Wimbledon shock as Rafa Nadal crashes out
Spaniard beaten in stunning upset
Week two of Wimbledon started with a bang as one of the pre-tournament betting favourites crashed out on Monday. Rafael Nadal was eliminated by Gilles Muller in a heart-pounding five-set match that latest almost five hours.
That shock has blown the outright betting market wide open, and we now have Roger Federer as a convincing jolly, ahead of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the latter cut in price following an impressive win on Monday.
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Muller gives 100% to upset the odds
Rafa Nadal went into this year’s Wimbledon tournament with high hopes, having won the French Open already this year. Pushing for what would be a third title here, a first since 2010, our traders were keen to keep the 31-year-old close, but few would’ve correctly predicted the outcome of the Muller match.
34-year-old upstart Gilles Muller raced into a two-set lead, but had to battle for the win, Nadal fighting back to tie up at 2-2. The third and deciding set went to the wire, the man from Luxembourg eventually edging out his rival 15-13. The victor told fans at the conclusion that he had to give 100 per cent to get over the line.
Despite pulling off the biggest shock of Wimbledon 2017 so far, Muller is available at 33/1 with Coral to go all the way and lift the title. Now into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, something he has not achieved since 2008, Gilles has never gone any further than he is now at SW19. Value hunters may just see him as a man worth an interest. Following the win, which ended 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13, Muller will now face-off against seventh seed Marin Cilic for a place in the last four.
Price slashed on impressive Murray
Earlier in the day and Andy Murray was impressive when beating Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a delighted Centre Court audience. The defending champion was involved in a slog on Friday, and many expected him to struggle against Paire, but the weekend rest seemed to allow Murray the chance to recharge his batteries and he was simply unstoppable.
The Scotsman, aiming for a third Wimbledon gong, now sets his sights on American Sam Querrey on Wednesday. Our trading team don’t seem to fancy Murray to go on to win two in-a-row, but have been forced to cut his price from 11/2 to 10/3 following Nadal’s exit. He’s 1/6 to beat Querrey, the underdog going as a 4/1 play.
Fellow Brit Johanna Konta kept her dreams alive, moving into the quarter-finals with a Court One win over Caroline Garcia. That made Konta the first Brit to reach the quarters in 33 years. Will she go all the way? We’re 9/2 at the time of writing.
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