Get the strawberries and cream out, then settle in for a fortnight of Grand Slam tennis.
Wimbledon 2019 begins on the grass courts of SW19 at the All-England Club. This British sporting institution is a beloved part of the annual calendar.
While heavyweights like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have lit up tennis for so long, they are poor value in these early rounds.
One of the more competitive opening matches at Wimbledon, however, sees Leonardo Mayer of Argentina tackle Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis on Court 8 this Monday.
The pair are closely matched on previous meetings and in the betting. Both holds a hard court victory over the other, but this is their first encounter on grass.
Mayer sits 33 places above Gulbis in the ATP world rankings and matched his best-ever Grand Slam performance last month.
While that came on clay at the French Open, his Latvian opponent failed to qualify for Queen’s on this surface.
Mayer beats Gulbis gets vote
Mayer was far from disgraced at Roland Garros in reaching the last 16 and losing to all-time great Federer. He then skipped Eastbourne to stay fresh for this.
While an obvious punt is backing over 3.5 sets at 1/2 with Unibet, better value is on offer elsewhere.
Gulbis is back inside the world’s top 100 but some way off Mayer and has lost all three matches on grass this year.
His defeat by a Turkish wildcard at the Antalya Open suggests he’s not the force of old. That means Mayer beats Gulbis makes sense at 19/20 with Bethard.
Some bookies can’t separate the pair but there must be a winner and Mayer just shades it for us.
This one could go all the way, so settle in for terrific battle between these two.
Bet of the Day: 19/20 with Bethard, Mayer beats Gulbis in Wimbledon men’s singles round one.
