According to oddsmakers, the Wimbledon men’s singles at the All England Club next Monday is a four-horse race with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The odds jump from Murray at 5/1 to Juan Martin del Potro at 25/1.
World No. 1 Nadal has three of four Grand Slam titles in 2011. He has reached the Wimbledon final in each of his last five appearances. In 2009, he was out with an injury but he beat Tomas Berdych last year for his second Wimbledon title.
Federer is a six-time winner at Wimbledon and lost to Nadal here in 2008. Federer has had somewhat of a down year, losing to Nadal in the French Open final last month as the Spaniard earned his sixth title for that event in seven years. But Federer has the experience to get a record-tying seventh Wimbledon title.
World No. 2 Djokovic was a semi-finalist here last year and in 2007. He has come on lately with five titles and just one lost match this year. He won a Grand Slam in January by beating Murray in the Australian Open final. He has an impressive two wins over Nadal in the last two months on clay.
Murray won the Aegon Championships last week and could break through with a Grand Slam. He has reached the Wimbledon semifinals twice in the last two years. Del Potro is still recovering from a hand injury so he should be avoided. Berdych was a finalist in 2010 but will be hard pressed to repeat that kind of performance. Andy Roddick is a three-time finalist but didn’t look good in the loss to Murray last week. Richard Gasquet is the best longshot who enjoys the grass of Wimbledon.
Wimbledon Men’s Singles Outright Odds (provided by Ladbrokes)
Rafael Nadal: 9/4
Roger Federer: 9/4
Novak Djokovic: 7/2
Andy Murray: 5/1
Juan Martin del Potro: 25/1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 33/1
Tomas Berdych: 33/1
Robin Soderling: 40/1
Andy Roddick: 50/1
Richard Gasquet: 66/1
John Isner: 66/1
Milos Raonic: 66/1
Mardy Fish: 100/1
Marin Cillic: 150/1
Gael Monfils: 150/1
Lleyton Hewitt: 150/1
Fernando Verdasco: 200/1
Marcos Baghdatis: 200/1
Alexandr Dolgopolov: 200/1
David Nalbandian: 200/1
Feliciano Lopez: 200/1
Ivo Karlovic: 200/1