Roger Federer is yet to drop a set on his way to his 11th Wimbledon final but will surely find it much tougher when he faces Marin Cilic.
Federer is 9/50 to win a record eighth title at the All England Club and to become the oldest men’s singles Wimbledon champion of the open era.
There are reasons to think an upset is on the cards, though, and the first of our Federer vs Cilic betting tips is Cilic to win at least two sets at 2/1.
Hope for Cilic
Federer, as we predicted, beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets in their semi-final but he survived several tense moments on his way to a 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/4) 6-4 victory.
Berdych repeatedly targeted the Federer forehand and had a decent amount of success while he showed an unexpected deftness of touch at the net. But too often he made bad errors at important moments while Federer slipped up only once when shutting the door in his opponent’s face.
Cilic could be the man to push Federer all the way, though. He came within a whisker of beating Federer in the quarter-finals last year but spurned three match points before losing in five sets to the Swiss.
It is three years since Cilic broke the stranglehold of the game’s ‘big four’ to win the US Open and the Croatian is now eyeing a second major triumph.
“It would mean absolutely the world to me,” Cilic said. “I feel that when I won the US Open in ’14, it just opened so many possibilities in my mind for the rest of my career.
“To be able to do it again would definitely mean, I would say, even more, because I know how much it meant for me to win that first one. It would be absolutely a dream come true to win Wimbledon here.”
Cilic is yet to beat the big guns consistently enough when it matters and he has another chance to prove he is capable on Sunday.
He showed grit and determination to come through an awkward semi-final against Sam Querrey in four sets, rewarding backers of our 31/4 tip, but he will need to find an extra gear or three to overcome Federer.
At his best, he can trouble the veteran but knows anything less will be insufficient. Federer deserves to be the favourite but Cilic looks the value bet and our second Wimbledon men’s final prediction is Cilic to win at 15/4.
Finally, we’re backing a repeat of their Wimbledon meeting last year and are going for the match to go to five sets at 15/4.
