Wimbledon '08: Women's betting breakdown
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Women to watch at Wimbledon, which begins Monday (seedings and odds to win in parentheses):
ANA IVANOVIC (1, +470)
Age: 20
Country: Serbia
2008 Match Record: 27-6
2008 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 7
Major Titles: 1 - French Open ('08)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-Lost in semifinal, '06-Lost in 4th round, '05-Lost in 3rd round, '04-Did Not Play, '03-DNP
Topspin: Climbed to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time after beating Dinara Safina in French Open final for her first major title. ... Withdrew from this week's tournament at Eastbourne, England, citing mental fatigue and an injured right abductor muscle. ... Has reached the final in three of the past five major events. ... Lost to eventual champion Venus Williams in Wimbledon semifinals last year.
JELENA JANKOVIC (2, +1400)
Age: 23
Country: Serbia
2008 Match Record: 33-10
2008 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 6
Major Titles: 0 - Best Finish: SF at U.S. Open in '06, French Open in '07, Australian Open in '08 and French Open in '08
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-4th, '06-4th, '05-3rd, '04-1st, '03-DNP
Topspin: Lost to Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals at French Open, making her 0-4 in Grand Slam semifinals. ... Leads the women's tour in match victories this year.
MARIA SHARAPOVA (3, +270)
Age: 21
Country: Russia
2008 Match Record: 30-3
2008 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 19
Major Titles: 3 - Wimbledon ('04), U.S. Open ('06), Australian Open ('08)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-4th, '06-SF, '05-SF, '04-Won championship, '03-4th
Topspin: Semifinalist or better at eight of her past 12 majors, including two titles. ... Blew a big lead and lost to Dinara Safina in the fourth round of the French Open. ... Took over top ranking in May when Justine Henin suddenly retired, then lost it to Ana Ivanovic after the French Open.
SERENA WILLIAMS (6, +400)
Age: 26
Country: United States
2008 Match Record: 25-3
2008 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 31
Major Titles: 8 - Wimbledon ('02, '03), U.S. Open ('99, '02), Australian Open ('03, '05, '07), French Open ('03)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-QF, '06-DNP, '05-3rd, '04-Runner-up, '03-W
Topspin: Hasn't reached a Grand Slam final since winning the 2007 Australian Open. ... Most recent match was upset loss to Katarina Srebotnik in third round of French Open.
VENUS WILLIAMS (7, +500)
Age: 28
Country: United States
2008 Match Record: 14-7
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 36
Major Titles: 6 - Wimbledon ('00, '01, '05, '07), U.S. Open ('00, '01)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-W, '06-3rd, '05-W, '04-2nd, '03-RU
Topspin: Became the tournament's lowest-ranked women's champion at No. 31 with her victory last year over Marion Bartoli in the final. ... Hasn't played since third-round upset loss to Flavia Pennetta at French Open. ... Last made a final at Japan Open in October, but has reached Wimbledon final six of past eight years.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (4, +4000)
Age: 22 (turns 23 on June 27)
Country: Russia
2008 Match Record: 26-10
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 9
Major Titles: 1 - U.S. Open ('04)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-3rd, '06-QF, '05-4th, '04-1st, '03-4th
Topspin: Has beaten Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams this year. ... Lost to Dinara Safina in semifinals at French Open. ... Lost as top-seeded player at Eastbourne in the second round this week to Caroline Wozniacki.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT (25, +4000)
Age: 32
Country: United States
2008 Match Record: 21-4
2008 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 55
Major Titles: 3 - U.S. Open (1998), Wimbledon (1999), Australian Open (2000)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-DNP, '06-DNP, '05-RU, '04-SF, '03-QF
Topspin: Left the WTA Tour in late 2006 to have first child, and rejoined the tour last summer. ... Won titles this year at Auckland and Memphis, but skipped clay-court season and hasn't played a match in two months.
AMELIE MAURESMO (29, +6200)
Age: 28 (Turns 29 on July 5)
Country: France
2008 Match Record: 18-10
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 24
Major Titles: 2 - Wimbledon ('06), Australian Open ('06)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-4th, '06-W, '05-SF, '04-SF, '03-DNP
Topspin: Attacking style suits her well on grass. ... Lost to a qualifier in second round of French Open. ... Retired with a thigh strain Wednesday in the second round at Eastbourne.
