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

Is Andy Murray going to win Wimbledon this year?

chickendinner fans the flames of Murray mania

Our instincts tell us there is no way anyone other than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal will win Wimbledon - after all they’ve won 16 of the last 17 Grand Slams between them. However, while Andy Murray seems far too short at 2/1, it’s impossible to ignore him. Here are some stats to help you judge the world number three’s chances of ending Britain’s drought:

BAD OMENS

» The third seed hasn’t won Wimbledon since 1990 and has only made the final in one of the last 14 years.

» 15 men have won their first Grand Slam from 1997 onwards but only two of those broke their duck at Wimbledon: Goran Ivanisevic (2001) and Federer (2003).

Posted: June 19th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment