Baby Fed to bounce out Baghdatis

Grigor Dimitrov did the business against Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon men`s singles first round and Baby Fed is a good bet to account for Marcos Baghdatis in the last 64.

Bookmakers have installed Dimitrov as the slight favourite for the second-round clash but they have not gone short enough in offering generally available odds of 8-11.

Dimitrov was remarkably good in disposing of the 32nd seed Anderson, hitting 71 winners in his 7-5 7-6 6-7 6-3 victory and never dropping his serve despite facing 11 break points.

The Bulgarian`s serve was dominant in the battle of the big hitter, the 21-year-old rising star firing down 24 aces, four more than his experienced, no-nonsense opponent.

Dimitrov`s Baby Fed nickname is a result of the comparisons between his game and that of six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer that tennis commentators have made since the youngster made a splash in the international junior ranks, winning the Wimbledon and US Open boys` singles in 2008.

Grass is probably Dimitrov`s best surface and, while he is trying to keep his feet on the ground, he could be set for a deep run since he is drawn in the weakest quarter, the one that British hope Andy Murray is the favourite to take out.

Dimitrov marked everyone`s card at Queen`s Club by making the semi-finals of a grass-court tournament out of which Baghdatis crashed out to Steve Darcis in the second round.

Baghdatis is no slouch on grass - he reached the Wimbledon last four in his break-out 2006 year and has played in the fourth round on three of his six visits to The Championships - but he has not been the same player since missing much of the 2008 and 2009 seasons due to a wide range of injuries.

Dimitrov is a maturing player on the way up, whereas Baghdatis is an enigmatic player on the way down. And Dimitrov leads their head-to-head series 1-0 having triumphed 3-6 7-6 6-2 on a Munich clay court last year.

Even at around 2-7, Mardy Fish looks over the odds to beat British wild card James Ward. The American is a rock-solid grass-court performer and beat Ward emphatically when they met on an Atlanta hard court in 2010. Fish dropped only three games in running out a 6-1 6-2 first-round winner.

Fish is one to include in Wimbledon multiples but the same does not apply to Kei Nishikori. The Japanese is around the 1-6 mark to knock out Florent Serra despite having lost to the Frenchman in straight sets when the pair met on a Busan hard court. Admittedly, that match was five years ago but surely there are better 1-6 chances than Nishikori.

In the Wimbledon women`s singles, Aleksandra Wozniak is an interesting proposition. Bookmakers are having difficulty splitting the Canadian and her opponent, China`s Jie Zheng, but the head-to-head record screams Wozniak`s name.

Wozniak leads Zheng 2-0 lifetime, with her victories coming in straight sets at Queen`s Club in 2009 and Roland Garros only last month. The Canadian warrants favouritism given her domination of the Chinese in their previous encounters.

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27/06/2012     © Frixo 2026