Wimbledon '08: Men's betting breakdown
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Men to watch at Wimbledon, which begins Monday (seedings and odds to win in parentheses):
ROGER FEDERER (1, +120)
Age: 26
Country: Switzerland
2008 Match Record: 37-8
2008 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 55
Major Titles: 12 - Wimbledon ('03, '04, '05, '06, '07), U.S. Open ('04, '05, '06, '07), Australian Open ('04, '06, '07)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-Won Championship, '06-W, '05-W, '04-W, '03-W
Topspin: Aiming for a sixth consecutive singles title at the All England Club. In the past 100 years, only Federer and Bjorn Borg (1976-80) have won five in a row. ... Seeks his 13th major title, one shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14. ... Has won 59 consecutive matches on grass, the longest such streak in the 40-year Open era. ... Ranked No. 1 since Feb. 2, 2004, the longest consecutive stay atop the computer rankings. ... Won Wimbledon warmup in Halle, Germany, to match Sampras' Open-era record of 10 grass-court titles. ... Trying to rebound from French Open final, where he endured worst loss in his 173 Grand Slam matches, winning only four games against Rafael Nadal.
RAFAEL NADAL (2, +250)
Age: 22
Country: Spain
2008 Match Record: 49-7
2008 Singles Titles: 5
Career Singles Titles: 28
Major Titles: 4 - French Open ('05, '06, '07, '08)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-Runner-up, '06-RU, '05-2nd, '04-Did Not Play, '03-3rd
Topspin: Last week became the first Spanish man in 36 years to win a grass-court title, beating Novak Djokovic in the Queen's Club final in London after beating Andy Roddick in the semifinals. ... Title came one week after he became second man to win four consecutive French Open titles; Bjorn Borg did it from 1978-81. Victory over Roger Federer was most lopsided men's Grand Slam final since 1984. ... Has lost Wimbledon final to Federer the past two years, including a riveting five-set match in 2007.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC (3, +500)
Age: 21
Country: Serbia
2008 Match Record: 37-8
2008 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 10
Major Titles: 1 - Australian Open ('08)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-SF, '06-4th, '05-3rd, '04-DNP, '03-DNP
Topspin: Has lost to Rafael Nadal in his past three tournaments - the final at Queen's Club, the semifinals at the French Open and the semifinals at Hamburg. ... Semifinalist or better at each of past five major championships.
ANDY RODDICK (6, +3100)
Age: 25
Country: United States
2008 Match Record: 26-6
2008 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 25
Major Titles: 1 - U.S. Open ('03)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-QF, '06-3rd, '05-RU, '04-RU, '03-SF
Topspin: Missed French Open because of a shoulder injury. ... Has beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic this year, but lost to Nadal last week in semifinals at Queen's Club. ... Ranked second on tour to Ivo Karlovic with 380 aces.
NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (4, +22,000)
Age: 27 (28 on June 2)
Country: Russia
2008 Match Record: 41-10
2008 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 14
Major Titles: 0 - Best: SF at French in '05 and '07, U.S. in '06 and '07
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-4th, '06-1st, '05-2nd, '04-1st, '03-1st
Topspin: Ranks second to Rafael Nadal on the men's tour in match victories this year. ... ATP still investigating irregular betting on a match he played in August 2007.
DAVID NALBANDIAN (7, +6500)
Age: 26
Country: Argentina
2008 Match Record: 24-9
2008 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 8
Major Titles: 0 - Best: F at Wimbledon in '02
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-3rd, '06-3rd, '05-QF, '04-DNP, '03-4th
Topspin: Lost to Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 Wimbledon final. ... Lost to Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-0 last week in semifinals at Queen's Club. ... Reached at least semifinals at a major five times - but also failed to make it past fourth round at any of past eight Grand Slam tournaments.
RICHARD GASQUET (8, +6200)
Age: 22
Country: France
2008 Match Record: 13-12
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 5
Major Titles: 0 - Best: SF at Wimbledon in '07
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-SF, '06-1st, '05-4th, '04-1st, '03-DNP
Topspin: Played his only Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last year, losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. ... Missed French Open with left knee injury. ... Reached quarterfinals at Queen's Club last week before losing to David Nalbandian.
JAMES BLAKE (9, +22,000)
Age: 28
Country: United States
2008 Match Record: 30-14
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 10
Major Titles: 0 - Best Finish: QF at U.S. Open in '05, '06, Australian Open in '08
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-3rd, '06-3rd, '05-1st, '04-DNP, '03-2nd
Topspin: Reached semifinals at Wimbledon warmup in Halle last week before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber.
LLEYTON HEWITT (20, +17,000)
Age: 27
Country: Australia
2008 Match Record: 16-9
2008 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 26
Major Titles: 2 - Wimbledon ('02), U.S. Open ('01)
Last 5 Wimbledons: '07-4th, '06-QF, '05-SF, '04-QF, '03-1st
Topspin: Won title in 2002. Joins Federer as only past Wimbledon champions in the men's draw.