What we learned from Wimbledon 2015: Serena and Djokovic to dominate?

Wimbledon is done for another year and, a Davis Cup tie with cross-Channel foes France to come over the weekend of July 18-10 apart, British interest in tennis will die down until the US Open at the summer’s end.

Reflecting on another glorious championships in SW19, Coral experts ask what punters, pros and fans have learned from Wimbledon 2015?

Serena slam is done, and history beckons!
There’s no great surprise when a favourite wins a major tournament like the grass Grand Slam, but WTA world number one Serena Williams shows no sign of slowing down at 33 as she now holds all four top prizes in this sport. Retaining the US Open will also ensure she achieves all these accolades within a calendar year.

Battling through illness at the French Open, there were just a couple of wobbles at Wimbledon, most notably against home hope Heather Watson, en route to taking the third major of the year.

That so-called ‘Serena slam’ done for the second time in her storied career, Williams is thus a worthy 11/10 favourite to keep hold of the US Open and the woman to beat. Better odds of 7/4 say she will win Wimbledon again next year.

When losing the second set in the men’s singles final against Roger Federer on a tiebreak 12-10 when he had earlier led the exchange 6-3, ATP world number one Novak Djokovic had a rare lapse in his ice cool, calm demeanour. Slamming his racket down, the Serbian was clearly rattled.

Being pegged back just acted as fuel to fire him up, however, to retain Wimbledon in four sets (it’s 5/4 he does so again in 2016). Federer was put down 6-4 6-3 in the remaining sets.

Djokovic cannot do the calendar Grand Slam like Serena as he slipped up in the French Open final, but he can possess three out of four majors all at once. As with Williams, he is a firm 5/4 favourite to continue his excellent 2015 with US Open glory at Flushing Meadows.

Federer and Nadal days are done?
Watersheds are a mixed blessing, but the winds of change cannot be controlled. Rafael Nadal made yet another early exit from Wimbledon, and ‘the king of clay’ is no longer invincible on his favoured surface either. It appears injuries have finally caught up with the Spaniard, who has been to the top of Grand Slam mountains 14 times.

Not only are Nadal’s days numbered, but how long can Federer at almost 34 keep reaching finals? His switch to a serve-and-volley tactic did not disguise how his first serve was failing him when he fell to Djokovic at the All-England Club for the second year running.

A glance at the odds suggest if there’s to be renaissance for either at the US Open, then Federer is the one to take at 6/1. Hard courts like those of Flushing Meadows will not be kind to Nadal’s knee, though it’s 11/1 he recovers from his mid-season disappointments to take that title.

What of Wimbledon next year? Federer, who will be closing in on 35 by then, is a 15/2 chance, while Nadal is 12/1.

Coral’s top tip: Serena is a superb price at 7/4 to retain Wimbledon in 2016.