Wimbledon Day One Tips: Dokic and the grass court veteran

Wimbledon Betting / Sean Calvert / 19 June 2011 /

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Jelena Dokic is in good form on grass, having made the final at s’Hertogenbosch in Holland this week

"The 28-year-old Australian takes a 3-0 head-to-head advantage into her
clash with French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone and at around
[2.3] she looks a good bet to inflict more grass-court misery upon the
Italian."

Former World Number One Jelena Dokic is more than capable of springing a surprise against a high-profile opponent whilst a seasoned pro can come good over a talented youngster who hates the green stuff.

The opening day of Wimbledon 2011 boasts its usual array of the sport's top talent, with the likes of Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, Venus Williams and Andy Roddick opening their respective campaigns.

As ever, I'll be hunting out the value bets and one such wager has presented itself on Monday in the women's draw in the form of Jelena Dokic.

The 28-year-old Australian takes a 3-0 head-to-head advantage into her clash with French Open finalist Francesca Schiavone and at around [2.3] she looks a good bet to inflict more grass-court misery upon the Italian.

Schiavone was a first round Wimbledon loser last year after winning the French and she also famously lost to Britain's Melanie South in 2006 when around [1.05] at the same venue.

She was a second round loser last week on the Eastbourne grass and her overall record on grass is poor compared with Dokic, who warmed up for Wimbledon perfectly by reaching the final at s'Hertogenbosch in Holland.

Of the pair's three meetings, only the last one was in recent memory and that was a Dokic win on hard-courts in Kuala Lumpur in March of this year. That suggests that on faster surfaces, she has the edge over Schiavone.

The former world number four has reached the semi finals at the All England Club before and with the Dutch confidence booster behind her, she stands every chance of causing an upset on Day 1.

On the men's side, I simply have to get involved with another odds-against shot that should prove profitable.

Rainer Schuettler loves his grass-court tennis and at 35-years-old, look to the German to grasp what could be his final opportunity in the singles with a win over grass-hating Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci.

Schuettler is a similar price to Dokic and at around [2.28] his consistent hitting and all-court game could well prove too reliable for the erratic Bellucci, who has only played nine matches on the green stuff in his career.

As far as Betfair Multiples go today, I like the look of Feliciano Lopez at around [1.22] to beat Michael Berrer, Mardy Fish to defeat Marcel Granollers at [1.17] and Milos Raonic over Fabio Fognini at [1.18]. You can back all three in a Betfair Multiple @ [1.57].

If you want to follow Sean's advice and back Jelena Dokic to knock out Francesca Schiavone you're definitely better off doing it on Betfair. If you backed the Australian for £10 and she came good, you'd win £12.80 (after maximum commission of 5% was deducted) compared to just £11.80 with Bwin.

To see how prices on Betfair for Wimbledon compare to those of other bookmakers on offer visit the Betchecker site.

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