Wimbledon is now Roger Federer’s to lose and he is the clear 7/20 favourite to win his second grand slam of the year ahead of his semi-final against Tomas Berdych.
The Swiss beat Milos Raonic in straight sets in the quarter-finals while the rest of the ‘big four’ – Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic – have all crashed out.
Raonic had stunned Federer in the semi-finals last year but Federer looks a very different player this year and his decision to focus on winning Wimbledon is paying dividends.
He has not dropped a set all fortnight and has to be backed to ease through to the final once again. The first of our Federer vs Berdych betting tips is for Federer to win in straight sets at 3/4.
Fed flying towards final
Federer appears to have worked out how to play against Berdych having won their last seven meetings, with five of the last six being in straight sets.
That included at the Australian Open earlier this year when Federer eased to a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win. It is in stark contrast to a few years ago when Berdych won five of their eight meetings between 2010 and 2013.
Finding different ways to beat an opponent is one of the reasons why Federer has been at the top of the sport for so long and he knows that will be the key to him winning a record eighth Wimbledon title.
“Being the favourite or not the favourite doesn’t matter,” said the 35-year-old. “These other guys are all big hitters. I feel like they will have their word in the outcome of the matches.
“All three guys are taller and stronger than I am. I’ve got to figure out a different way, carve my way through the draw somehow with my slice and my spins, my consistency maybe. I’m looking forward to doing that.”
Berdych is the 5/1 underdog and can be backed at 91/100 just to win a set but Raonic gave him little reason for optimism when reflecting on his quarter-final defeat to Federer.
“He’s doing a lot of things well,” said the Canadian. “He kept a very high gear the entire time without giving many real glimpses. I think that was the most sort of defeating thing.”
Federer has won the first set in his last six meetings with Berdych, only once needing a tie-break. To complete our Federer vs Berdych predictions, we fancy the first set to last 9-10 games at odds of 11/10 and Federer to win it 6-4 looks worth a bet at 31/10.
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