Murray and Fed destined for Wimbledon final on early evidence
Published:Grand Slams are not won in the first few rounds, but conserving physical and mental energy can be vital to a contender’s chances of bringing home the title when the going gets tough in week two.
On the men’s side of the draw two of the recognised ‘big four’ have so far exerted very little having played domineering tennis and crucially on grass, serving up a storm.
Defending champion Andy Murray (7/2) and seven-time winner Roger Federer (5/1) are yet to drop a set – giving up only 12 and 16 games respectively during rounds one and two.
In statistical terms British number one Murray turned in his best ever performance at his home Slam, dicing up Blaz Roja 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 in just an hour and 24 minutes on Court 1.
Seven aces flew past his Slovenian opponent with a barrage of 27 winners to accompany them.
After breezing past Italian Paolo Lorenzi for the loss of just five games, Federer only dropped nine points on serve against Gilles Muller to record another straight-sets victory, this time containing 23 aces.
It’s been a vastly contrasting story for Murray and Federer’s two main obstacles to a second-Sunday showdown against each other; namely world number one Rafael Nadal (9/2) and number two Novak Djokovic (13/8).
Nadal has twice had to fight back from a set down in his opening matches at the All-England club.
The Spaniard briefly looked in line for another shock Wimbledon exit when going a break down to Lukas Rosol in the second, before rallying back to triumph 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, pitted against tricky customer Radek Stepanek in round two – Murray’s Queens Club conqueror – Djokovic required four sets and two tie breaks to progress from a real examination by the veteran Czech.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £100 in free bets.
