Are there more underrated longshots?
CrunchSports readers in North America who are interested in live streaming of Wimbledon should register with bet365: go to bet365>Sports>live streaming.
Wimbledon 2010 starts on June 21st and the draws for the men's and women's singles tournaments have been released. On the women's side Serena Williams is the defending champion and Venus Williams, a finalist from last year, is a close 2nd favorite. After that both Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are considered worthy challengers and here are the updated odds for the outright winner's market which goes 8 deep in terms of serious title threats (odds provided are best priced according to the research efforts of our staff):
1. Serena Williams +245 (49/20; SportingBet)
2. Venus Williams +350 (7/2; bet365)
3. Justine Henin +850 (17/2; Boylesports)
4. Kim Clijsters +900 (9/1; SportingBet)
5. Maria Sharapova +1200 (12/1; Bwin)
6. Samantha Stosur +1600 (16/1; SportingBet)
7. Victoria Azarenka +2500 (25/1; Stan James)
8. Caroline Wozniacki +2800 (28/1; BoyleSports)
If you are registering with SportingBet or BoyleSports use MAXIMUMBONUS are your promotional code to access their deposit bonus offer.
Serena Williams' odds look like a 'push' - they neither can really be called valuable now could they be called too short. They are priced about right in consideration of the other threats in the field and Williams own abilities. If you are betting Serena it can't be called a bad play but make sure to use only her best price.
Better value may be elsewhere.
Venus Williams' did have odds of +450 with Bodog a short time ago but it appears as though that line has been gobbled up and with it so too has the value on the 5 time Wimbled champ who is now 30 years old. She can't be written off but she does have a potential second round hurdle as Ekaterina Makarova is in Williams' microsection and the Russian just took down the Eastbourne title by beating Samantha Stosur and Victoria Azarenka.
Justine Henin is not a good play at the price offered. She never won Wimbledon before her 'retirement' and her form now is worse than it was before. If she can't win a 4th round match at the French Open - her best tournament - then why take her to win Wimbledon, which has been her worst Slam historically. +1600 would be nice on Henin but nobody is going to offer that so you're advised to avoid the Belgian, dangerous as she may be.
Kim Clijsters at +900 (9/1) with SportingBet may be just long enough to back but she did exit early in Eastbourne and there's probably better value out there.
Maria Sharapova should be avoided especially when the draw is taken into consideration. She's on course to face tournament favorite Serena Williams in the 4th round and Sharapova's odds may stay long provided that Serena stays in the draw, which can be expected. Sharapova backers should keep an eye on Serena's form at Wimbledon - if Williams appears vulnerable or off while Sharapova cruises then take the Russian after the conclusion of the second round of play.
Samantha Stosur should be avoided.
Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki are good bets at the long odds provided. They are both younger than 21 years old and that is a tremendous advantage in a two-week long tournament. Their odds are so long that they have to be considered valuable although there is a bit of a dilemma: they are set for a 4th round clash. The flip side to that of course is that if you do sprinkle both of them lightly you will have a very good chance of having a very capable quarterfinalist that can play with anyone at really long odds.
Other betting lines out there that may hold some value in the outright winner's market include the following:
Francesca Schiavone at +12500 (125/1) with SkyBet: there's just no way the French Open champion who made the Wimbledon quarters last year can be considered such a huge longshot. True odds: 40 to 1.
Ekaterina Makarova at +10000 (100/1) with SkyBet: she just won Eastbourne which had Clijsters, Stosur, and Azarenka in the field. Makarova's ranking of 100 on tour will be history on Monday and she's only 22 - you never know when the young talents are going to blossom. True odds: 70 to 1.
Nadia Petrova at +20000 (200/1) with SportingBet: who really thinks Petrova is 200 to 1 at Wimbledon? She's a two time QF who has also made two QF in Slams this year. Scalps in big time matches in 2010 include Clijsters and V. Williams. True odds: 50 to 1.
Even if the last three players are unlikely to win Wimbledon there are valuable betting lines out there for them to win their quarters as they have been disrespected.
Register with SportingBet to bet on Wimbledon 2010 - MAXIMUMBONUS is your promotional code for a free bet that can be used on the women's final.
