Tennis best bets for Wimbledon – Friday, July 14th
Wimbledon is the third major of the tennis season and it’s arguably the most prestigious of the four. The All England Club in London, England is one of the most beautiful venues that the sport has to offer, and the exclusive nature of grass-court tennis gives it a different feel than the rest. With that out of the way, I’m hoping to continue dishing out winners over the final few days, so make sure you keep reading for my tennis best bets for Friday, July 14th. This one focuses on the men’s semifinals, where Jannik Sinner faces Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev takes on Carlos Alcaraz.
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Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic
Last year, Sinner went up 2-0 on Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and ended up losing in five sets. It was a brutal loss for the Italian, but it’s one that should give him the confidence he needs to push the Serbian in this semi-final matchup. Sinner is a better tennis player in 2023 than he was in 2022, with his improved serve being a big part of that. That weapon alone should keep him in sets until the very end, and he’ll just need to raise his level a bit in order to get himself on the scoreboard.
Djokovic has also been prone to dropping sets throughout this tournament — and really his career. Of course, the seven-time Wimbledon champion will be laser focused with a spot in the final on the line, but he lost at least one set to both Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev in his last two matches. Djokovic also should have lost one to Stan Wawrinka in the third round, but his old rival was unable to close out a third-set tiebreaker. Well, Sinner is head and shoulders above all three of those players, and he happens to have the type of game that can frustrate Djokovic. In the past, the 23-time Grand Slam champion has had his issues with big, powerful players. Sinner fits that bill and has great length and flexibility, which allows him to defend the court.
I’m not sure Sinner has what it takes to beat the best player of all time on his favorite surface, but he’s absolutely good enough to win a set or two. That’s why I like a bigger play on him to cover a 2.5-set spread.
Bet: Sinner +2.5 Sets (-145 – 2 units)
Daniil Medvedev vs. Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz beat up on Medvedev when the two met at Indian Wells earlier in the year, as he beat the Russian 6-3, 6-2 in a little over an hour. Medvedev looked completely lost in that match, as he tried to ditch his signature defense and tried being the aggressor. That completely blew up in his face, so I’d expect Medvedev to focus more on getting balls back and hoping that Alcaraz makes mistakes. However, I’m not expecting the Spaniard to do much of that, as he has been evolving as a grass-court player throughout the course of the tournament.
Alcaraz wasn’t very experienced on this surface coming into this grass-court season, but he won a title at Queen’s Club and is now through to the semifinals here. He has spent a lot of time on the court, learning the ins and outs of what it takes to win on grass. And I believe he put together his best grass-court performance in his quarter-final win over Holger Rune. Now, Alcaraz should probably be viewed as the second-best grass-court player in the world, and that’s important when you consider he’s playing a guy that isn’t all that comfortable on the surface.
I’m not sure Alcaraz will get through in straight sets, as he can occasionally lose focus with his serve and Medvedev is one of the best returners in the world. But I’d be very surprised if Medvedev pushes this thing to a fifth set, and I think we’ll get a highly anticipated rematch between Alcaraz and Djokovic in the final.
Bet: Alcaraz -1.5 Sets (-140)
