From today, the semi-finals at Wimbledon will loom large in the British sports betting enthusiast’s psyche. The two women’s and two men’s semi-finals offer us four very different games in total and will decide who gets to battle it out at the weekend for the famous Wimbledon trophies.
It has been an entertaining tournament despite the issues that had preceded it regarding the banning of players from Russia and Belarus and the lack of ranking points on offer as a result of that decision.
Bet365 Sport is offering a range of bets on all four semi-finals in both tournaments, and we will take a closer look at some of the best value bets on offer later in the article.
But for now, let’s quickly recap some of the main stories that have come from this year’s tournament, starting with the women’s event.
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Wimbledon – Women’s Tournament
The biggest shock in the women’s tournament arguably came in the first round in what was a game of superb quality between Serena Williams and Harmony Tan.
The French outside bet stunned the former Champion here by winning the first set, however Williams then won the second 6-1 to set up a seemingly inevitable win in the third.
However, Tan fought back and forced a tie-break which she then won 10-7 to claim her biggest victory of her career and in doing so, perhaps ending the Wimbledon career of a legend of the game, although Serena has not yet confirmed her plans to play here next season.
Katie Boulter also provided us with a shock win with the British wild card player coming back from a set down to beat sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 306, 7-6, 6-4 to set up a third round clash with Tan, who emerged the 6-1, 6-1 winner of that clash.
Emma Raducanu’s hopes of a Wimbledon title ended in a second round defeat to Caroline Garcia while many people’s favourite to win the event (mine included), Iga Swiatek suffered her first defeat in 38 games when beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Alize Cornet.
Two unseeded German players made the quarter finals with Tatjana Maria overcoming Jule Neimeier in an entertaining three set quarter. She will face Ons Jabeur with the third seed Tunisian beating Czech star Marie Bouzkova in her quarter final.
The other semi final will see 16th seed Simona Halep, arguably the most consistent player in this year’s women’s event taking on 17th seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
Women’s Semi Finals Preview And Tips
- Ons Jabeur (3) v Tatjana Maria
The Tunisian third seed is the huge 1/8 favourite to win her semi final with the 32-year-old German mother-of-two Tatjana Maria, who has stunned experts by reaching the semifinal of the tournament, despite being ranked as low as 250 in the world back in March.
Maria has defeated three seeds in including 5th seed Maria Sakkari and 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko on her way to the semi finals, so she very much deserves her place on centre court.
Jabeur has dropped just one set on her way to the semis and given her ranking and performances so far, it is easy to see why she is the hot favourite to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Maria is 5/1 to win the game and those odds are about right and for me, this is Jabeur’s semi final to lose and I can’t see her doing that.
Prediction – Jabeur to win 6-3. 6-1
- Elena Rybakina (17) v Simona Halep (16)
The second semi-final pits two seeded players next to each other in the draw against each other, although the bookmakers have the 16th seed Halep as the very strong 1/3 favourite to win the game over Rybakina, who is a 12/5 chance.
Both players had straight set wins in all of the first three rounds, all against unseeded opponents but in the fourth round Halep faced fourth seed Paula Badosa and came away with a superb 6-1, 6-2 win to move into the quarters.
Rybakina defeated Petra Martic in the Fourth Round and then dropped her first set of the championship beating Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to earn a spot in the semi-final.
At the same time, Simona Halep was continuing her great form with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Amanda Anasimova, meaning the Romanian star has yet to drop a set in this Championship.
Both women will be confident heading into this game, but Halep’s form cannot be overlooked, and she should be the winner here.
Prediction – Halep to win 6-4, 6-4.
Wimbledon Men’s Tournament
It has been a tale of the old and the new in the men’s event as veterans Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic still exert a mesmerising influence over the events, but they are joined in the semi finals by two players making their first appearance in a slam semi.
One player who will enjoy great support is Britain’s Cam Norrie who defeated two Spaniards and then two Americans to earn a quarterfinal spot against David Goffin of Belgium, with the Brit eventually prevailing after five gruelling sets 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
He will take on current champion Novak Djokovic who also was taken to five sets by Italy’s Jannik Sinner in his quarterfinal and the Serbian has dropped a number of sets on his way through the rounds, but has managed to pull wins out of the bag when needed.
The other semi final sees Rafa Nadal, who has a rib injury and may yet not be fit enough to play, take on Nick Kyrgios in what could be an explosive game.
Kyrgios game with Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the tournament was a tetchy affair that saw both players fined, but the Australian bad-boy has also been producing some great tennis on his way to his first Slam semi final appearance.
Nadal’s dramatic quarterfinal win over Taylor Fritz was one of the games of the tournament, but an injury sustained in that game has put his participation in the semi-final in doubt, although he has a full day to get treatment for the injury to see if that can help.
Men’s Semi Final Preview And Tips
- Novak Djokovic (1) v Cam Norrie (9)
Cam Norrie will have the support of the majority of the crowd on Friday in his match with Novak Djokovic but he is going to need it as the Serbian star seeks to defend the Wimbledon title he won last year.
Djokovic has looked vulnerable at times in the tournament, especially when he was 2-0 down in sets to Sinner in the quarterfinals but as always seems to be the case, he pulled through to land the win.
Norrie was pushed hard by Goffin in his quarterfinal but came through but he is a massive underdog here, 8/1 with bet365 to land the win, while Djokovic is a huge odds-on favourite at 1/14.
I usually like a Brit’s chances at Wimbledon but I think Djokovic wins this in four.
Prediction – Djokovic to win 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
- Rafa Nadal (2) v Nick Kyrgios
The big question in the second semifinal is whether Rafa Nadal will be fit to play and while I expect the Spaniard to make it onto court, there is no way he is going to be 100% fit to take on the in-form Australian Kyrgios.
As such, this may present Kyrgios with his best chance of reaching a Grand Slam final in his career, and the bookmakers certainly feel that way with the Australian the 8/13 favourite to land the win, while Nadal is 13/10.
That said, I’d never rule Nadal out of anything. The Spaniard is used to dealing with injuries and playing through them and once he is on court, he can beat anybody on any surface.
As such, if Nadal is on court, then I am going to back him to land the win.
Prediction – Nadal to win 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
