Friday’s Wimbledon tips: Nadal v Djokovic could be an SW19 epic
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Preview and odds for men’s semi-finals
It’s been a scintillating couple of weeks at Wimbledon, but today’s men’s semi-finals might up the ante yet again.
First up is big hitting duo John Isner and Kevin Anderson. The pair, standing at 6ft 10in and 6ft 8in respectively, have been the surprise packages at SW19.
That’s followed by Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic. The duo boast 29 Slam titles between them, and will be meeting for the 52nd time.
The Coral News Team are on hand to today’s top tennis tips…
Kevin Anderson v John Isner – Over 4.5 sets @ 2/1
It’s remarkable that Kevin Anderson and John Isner are in the semi-finals. They’re 32 and 33-years-old respectively, and have reached just one Slam final between them.
They’re two of the tallest players and harders hitters on the ATP Tour however, and that’s come through in spades at Wimbledon.
This should be an ace-fest, and could be a long one. Isner has previous here as one half of that famous three-day slot with Nicholas Mahut in 2011.
The head-to-head reads 8-3 in Isner’s favour, but they haven’t met since 2015 and never before in a five-set tournament. Anderson has perhaps been the better player so far, but this will be a mightily close contest.
Of their last 16 sets contested together, 10 have gone to a tie-break, and that pretty much says it all. Over 48.5 games is 10/11. Coral traders also make each player 10/11 to prevail.
Rafael Nadal to beat Novak Djokovic @ 10/11
Those with centre court tickets are in for a treat later, when Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic do battle. Whoever wins will be the strong favourite to win Sunday’s final.
The pair came through the early rounds with ease, before stepping it up in the quarters. Nadal saw off Juan Martin del Potro in a five-set thriller, while Djokovic consummately downed Kei Nishikori in four.
It’s 26-25 in Djokovic’s favour in the head-to-head, but this will be their first grass meeting since the 2011 final. The Serbian won in four sets that day, but seven years on his battles with injury should give the King of Clay the upper hand.
That’s advantage is possibly countered by Nadal’s quarter-final match taking almost five hours, but the Spaniard should still have the edge. There’s 10/11 apiece in the match betting, with 9/4 saying this second semi goes to five sets.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
