After some massive upsets in both the Men’s and Women’s side of the draw, the semi finalists for the 2017 Wimbledon Open have been decided and will do battle over Thursday and Friday night. We take a look at all four games and give our tips below.
Women’s Semi Finals (Thursday, 13th July from 10pm)
Gabrine Mugurza vs Magdalena Rybarikova
Once again we have seen a relatively unknown Eastern European player make a deep run in a Women’s Grand Slam. World No.87 Magdalena Rybarikova defeated the number three seed and the favourite to win the tournament Karolina Pliskova in the second round and 24th seed Coco Vandeweghe in the quarter final to advance to the Semi Final of a Grand Slam for the first time. In fact, it was the first time she had passed the 3rd round of a Grand Slam, highlighting the unpredictability that is Women’s tennis at the moment.
Her opponent, the 14th seeded Gabrine Muguruza was also a pre tournament favourite with the bookies and is arguably the most in form player in Women’s tennis at the moment. She defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber and World No.7 Svetlana Kuznetsova en route to the Semi Final and will be looking to reach her second Wimbledon final with a win.
For avid tennis fans, the run of Rybarikova might not have been as shocking. The Slovakian won two tournaments on grass in the lead up and while she’s never made a deep run at Wimbledon in the past, she claims that grass is by far her best surface. The 28-year-old won the only meeting between the pair on grass and while the bookies have Mugurza as a strong favourite at around $1.30, we expect this one to go the distance.
TIP: Total sets OVER 2.5 - $2.62 at Sportsbet
Johanna Konta vs Venus Williams
The foolish among us probably thought that a Serena free tournament might have meant a respite in the Williams dominance of Women’s tennis, we were wrong. Venus Williams has dropped just one set on the way to her Semi Final birth, defeating French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko along the way. It’s been a long time between drinks for Venus, with her last Wimbledon title coming 8 years ago.
Konta has had a meteoric rise of sorts, currently ranked number six in the world on the back of advancing past the 4th round of a Grand Slam on just two occasions. Her Wimbledon track record isn’t anything to write home about either, with this year marking just the second occasion from six attempts when she hasn’t gone out in the first round.
Venus is desperate for another Wimbledon title. Having won the crown five times, it is her favourite tournament and with no Serena in the draw this year she’ll see it as the prime opportunity. Her serve was unstoppable against Ostapenko last round and we think she should be on again here.
TIP: Venus Williams to win - $1.94 at Ladbrokes
Men’s Semi Finals (Friday, 14th July from midnight)
Sam Querry vs Marin Cilic
The Men’s side of the draw has been as surprising as the Women’s at Wimbledon this year. 24th seed Sam Querry has advanced to the Semi Final of a Grand Sla for the first time in his career with a stunning five set vicory over World No.1 Andy Murray. The American trailed three sets to one but won the last two sets both 6-1 to move on.
He’ll face Croatian Marin Cilic in the Semi Final who has arguably been the most consistent men’s tennis player, including the big four, over 2017. Wimbledon is Cilic’s favourite Grand Slam, having reached the quarter final in his last three tournaments and the World No.6 could improve on his highest ever ranking with a win here.
It’s a really tough match to pick here, both players had hard fought five setters in the quarter finals but Querry has had arguably the harder run having to face Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga on his way to the semis. Too hard for us to pick a winner her but both players rely a lot on big serves meaning there shouldn’t be too many breaks in the game.
TIP: Total Games OVER 40.5 - $1.80 at Sportsbet
Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych
What a remarkable return to form its been for Roger Federer. The Champion Swiss won the Australian Open earlier in the year and after taking the clay court season off to recover, has reached the semi final of his favourite tournament withour dropping a single set. Federer has looked absolutely dominant in the opening rounds, taking out some quality opponents in the likes of Mischa Zverev, Gregor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic all in straight sets.
His opponent, Tomas Berdych has reached the semi final of Wimbledon for the 2nd year in a row and taken out the likes of Dominic Thiem and David Ferrer along the way. His progression through the quarter final came through the retirement of World No.2 Novak Djokovic in the second set so he should be pretty fresh going into this game.
With the way Federer is playing at the moment, its extremely hard for us to look past anything but a straight sets victory here. There’s only a few players in world tennis that we have this sort of confidence betting on, one is Rafa on clay and the other is Roger on grass.
TIP: Roger Federer to win 3-0 - $1.90 at Ladbrokes
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