Wimbledon 2010 Betting – Path Gets Easier And Easier For Serena Williams
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 11:48 AM ET
By: David Lawrence |
Defending Wimbledon Champion Serena Williams is the last big name left on the women's side of the draw after sister Venus was ousted in the quarterfinals.
In the last two days of women's tennis, Serena Williams has caught a ton of breaks. Her biggest competitors have been exiting Wimbledon disappointed like fans of Tom Cruise's Knight and Day, and Williams is left with a cakewalk to defend her trophy.
On Thursday, the women's draw at Wimbledon will hit the semifinals and Williams, who is the No. 1 seed and defending champion, will face one of two unseeded women to make it this far, Petra Kvitova
The other semi finds No. 22 seed Vera Zvonareva against unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova. Zvonareva pushed Kim Cljisters out of the tournament (3-6, 6-4, 6-2) while Pironkova dropped Venus Williams in straight sets (6-2, 6-3).
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If you had a chance to bet Serena in the quarterfinal round, you made a smart play. Her tennis betting odds have shot up as she was a -125 favorite already, but now she's at -380 to win Winbledon.
Should We Believe In The Unseeded Women?
Pironkova and Kvitova have exceeded expectations at the most prestigious tennis grand slam. They have regularly been underdogs throughout the tournament and have collectively taken out a number of quality opponents.
Combined, they have removed the following players from the Wimbledon draw: No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 5 Francesca Schiavone, No. 11 Marion Bartoli, No. 14 Victoria Azarenka and No. 23 Jie Zheng.
These girls are apparently no fluke.
But at the same time, upsets happen regularly on the women's side and if anything, it should open Serena's eyes to make sure she doesn't underestimate either of them.
Pironkova is a 22-year-old Bulgarian who has never made it past the second round of any grand slam. She's no rookie either as this is her fifth go at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Kvitova might be a bit more on the rise after making the fourth round of the US Open in 2009 and now the semis at Wimbledon, but even so, she hasn't won anything on the WTA Tour.
They have been impressive and are playing beyond their means, but neither can really beat Serena.
Betting Zvonareva?
Shockingly, Zvonareva is the only other seeded player remaining and she is all the way down at No. 22. The 25-year-old Russian is usually ranked in this range and she does have five WTA titles to her name. She's a much better doubles player as she has a few mixed doubles grand slam wins.
Right now, she is playing as well as she has ever played and you'd have to think that if anyone can pull the upset, it would be her. She made the semifinals at the Australian Open earlier this year and has now made her deepest run at Wimbledon.
But at the same time, she's always been mediocre in grand slams and could simply be the next seed that Pironkova takes out.
Head-to-head against Serena, she has been pretty much smoked every time that Serena has been interested in the match. Overall, Zvonareva has lost five of six meetings.
Outlook & Pick
You'd have to stick with Serena at this point. There are times to bet underdogs, but this is not one of them. It has been a Wimbledon full of surprises on the women's side but to expect the No. 1 seed to lose to someone unseeded is not realistic at this point.
Pick: Serena Williams
Mahi
