British female wildcards shorter prices than regulars for Wimbledon
Published:It is already time to rely on the young guns of British women’s tennis rather than those to have already been around the block and back, based on the ante-post Wimbledon betting.
Seeing a British female in the third round of the women’s singles has proved tough enough in the past 20 years and so it is no surprise to see such big prices in the winners’ market for a home victor.
Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha are both 1000/1 in the Wimbledon odds and this is with good reason, despite earning their spots in the draw.
Keothavong has made 11 previous Wimbledon appearances and her best result remains three visits to the second round.
Baltacha is more capable on grass and she proved this by winning the warm-up event in Nottingham last year, but she has not beaten a player in the current top 25 of the world rankings all year.
The other four British female Wimbledon entrants have all needed wildcards, but Laura Robson is priced at just 250/1 to triumph, with Heather Watson also more favoured at 500/1.
Robson beat current world number nine Angelique Kerber in the first round last year and gave Maria Sharapova a scare in the following round in a first-set tie break.
Her recent form has not been the best, but her preparation was largely similar last year.
Watson is talented but may be more suited to clay over grass, as shown by her historically better record at the French Open in comparison to Wimbledon.
The other two wildcards have gone to Naomi Broady, who has never gone beyond the first round at Wimbledon, and tournament debutant and British number six Johanna Konta.
Given the record of British women, it may pay to follow the other two wildcards instead.
Yaroslava Shvedova beat Na Li en route to the quarter finals of the French Open, while Virginie Razzano dumped out Serena Williams at Roland Garros.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
