Wimbledon Betting / Gary Boswell / 19 June 2010 /

The following are The Boz's top five to turn over the odds in the 2010 Wimbledon women's singles first round draw...

Sybille Bammer [2.26] v Roberta Vinci [1.78]

The odds look the wrong way round in this one. Thirty-year-old Austrian Sybille Bammer is ranked 49 at present whilst Italian Vinci is slightly lower at 51. The head to head greatly favours Bammer at 2-0 and both victories were clear straight set calls so although it is obviously tight, my margins clearly give the game to Bammer and the price on offer is thus generous and excellent value.

Trying to understand why the match has been priced as it has, I'm assuming punters consider Vinci the in-form player and Bammer the less effective on grass but I'm not sure I agree either view. The Austrian has an all round game and, whilst Vinci has been notching good results throughout 2010, Bammer cannot be deemed out of form. Her experience will stand her in good stead to create a shock.

Anna Chakvetadze [2.6] v Andrea Petkovic [1.58]

If you followed my tip for Chakvetadze at Roland Garros you might not fancy this bet after the Russian did her bottled it yet again when match point to the good. But she's ranked 111 when 11 would be a better interpretation of her true worth. That mental yip is a serious worry for such a talented player but she showed no sign of it when beating Petkovic in straight sets on grass at Birmingham last week. Grass was always Chakvetadze's surface so maybe that confidence booster will prove the catalyst. Her opponent is a big server and also has a grass game but she has movement limitations which Chakvetadze exposed in Birmingham. Because of the current ranking, we are getting value odds. So long as those yips don't return.

Monica Niculescu [2.9] v Gisela Dulko [1.47]

Romanian Niculescu, ranked 139 in the world, is a good price to upset the 42 ranked Argentine, who blows hot and cold in tournaments and has been blowing largely lukewarm throughout 2010. They have one previous encounter on the hard at Toronto in 2009, which was won by the Romanian. She is the value call to repeat that feat here..

Mariya Koryttseva [4.2] v Kristina Barrois [1.3]

The 122 ranked Ukranian Koryttseva is a genuine outsider to beat 74 ranked German Barrois but by no means a no-hoper and in fact holds a 2-1 head to head plus that has had me scratching my head a bit. I couldn't see where the advantage could lie, having seen both play several times (but never against each other) so I went to the video archive and unearthed a simple tactical ploy that Koryttseva used both times to sink the organised German. She successfully got inside Barrois' head with largely non-tennis tactics which she will presumably call on again at Wimbledon. Barrois has a volatile temperament and will be vulnerable again.

Anna-Lena Groenfeld [3.35] v Dinara Safina [1.34]

Safina was world number one 18 months ago but has imploded since. She's down to 21 now and although she's blitzed Groenfeld off the court on three occasions there have been two other encounters when the German won in three hard fought sets. The players are quite equally matched, they have similar games and I don't expect Safina to plain sail this in current form. She seems a false price based purely on her previous ranking gained from getting to two Grand Slam finals. Her confidence has been sapped and I wouldn't take the odds on her to win this for any money.

Recommended bet is level stakes singles all five

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