The women of Wimbledon
Did you happen to see Kirsten Dunst in the 2004 film Wimbledon? Yeah, me neither.
Women?s tennis already has more drama than the British movie industry (such as it is) could possibly muster ? drama queens, that is. Unfortunately, this year?s Wimbledon championships will be missing some of their star power. Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Mary Pierce will all be absent due to injury.
None of those players is Maria Sharapova. The current darling of the women?s tennis circuit is on top of the Wimbledon futures list at +250, despite going into SW19 with the No. 4 seed. ?Masha? beat Williams to capture the title in 2004 at age 17. It?s her only major victory thus far, although Sharapova reached the semifinals in four of her last six majors, including last year?s Wimbledon.
The problem for Sharapova is what happened in her most recent major tournament. Held back by an ankle injury, the Siberian princess barely escaped the first round at the French Open before falling in three sets to Dinara Safina in the Round of 16. The grass at the All-England Club should be much more forgiving to her ankle (and more suited to her power game) than the clay at Roland Garros; however, at the semifinals of last week?s Wimby warm-up in Birmingham, the top-seeded Sharapova lost 6-4, 6-4 to American Jamea Jackson, the No. 81-ranked player in the world.
From a handicapping standpoint, Sharapova also suffers from an image problem ? she?s too famous. She has taken over for Anna Kournikova as the poster girl for women?s tennis, appearing in advertisements for everybody from Nike to Land Rover. That name recognition draws plenty of betting activity wherever she goes. Still, Wimbledon may be the one place where she can be expected to deliver for her supporters ? when healthy.
The three players seeded ahead of Sharapova are the winners of the past three majors: Amelie Mauresmo (Australian Open), Kim Clijsters (U.S. Open) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (French Open). Henin-Hardenne is the only one of the three to reach the finals at SW19, losing to Venus Williams in 2001. But ?Juju? was eliminated in the first round last year in her quest to win the only major that has eluded her thus far. Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters are both pegged at +500 to crack the egg; Mauresmo is slumming at +800 despite her top seed and three consecutive trips to the Wimbledon semifinals.
Venus Williams can also be found at +800. The defending Wimbledon champion and the only seeded American at the tournament will receive plenty of media attention, especially in the absence of sister Serena. But Venus will only be the No. 7 seed at SW19. She deserves better. Although her game has fallen off somewhat since reaching the top of the women?s tennis rankings in 2002, Venus has been to the finals in five of her last six trips to Wimbledon, winning three times. If only she?d play more tournaments on grass; Venus? 46-8 career record on that surface was compiled entirely at Wimbledon.
Joining Mauresmo and Venus at +800 is Nicole Vaidisova. Born in Germany and living in Prague, the 17-year-old Vaidisova made her Grand Slam debut in 2004 and has already reached No. 13 in the world rankings. Making it to the semifinals at the last French Open (and beating both Mauresmo and Venus along the way) has edged Vaidisova up into the No. 11 seed for Wimbledon. Of her six WTA career victories, five were on the hardcourt and one was on clay. We?ll see whether she has enough in her arsenal besides her big serve to get the job done on grass.
Rounding out the cream of the Wimbledon odds crop is the returning Martina Hingis at +1000. The ?Swiss Miss? has gone 35-12 since ending her nearly three years of retirement, reaching the quarterfinals at both the Australian and French Opens. But Hingis hasn?t played a match on grass since 2001, and she has endured her share of frustrations at the All-England Club since winning Wimbledon in 1997.
Among the other top seeds on the Wimbledon futures market are No. 5 Nadia Petrova (+2000), No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova (+1200), No. 8 Elena Dementieva (+5000), No. 9 Patty Schnyder (part of the field at +1200) and No. 10 Anastasia Myskina (+6600). Kuznetsova appears to be the best of this bunch after beating Vaidisova in three sets to reach the French Open final. She got into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2005, and she has WTA tournament victories on all three major surfaces ? including this past April?s win over Sharapova on the hardcourt in Miami.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
Did you happen to see Kirsten Dunst in the 2004 film Wimbledon? Yeah, me neither.
