Wimbledon ladies’ round 2: Seeds Kvitova & Kerber on court during day 4

Reigning Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion Petra Kvitova has been shortened by Coral from 4/1 into 11/4 to successfully defend the grass Grand Slam title, after smashing first round opponent Kiki Bertens 6-1 6-0 in just 35 minutes.

This drubbing was an early major marker laid down by second seed and top Czech Republic player Kvitova, who now tackles Japan’s Kurumi Nara. It’s a first-time meeting between the two but, given the lethal form displayed by the defending champion, Kvitova is a strong odds-on 1/20 favourite and better at 1/5 to repeat her straight sets beating of Bertens here.

Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki takes on Kvitova’s compatriot Denisa Allertova, also a first-ever encounter, and this should be straightforward for the Dane. Odds-on at 1/16 to be in round three, again a 1/4 price for a 2-0 victory are better.

Angelique Kerber, seeded 10th, will not have it anything like as easy as her fellow top WTA pros in Wimbledon’s second round, however. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia has a 3-3 win-loss record when paired with the German, and that means this latest match-up between them is wide open.

Kerber is of course odds-on at 1/7 to beat her, but there is little justification for that price other than the WTA world rankings and the whitewashing of young compatriot Carina Witthoft. By contrast, there’s a lot to like about Pavlyuchenkova’s fabulous 4/1 price to once again punish a foe she’s troubled so much in the past.

Sticking with top seeds, number eight Ekaterina Makarova meets Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova, and this will be far from plain sailing for the Russian number two. She lost the only previous meeting on grass in three sets. Rybarikova is 12/5 to embarrass Makarova again, and worth a punt at 5/1 to win 2-1 again.

And finally, 13th seed and former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska plays young Australian home Ajla Tomljanovic. The Pole is odds-on 1/7 match favourite, but better at 2/5 to take her place in the last 32 in straight sets.

Coral’s top tip: Rybarikova is tasty at 12/5 to make a mockery of Makarova’s top 10 ranking and send her home.