Bodog.com Wimbledon 2007 Odds - Roger Federer Is Wimbledon Favorite - Bodog Wimbledon Bets

Wimbledon starts on June 25th. Bodog has posted odds for both the Mens and Womens singles draws. This is the most prestigious tournament in the world, so all of the players will be on their best game.

The betting maximum is $500. Beware. If a player misses the tournament due to injury, the bet stands. So keep an eye on players like Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick. Both have minor injuries which should be healed in two months, but you never know.

Roger Federer - 1/3
The Field (Any Player Not Listed) - 5/1
Rafael Nadal - 7/1
Andy Roddick - 8/1
Andrew Murray - 10/1
Mario Ancic - 16/1
Lleyton Hewitt - 22/1
David Nalbandian - 25/1
Richard Gasquet - 25/1
Marcos Baghdatis - 28/1
Fernando Gonzalez - 30/1
James Blake - 33/1
Marat Safin - 45/1
Tomas Berdych - 48/1
Novak Djokovic - 48/1
Ivan Ljubicic - 60/1
Thomas Johansson - 64/1
Joachim Johansson - 65/1
Gael Monfils - 72/1
Dmitry Tursunov - 75/1
Ivo Karlovic - 82/1
Tim Henman - 85/1
Tommy Haas - 80/1
Sebastien Grosjean - 90/1
Feliciano Lopez - 95/1
Radek Stepanek - 95/1
Jarkko Nieminen - 100/1
Robin Soderling - 105/1
Max Mirnyi - 115/1
Mardy Fish - 120/1
Robby Ginepri - 125/1
Tommy Robredo - 140/1

First of all, you're crazy if you bet too much money on anyone besides Roger Federer. He's dominant on the Mens tour these days. But Federer takes that dominance to a whole other level on the grass courts.

He's like Pete Sampras used to be on the grass courts. Sampras won seven out of eight Wimbledons in one stretch. Federer has won the tournament four times in a row. He's only dropped two sets in those four championship matches.

The problem is, grass courts give a huge advantage to big servers. The ball skips off the surface of the court, making it all the harder for players to return a serve. The game is faster and the points are quicker.

On his serve, Federer's going to win a point or two a game (more than he normally would) simply on the serve. He might not get the ace, but he'll have an easy putaway on the return. That means it's next to impossible to break Federer's serve, so he rolls through the tournament. His opponents have almost no room for error, and the pressure eventually gets to them.

It's kind of that case on hard courts. But Federer's natural advantage is magnified at Wimbledon. So if you bet on any of the other players, you're basically betting that Federer gets upset in one of seven matches. You're probably betting that he gets an injury that evens the odds. But one of the unmentioned factors in Federer's dominance is that he doesn't seem to get injuries.

Of course, other big servers are the next big bets. Andy Roddick seems to dominate his competition at Wimbledon, until he plays Federer. The thing is, he has virtually no chance against his arch-rival. Roddick has a huge serve and a huge forehand, but the rest of his game is average at best.

His backhand is a huge weakness which Federer exploits. Roddick's return of serve is simply overwhelmed by Federer's service game. Federer is simply better equipped to handle Roddick's big serve.

In recent matches, Roddick has sought to attack the net against Federer. This is part of Coach Jimmy Conners' strategy. But Roddick isn't quick enough to get to the net, especially at Wimbledon, of all places. Even worse, he doesn't appear to have quick enough reflexes to be a world class level serve and volleyer.

Rafael Nadal is Federer's major rival at the moment. But while Nadal's serve is improving, it still isn't at the level that will allow him to win a Wimbledon title this year. THe real suspense for Nadal is whether he can win his third straight French Open title. Clay is the only surface where Nadal can play as an equal--or perhaps better-- than Federer.

Andy Murray will be a fan favorite on the grass courts again, because the Brits want to see one of their own win their storied tournament. I won't believe Andy Murray is a real contender until he can win his way through to another semifinal. His window of opportunity is closing, in my mind, despite one of two solid finishes this year.

The rest of the field are 16-to-1 shots or worse. Most are much worse.

I'm not going to suggest you bet anyone but Federer. Federer at Wimbledon is as close to sure money as you can get in a sports bet, though you'll have to bet 3 dollars to see a profit of 1.

Bodog.com Wimbledon 2007 Odds - Roger Federer Is Wimbledon Favorite - Bodog Wimbledon Bets