Wimbledon is one of the biggest international sporting events of the summer. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and has traditions that make it instantly recognizable, such as the players being required to wear all white. This year Wimbledon 2023 it is taking place from 3-16 July.
Every year, we see the biggest names in tennis facing off against one another in both singles and doubles matches at Wimbledon 2023. The outdoor grass courts are perfectly suited to certain styles of play so the winners aren’t always as predictable as you might expect. This is part of why Wimbledon is such an interesting tournament to bet on.
Betting on tennis has been growing in popularity in recent years and during the major tournaments, that popularity soars around the world. Online bookmakers such as bet365 have made a big name for themselves in the crowded market of sports betting options.
Here are some of the highlights from the first week of the competition:
Andy Murray loses to Stefanos Tsitsipas in second round
Andy Murray will always be Britain’s tennis hero after he ended the nation’s 77-year men’s singles title drought. However, it now looks like the star might be winding down his career. This is now the second year in a row where he has been eliminated in the second round. While Liam Broady might not be England’s next hope, Cameron Norrie has been showing a lot of potential.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is a young Greek player that is currently ranked fifth in the world. Tsitsipas is an aggressive baseliner, and this style of play makes him a fierce competitor. He lost the second and third sets to Murray but rallied to win the final two to seal his place in the next round.
An interesting prop bet to consider for future Tsitsipas matches is the frequency and duration of his bathroom breaks, as these have caused controversy during past tournaments.
Novak Djokovic defeats Stan Wawrinka
Men’s tennis has been dominated by the Big Three for the last 20 years. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were powerhouses and can all be considered among the best players of all time. That era is coming to end, as only Djokovic is competing at Wimbledon 2023 following Federer’s retirement and Nadal’s hip surgery.
In his third-round match against 16th-ranked Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic showed the world that he still has what it takes to be a champion. He swept the match, winning every set. Djokovic even displayed a bit of unexpected humility and levity after the match, enjoying the fact that the two old rivals were able to face each other on such an elite level again. His next opponent will be Hubert Hurkacz.
Iga Świątek in top form
Iga Świątek is currently ranked first in women’s tennis and her performance so far in Wimbledon 2023 has made it obviously why she holds that rank. At only 22 years old, she is on track to win her first Wimbledon, which would be her fifth major singles championship. The young Polish player will be tough competition for whoever has to face her in the final.
In this first round, Świątek faced Zhu Lin and it was clear that the Chinese player was outmatched. Her second-round match against Sara Sorribes Tormo was equally uneven, with her winning 6-2, 6-0.
On Friday, the 30th world ranking Petra Martić put up an impressive fight in the third round but ultimately couldn’t keep up with Świątek’s relentlessly aggressive style of play. The round ended with Świątek winning 6-2, 7-5.
Just Stop Oil protests
It has almost become a badge of honor for sporting events to be interrupted by Just Stop Oil protestors. In recent months, these protestors have disrupted the World Snooker Championship and The Ashes cricket tournament.
On July 5th, protestors twice interrupted play on court 18 to throw glitter confetti for their cause. The first was during the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro, but thankfully it was followed by a rain delay which gave the players time to recover from the distraction. The second was during Katie Boulter’s match against Daria Saville.
In both cases, the protestors were quickly arrested, and the court was cleaned and prepped for play to resume with little delay. While the protestors have a good underlying message, their tactics simply aren’t effective and are detrimental to their cause.
Mixed doubles upset
The Doubles matches never draw quite as much attention as the singles, despite the fact that many of the top singles players compete and the two-player dynamic adds an entirely new dimension to the game. All eyes — and bets — were on the two-time reigning champions Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk.
Skupski and Krawczyk, who are English and American respectively, have only been playing together since 2021, but they very quickly established themselves as a dangerous partnership. For that reason, their loss in the second round to Joran Vliegen and Xu Yifan came as a huge surprise. Belgian player Vliegen and Chinese player Xu are now considered one of the main partnerships to watch.