Wimbledon Betting / Ben Caudell / 29 June 2010 /

While the attention was on England's dismal World Cup campaign, Andy Murray has quietly gone about reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Tomorrow he faces a formidable opponent from across the pond - so can he restore some national sporting pride? Ben Caudell selects the best bets.

Jo Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) v Andy Murray (GBR)

With honours shared at two matches apiece between these two, there is a lot riding on this match, not least a semi-final against either Robin Soderling or Rafael Nadal. The majority of attention will be focusing on home favourite Andy Murray who by his own standards has performed well below par so far this year. He will have his work cut out against one of the most explosive tennis players on the tour and a player who on his day can outclass the very best.

Although Tsonga has had a few worrying moments so far, most notably when he squeezed past Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets, he remains a big threat on serve. His first serve has been key all tournament , he often uses the serve to set up a short return so that he can approach the net where he appears as good as any player left in the tournament. Tsonga is a superior athlete to Sam Querrey, Murray's previous opponent, so the Scot will need to find a rhythm early in the match and perform a lot better on serve if he is going to progress.

Murray won five of his last six matches when priced as a moderate favourite, he is 9-1 at Wimbledon and has won his last five matches against big servers. Tsonga has lost four in against top 10 players; he has also lost four of his last five matches when priced as a moderate underdog.

With the crowd behind him, Murray can win this contest, but he will need to produce a mighty performance.

Selection: Back Over 39.5 Games @ [1.82]
Back Jo Wilfried Tsonga Most aces @ [1.7]

Robin Soderling (SWE) v Rafael Nadal (ESP)

The 2010 French Open finalists meet on the grass courts of Wimbledon for the second time in their careers. Rafael Nadal, winner of their five set Wimbledon epic back in 2007, comes into this match with a 5-2 overall head-to-head lead.

We are all aware of Soderling's astounding achievement in defeating Nadal at the 2009 French Open - probably the greatest win of his career - but we should also remember that Nadal was struggling with knee problems that day and was nowhere near his best. That same year Nadal missed out on playing at the All England Championships due to injury; the Spaniard therefore hasn't lost a match at Wimbledon since the 2007 final against Roger Federer. He has, amazingly, reached the finals in his last three Wimbledon's appearances, winning the tournament in 2008. His recent record at SW19 - 23-2 - is bettered only by Roger Federer.

Soderling has been nothing short of revolutionary of late on the clay and indoor hard courts but he has never been past the quarter-final stage of the world's most prestigious tournament. He struggles with the lower bouncing balls on grass, which makes his ground strokes less effective. He is up against one of the best returners in the game and most stubborn of opponents. After struggling against David Ferrer in the previous round, I can't see him coping with Nadal. Therefore, I will be backing the Spaniard to make it through to the semi-finals once again.

Selection: Back Rafael Nadal @ [1.66] to Win match

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