All eyes will once again be on the Big Four at Wimbledon 2017 as Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer compete for the prestigious Grand Slam championship. Which of those four do the top tennis experts see winning it all, and which other players do they see possibly sneaking up to take the title?
Unsurprisingly, ESPN‘s panel of six experts all went with one of the Big Four. But perhaps somewhat surprisingly, none have gone with World No. 1 and defending champion Andy Murray (+600). Instead, half have gone with Roger Federer – the big favorite at +200 – to add an eighth career Wimbledon title.
Despite his struggles, World No. 2 Novak Djokovic (+600) still got two votes, while French Open champion Rafa Nadal (+450) got the other one vote.
TENNIS.com
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CHAMPION
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Ed McGrogan
Marin Cilic
Brad Kallet
Roger Federer
Nina Pantic
Stan Wawrinka
Steve Tignor
Roger Federer
The four members of TENNIS.com‘s editorial staff had a couple of surprising answers. While 3/4 picked a Swiss, Nina Pantic didn’t pick the favorite Federer but instead went with Stan Wawrinka to come out on top at Wimbledon. She believes that Wawrinka’s confidence should still be high after his French Open final run, and that will carry over to him finally claiming the last Grand Slam left from his career collection.
Anyone willing to follow Pantic by wagering on Wawrinka can get him for low odds of +2,500,which means a simple $20 bet on him can return $500 if he wins.
Ed McGrogan’s pick of Marin Cilic (+1,600) was even more of a surprise, though. He likes Cilic’s chances at the bottom half of the draw, which he says features Murray and Nadal but few other threats. He also cites Cilic’s success on grass this year (6-2), and sees him adding to his one career Slam.
Sky Sports
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Barry Cowan
Roger Federer
Barry Billns
Roger Federer
Peter Fleming
Roger Federer
Mark Petchey
Rafael Nadal
Sky Sports‘ four experts were nearly unanimous in their picks, with Federer garnering three of the four votes. Mark Petchey, who believed picking Roger was “almost too easy,” was the lone dissenter with his pick of Nadal. The fact that Nadal was serving and hitting harder at the French, and that he’ll be coming into the tournament healthy, were his main reasons for liking the Spaniard’s chances.
