Tennis Betting Lines on Possible Williams Sister Final at Wimbledon

Tennis Betting Lines on Possible Williams Sister Final at Wimbledon

Written by on July 6, 2016

American tennis is a joke on the men’s side with no USA player even close to being among the top players in the world. But the women’s side still has sisters Serena and Venus Williams among the best in the world — with Serena perhaps the best ever. And the sisters could have another meeting in the finals of Wimbledon this weekend if both win their semifinal matches on Thursday. The two have met in four previous Wimbledon finals. Serena is a heavy favorite to advance on sportsbetting odds, but Venus is an underdog.

Closer Look at the Tennis Betting Lines on Possible Williams Sister Final at Wimbledon

Venus wasn’t supposed to reach the Wimbledon semifinals considering her age, recent health and performances, but here she is. At the age of 36, Venus on Tuesday handled another younger opponent, unseeded 28-year-old Yaroslava Shvedova 7-6 (5), 6-2 to advance to the semifinals at the All England Club. Williams, a five-time singles champion there, was playing her 12th Wimbledon quarterfinal. Her opponent, 96th-ranked Shvedova, was playing her first.

In her 19th Wimbledon, Venus tied the Open era record with 71 Grand Slam appearances. And then she became the oldest woman to advance to a major quarterfinal in 22 years, when Martina Navratilova made the final at the age of 37. Venus is in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2010 U.S. Open. In the six years since then, Williams was found to have Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. She also struggled with a back injury.

No. 8 Venus is a +195 underdog against No. 4 Angelique Kerber, a straight-sets winner over No. 5 Simona Halep 7-5, 7-6 (2). In a match with 13 service breaks, Kerber led that statistic 7-6 and, despite failing to serve out the match at 5-4, Halep’s level dropped away in the tiebreak that closed the 91-minute match. Kerber’s duel with Halep was a highly competitive and high-quality affair between two of the great movers and defensive players in the women’s game. Kerber remains the only woman in the tournament yet to drop a set.

Kerber leads the head-to-head against Venus 3-2 but the pair hasn’t played since 2014 and has only met once on grass, at the London 2012 Olympics.

Serena is a -1200 favorite against Elena Vesnina (+750). Serena, the top seed, beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4. Williams, the six-time and defending champion, had 11 aces and won 36 of 40 (90 percent) of her first-serve points. She did not face a break point and converted the only two she managed against Pavlyuchenkova. Unseeded Russian Vesnina thrashed Slovakian 19th seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-2.

At 34, Serena is five years older than Vesnina. Serena has now won 22 matches in the past four Slams, far ahead of her competitors. With two more here, she would collect her 22nd major singles title, matching Steffi Graf’s Open era record. Not only is Serena the oldest player to win a Grand Slam in the Open era (last year at Wimbledon), but she is also the oldest player to be ranked No. 1. For the first time since 2009, Serena and Venus have each reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Expert Betting Prediction

Love to see an All-Williams final. Serena should roll in straight sets as she’s 4-0 all-time vs. Vesnina, but take Kerber in three sets on betting odds to beat Venus.