalize Novak Djokovic. The Golden Slam. That would mean winning all four majors and the Olympic gold at Rio in August. The only player to ever achieve this was Steffi Graf in 1988.
All the stars seem to be aligning for Djokovic especially considering the health of the Men’s draw.
Seven-time champion Roger Federer is battling a back injury and knee surgery. Rafael Nadal is out with a wrist injury. Japanese hopeful Kei Nishikori pulled out of the Gerry Webber Open with a rib injury. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga didn’t play Queens due to an adductor injury and Stan Wawrinka was knocked out of the Queens tournament in the 1st round.
That leads me to Andy Murray. The only other player that the sportsbooks give a chance at defeating Novak Djokovic. Murray claimed his 5th Queens club title last week defeating big Milos Raonic 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. Murray has also reunited with old coach Ivan Lendl. Since Lendl’s departure, Murray has lost three grand slam finals. Interestingly when Murray and Lendl were last together they won two grand slams and an Olympic gold. Could Murray’s coach really be the missing link?
It is hard for me to get behind Andy Murray at $4.00. That means the sportsbooks are telling me that Murray would beat Djokovic once every four times. Personally I would want closer to $10 for Andy Murray.
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
