Federer faces hurdles at Wimbledon
Roger Federer was given a challenging draw on Friday in his bid for the Wimbledon title. This is his seventh bid for the cup, which would tie Pete Sampras’ record of seven wins at the All England Club.
As the winner of 16 Grand Slam titles, Federer is coming fresh off his win at this year’s Australian Open. The top-seeded player is the defending Wimbledon champion and came out in the top half with Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, and Lleyton Hewitt, a former champion. In last year’s final, Federer beat Roddick in a five-set epic match.
Federer is scheduled to open against Colombia's Alejandro Falla, the 65th seed, on Monday. Having won every set against Falla in their previous four matches, it is likely that Federer will breeze through this match.
Potentials in the draw
Federer has not won a tournament since the Australian Open earlier this year, which makes it the first year since 2001 that Federer has had only one tournament title before coming to Wimbledon.
Potential quarterfinal matchups could occur between Federer and fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, as well as between the number three seeded Djokovic and the number five ranked Roddick. Hewitt lurks among the ranks as seed number fifteen, and although he is the 2002 champion who beat out Federer for the title, he hasn’t been as prolific with his success later on. The Australian could be paired with Djokovic in the fourth round.
Nadal beat Federer two years ago in an epic final match, but sat out last year's tournament due to knee injuries. Nadal could face Soderling in the quarterfinals, having just beat him earlier this month to claim his fifth French Open title. Before that meeting, he could face challenging opponents in John Isner, Ernests Gulbis, and James Black.
Federer will be likely to face Roddick in the semifinal. Federer has beaten the American great in three Wimbledon finals, including last year's classic match that went to 16-14 in the final set.
Is Federer a Sure Bet?
Federer won 6 of the last 7 Wimbledons, and is aiming to tie Pete Sampras for most men's singles titles at the All England Club this year. Sampras is arguably the best grass court player of all time, and fetching that title for himself is undeniably an exhilarating challenge for Federer this year when the grass court event starts on Monday June 21st.
Federer is the world number 2 heading into Wimbledon, and is the top seed at the tournament. He is a crowd-pleaser without doubt, and in terms of betting odds he is the definite favorite for the event, according to bookies.
The short odds on betting exchanges demonstrate that Federer clearly has a slew of backers. Yet there are quite a few tennis critics who believe that this is the beginning of the end of the Swiss sensation’s dominance at Wimbledon.
Federer played a pivotal role in ushering in the end of Sampras’ illustrious grass-court in 2001 when he took Sampras out of Wimbledon in the round of 16 in the memorable 5 setter that year. As such, no argument needs to be made in support of backing the odds on Federer, as the odds show that Federer has an active legion of admirers. As the greatest men's tennis player in the history of the sport, and a six-time champion at the All England Club, many are betting on Federer to tie Sampras’ record of seven grass-court Grand Slam wins.
Nobody has won more Slams than Federer, and he was a longtime favorite to win the 2010 Australian Open and still came through. Having won 6 of the last 7 Wimbledons, the odds actually look like a fantastic investment, granted that Federer pulls through past the likes of Nadal and Roddick.
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