Murray and Djokovic to win in straight sets

No British man has taken part in the Wimbledon men`s singles final since Bunny Austin in 1938 but Andy Murray can end the host nation`s 74-year wait by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Murray and Tsonga have met seven times, with the Briton 5-2 up on all surfaces, 2-1 up on grass and, perhaps most tellingly, 4-0 up in matches played in 2009 and later.

Britain`s number one has his detractors - he has faltered at the business end of far too many major tournaments to have won universal support - but his record on any number of levels is superior to that of his French opponent.

For example, Murray has a 4-5 win-loss record against top-10 players this year, which reads so much better than Tsonga`s 1-5. That is one big tick in favour of backing the Briton.

As one would expect, both Murray and Tsonga are excellent frontrunners. The Briton is 24-2 when he wins the first set and the Frenchman is 30-2. Once ahead, they go on with the job. But what is really interesting is that Murray is 7-7 when he loses the first set and Tsonga is 4-10. It would seem that, to borrow the term invented by Iain Dowie, the Briton has greater bouncebackability than the Frenchman.

Murray has been more impressive in reaching the last four than Tsonga and, for the first time in the tournament, he represents fair value to win a match. Bookmakers have installed the Briton at around 4-9 and that is right.

Most punters are not going to get rich backing 4-9 chances so is there a better way to side with Murray as he continues his bid to become Britain`s first Wimbledon men`s singles champion since the late, great Fred Perry won in 1936?

Well, yes, there is and it the general 9-4 that is available about Murray winning in straight sets. Tsonga may not have the stomach for a fight if he goes behind and the Centre Court crowd throws their vocal support behind their man.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer lock horns in the other semi-final. It will be the 27th time that they have met during their careers and, while the Swiss gentleman leads 14-12, the Serbian has won their most recent three encounters and six of their last seven clashes.

Bookmakers have Djokovic as the favourite at around 2-5 and that is right on the money. Federer is yesterday`s man, whereas the Serbian is the man for today and tomorrow.

Djokovic`s dominance over Federer since the start of the 2011 season has been such that it is worth considering a wager on the Serbian beating the Swiss in straight sets.

A 3-0 Djokovic victory is available at around the 2-1 mark, which is fair enough given that the number one seed won 6-4 7-5 6-3 in the 2012 French Open men`s singles semi-finals.

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05/07/2012     © Frixo 2024