Pete Sampras and Roger Federer’s dominance, bad news for Andy Murray

Five statistics about what went down at Wimbledon

1. Between them, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have won 13 of the last 17 men’s singles titles at Wimbledon.

2. Andy Roddick becomes the second American man to lose three finals, following in the footsteps of former coach Jimmy Connors, who lost four.

3. Bad news for Andy Murray - not since Sampras’ first triumph in 1993 has a losing semi-finalist won the following year. Surprisingly, three of the last five

Posted: July 6th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Heroic Andy Roddick nets chickendinner a tidy profit

A-Rod went over four hours without being broken but still lost

Photo Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Americans aren’t supposed to play the role of gracious runners-up at sporting events but for the third time in six years, Andy Roddick was left congratulating Roger Federer on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

chickendinner tipped A-Rod to reach the final, which if you bet with Paddy Power as we advised would have earned you a £50 return on a £5 E/W stake, although it could have been £145 if he hadn’t tired at the end.

It was impossible not to feel sorry for the lovable sixth seed after he went over four hours without having his serve broken (37 games) against the new

Posted: July 6th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

It should be a thrilling day of quarter-finals at Wimbledon

Claim £50 of free bets when opening an 888sport account

There were no surprises yesterday as the top four women’s seeds reached the semis (we thought Azarenka might pull off a shock before remembering she was facing a Williams sister at Wimbledon). The men’s quarter-final draw couldn’t be better though: Federer v Karlovic sees the enduring grass master face the in-form King of Aces, Djokovic v Haas is a repeat of the Halle final, Roddick v Hewitt sees two of the decade’s finest grass court players handed another chance to shine and then there’s Murray v Ferrero, the weakest of the line-up but with huge public interest. Here are three stats on each match:

Tommy Haas (24) v Novak Djokovic (4)
» Djokovic has a 2-1 head-to-head record with Haas but the German beat him in the final at Halle on grass last month.
» This is the furthest Haas has ever got at Wimbledon, continuing a trend where each of the last seven Halle winners have reached the last eight. He has reached three Grand Slam semis but all in Australia.
» Djokovic has won 13 of his last 15 quarter-finals and has reached the last four of six of the last seven tournaments he’s entered.

Lleyton Hewitt v Andy Roddick (6)
» Both men have won 27 career titles, reached four Grand Slam finals and won at Queen’s four times. Therefore it’s no surprise that they are almost inseparable head-to-head, with Hewitt holding a 6-5 advantage.
» Roddick has the advantage on grass though having won their two previous

Posted: July 1st, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Queen’s finalist James Blake out on day one at Wimbledon

Runner-up’s early exit puts Andy Murray’s triumph into context

It was with a degree of eggshell treading that we suggested last week that Andy Murray’s victory at Queen’s didn’t significantly boost his chances of winning Wimbledon.

Our feeling was that with Novak Djokovic opting to play in Halle and Andy Roddick and Gael Monfils pulling out with injuries, Murray didn’t beat anybody too noteworthy en route to the trophy.

Posted: June 23rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Stats about the six leading contenders to win Wimbledon

Click here for all the latest odds on this year’s men’s singles

Hint: It’s everybody in the picture above except Davydenko and Simon

After waiting for an eternity to see Roger Federer dethroned and a new champion crowned, Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal with injury guarantees that there will once again be a changing of the guard at Wimbledon. Here are some statistics about the six men that the bookmakers consider the frontrunners:

Roger Federer
Best Wimbledon Performance: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, ‘06, ‘07)
Grass Court Win Rate (prior to Wimbledon 2009): 87%
The world number two was unbeaten in 65 matches on grass prior to last year’s final defeat to Nadal and is quite rightly favourite to regain his title in the Spaniard’s absence. However, coming back from losing the previous year’s final is difficult, with Nadal the only person in the last 18 years to have done so, and nobody since Rod Laver in 1962 has completed a French Open-Wimbledon double at the first time of asking (Bjorn Borg and Nadal both have but not in the year of their first win at Roland Garros).

Andy Murray
Best Wimbledon Performance: Quarter-finals (2008)
Grass Court Win Rate: 78%

Posted: June 23rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Andy Murray odds-on to win at Queen’s after reaching last eight

Click here for all the latest odds on the AEGON Championships

World number three Andy Murray has been slashed to just 10/11 to become the first ever Brit to win the singles’ tournament at Queen’s.

The 22-year-old secured a spot in the quarter-finals with victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez earlier today and his position as favourite has been strengthened by the withdrawals of Gael Monfils and Marat Safin with injuries and the surprise early exit of Marin Cilic.

Murray’s chances are soon to be further boosted when one of the two most successful Queen’s players on the tour eliminates the other, with Andy Roddick currently a set up against Lleyton Hewitt. Click here for more stats.

Posted: June 11th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment