The Wimbledon grand slam is the most famous grass court tournament in the World and as ever attracts lots of attention.  Not least because the amount of prize money on offer is very generous at £13,725,000.  Wimbledon runs from June 8th to July 8th, 2012 and is the oldest tennis tournament.

Wimbledon tennis is not like Golf majors where relatively unknown players can appear from no where and grab the title.  Wimbledon 2012 will be dominated by 3 players, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafal Nadal.

Federer’s recent form looks good shown by a vast improvement in the ATP rankings for 2012.  However, over a rolling 12 month period Federrer is ranked third behind Djokovic and Nadal.  Will Wimbledon 2012 herald a come back for Roger Federer?

Here are the current ATP Rankings – 2012 points only:

1. Federer 2,820
2. Djokovic 2,540
3. Nadal 1,800
4. Ferrer 1,405
5. Del Potro 1,315
6. Murray 1,280

Coming out of the French Open Rafal Nadal also looks to have good form.  But a clay court tournament is worlds apart from the grass court experience that Wimbledon will offer.  Can Rafal transfer his success at Roland Garros to Wimbledon?  Wimbledon is a physically demanding Grand Slam which could be too much for the Spaniard.

Predictions

Follow Milos Raonic to see if he plays Federrer at Wimbledon.  Raonic has a history of securing the first set against Federrer and then going on to lose. His style is to play short quick points which suits playing on grass courts.   This is great for Betfair traders looking to trade the odds when the underdog goes a set ahead against the favourite.  This is a common Betfair tennis trading strategy.

Based on recent form and ATP rankings perhaps Novak Djokovic shouldn’t be favourite for Wimbledon.  Betfair have Djokovic at odds of 2.8 not to win the final.  Odds for Rafal Nadal not to win could also be good value considering the tiring schedule he has had recently.  The old knee injury could cause him trouble at Wimbledon.

Roger Federrer has failed to win a Grand Slam in over 2 years but claimed his first title recently in Rotterdam.  He will be fighting to beat Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at No. 1 which was stolen from him by Nadal in June 2010.

Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic at the Dubai tennis but went on to be beaten by Federrer in the final.  Another good omen for the Swiss star.  Currently best odds for Federrer to win the mens title at Wimbledon stand at 5.8 which offers good value.  Betfair is recommended to back Federrer to win the tournament.  Even if he doesn’t win the odds for Federrer to win the tournament title will shorten as he progresses through the opening rounds.  The great thing about Betfair is that the bet can be ‘cashed out’ early, allowing punters to secure a profit even before the tournament has finished.  If the odds shorten the bet can be ‘cashed out’ for a profit.  Find out more from Betfair.