Women?s tennis already has more drama than the British movie industry (such as it is) could possibly muster ? drama queens, that is. Unfortunately, this year?s Wimbledon championships will be missing some of their star power. Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Mary Pierce will all be absent due to injury.
None of those players is Maria Sharapova. The current darling of the women?s tennis circuit is on top of the Wimbledon futures list at +250, despite going into SW19 with the No. 4 seed. ?Masha? beat Williams to capture the title in 2004 at age 17. It?s her only major victory thus far, although Sharapova reached the semifinals in four of her last six majors, including last year?s Wimbledon.
The problem for Sharapova is what happened in her most recent major tournament. Held back by an ankle injury, the Siberian princess barely escaped the first round at the French Open before falling in three sets to Dinara Safina in the Round of 16. The grass at the All-England Club should be much more forgiving to her ankle (and more suited to her power game) than the clay at Roland Garros; however, at the semifinals of last week?s Wimby warm-up in Birmingham, the top-seeded Sharapova lost 6-4, 6-4 to American Jamea Jackson, the No. 81-ranked player in the world.
From a handicapping standpoint, Sharapova also suffers from an image problem ? she?s too famous. She has taken over for Anna Kournikova as the poster girl for women?s tennis, appearing in advertisements for everybody from Nike to Land Rover. That name recognition draws plenty of betting activity wherever she goes. Still, Wimbledon may be the one place where she can be expected to deliver for her supporters ? when healthy.
The three players seeded ahead of Sharapova are the winners of the past three majors: Amelie Mauresmo (Australian Open), Kim Clijsters (U.S. Open) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (French Open). Henin-Hardenne is the only one of the three to reach the finals at SW19, losing to Venus Williams in 2001. But ?Juju? was eliminated in the first round last year in her quest to win the only major that has eluded her thus far. Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters are both pegged at +500 to crack the egg; Mauresmo is slumming at +800 despite her top seed and three consecutive trips to the Wimbledon semifinals.
Venus Williams can also be found at +800. The defending Wimbledon champion and the only seeded American at the tournament will receive plenty of media attention, especially in the absence of sister Serena. But Venus will only be the No. 7 seed at SW19. She deserves better. Although her game has fallen off somewhat since reaching the top of the women?s tennis rankings in 2002, Venus has been to the finals in five of her last six trips to Wimbledon, winning three times. If only she?d play more tournaments on grass; Venus? 46-8 career record on that surface was compiled entirely at Wimbledon.
Joining Mauresmo and Venus at +800 is Nicole Vaidisova. Born in Germany and living in Prague, the 17-year-old Vaidisova made her Grand Slam debut in 2004 and has already reached No. 13 in the world rankings. Making it to the semifinals at the last French Open (and beating both Mauresmo and Venus along the way) has edged Vaidisova up into the No. 11 seed for Wimbledon. Of her six WTA career victories, five were on the hardcourt and one was on clay. We?ll see whether she has enough in her arsenal besides her big serve to get the job done on grass.
Rounding out the cream of the Wimbledon odds crop is the returning Martina Hingis at +1000. The ?Swiss Miss? has gone 35-12 since ending her nearly three years of retirement, reaching the quarterfinals at both the Australian and French Opens. But Hingis hasn?t played a match on grass since 2001, and she has endured her share of frustrations at the All-England Club since winning Wimbledon in 1997.
Among the other top seeds on the Wimbledon futures market are No. 5 Nadia Petrova (+2000), No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova (+1200), No. 8 Elena Dementieva (+5000), No. 9 Patty Schnyder (part of the field at +1200) and No. 10 Anastasia Myskina (+6600). Kuznetsova appears to be the best of this bunch after beating Vaidisova in three sets to reach the French Open final. She got into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2005, and she has WTA tournament victories on all three major surfaces ? including this past April?s win over Sharapova on the hardcourt in Miami.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
