Wimbledon men’s last 16: Cilic, Djokovic, Wawrinka odds-on to advance

We’re still on course to see a French Open men’s singles final rematch in the semis of Wimbledon 2015, with grass Grand Slam holder, ATP world number one and Coral’s 6/5 tournament favourite Novak Djokovic and 9/1 chance Stan Wawrinka first readying themselves for respective last 16 encounters.

These are two of the top four seeds at the All-England Club, and they have been eventually joined by ATP world number nine Marin Cilic in the second week of Wimbledon. Each of these three Grand Slam winners are odds-on to reach the quarter-finals.

Completing the top half of the draw is 2007 semi-finalist Richard Gasquet and Nick Kyrgios, who made the last eight in 2014. These two routed higher ranked seeds en route to reaching this stage.

Novak Djokovic v Kevin Anderson
South Africa’s Anderson (11/1 match outsider) has defeated Djokovic before, but it was way back in 2008. Punters can thus discount that in their thinking on this fixture.

Djokovic has dominated 14th seed Anderson on every Grand Slam surface with the head-to-head record reading 4-1 in his favour, including a straight sets Wimbledon win from 2011. A repeat of that at 3/10 is much better than the Serb’s overwhelming odds-on 1/33 outright match win.

Marin Cilic v Denis Kudla
Having come through a final set epic 12-10 against John Isner, reigning US Open champ Cilic must now face another American representative in wildcard Denis Kudla.

It’s a first-ever meeting between the Croatian and Ukrainian-born player, but the latter was also extended in round three, eventually triumphing in five sets over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, who profited from fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulling out.

Confident Kudla is a tasty 10/3 to cause an upset, but is now facing the highest calibre of opposition. An odds-on 2/9 price for Cilic can easily become more attractive, if punters pile money on a victory in four sets at a nifty 9/4.

Stan Wawrinka v David Goffin
Wily Wawrinka will be targeting a third Grand Slam title here, attempting to add grass glory to that of clay and hard courts. He comes up against 16th seed Goffin from Belgium, and the Swiss number two (ranked four in the world, according to the ATP) holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over this opponent.

That’s enough for the bookies to make Wawrinka odds-on at 2/7 to win their latest meeting. For once, there’s some value on taking a straights sets victory for a top seed at 11/8, as he has never dropped one to Goffin, who looks somewhat short at 11/4 to cause an upset here.

While Gasquet got the better of Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Kyrgios routed Milos Raonic in round three to both produce giant-killings, this encounter is a close call.

Although 21st seed Gasquet is an even-money shout because he holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage, that one loss to Australia’s Kyrgios was at Wimbledon last year in a five-set classic.

Despite being ranked below the Frenchman, the Aussie is thus a narrow odds-on 4/5 favourite, and a repeat of their 2014 meeting in SW19 with Kyrgios coming through 3-2 is terrific value at 11/2.

Coral’s top tip: Take awesome 11/8 odds for Wawrinka to get past Goffin in straight sets.