2016 Olympic Tennis Odds
Along with golf, tennis will be one of the more familiar individual sports you can watch (and bet on) in the upcoming Olympic Games. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments kick off this Saturday and two of the biggest names in the sport will be looking to repeat as gold medalists. Unlike 2012, when the tournament was played on Wimbledon’s grass surface, the 2016 tournament will be played on a hardcourt surface.
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic will be looking to hold off Andy Murray to win his first Olympic gold medal. Djokovic has dominated the men’s tour, winning five majors since the start of 2015, but had a very disappointing showing at Wimbledon last month, falling in the third round. With a career grand slam under his belt, taking home an Olympic gold is on the small list of things he has yet to accomplish – and now is his best chance to do that.
Murray, who won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, is coming off his third major victory and looking to add to an already impressive resume. Murray defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets at Wimbledon last month and is in the prime of his career. Murray will not, however, have the home court advantage as he did in 2012 in his home country of Great Britain- which is something to take note of.
Some notable names that will not be playing are: Roger Federer (knee), Milos Raonic (health concerns), Tomas Berdych (health concerns), and Richard Gasquet (back).
On the women’s side, Serena Williams is hoping to repeat as champion after coming off a dominant performance at Wimbledon. Losing just one set in the entire tournament, Williams finished off Angelique Kerber in the finals to tie Steffi Graf for first with 22 Grand Slam titles in the open era.
Kerber is also having a great season, though. In addition to her second place finish at Wimbledon, she won her first grand slam this January at the Australian Open. She provides some great value at 10/1 compared to Serena’s near even-money payout.
Garbine Muguruza, the third seed in the tournament, has the second best odds at 5/1. Muguruza is coming off a disappointing Wimbledon in which she lost in the second round. However, she beat Serena Williams this year at the French Open to take home her first career major.
Some notable names to withdraw from the women’s tournament include: Simona Halep (health concerns), Victoria Azarenka (pregnancy), and Belinda Bencic (wrist).
Both tournaments will take place throughout the first week of the Olympics, with the women’s final taking place on Saturday the 13th and the men’s final taking place the following day.
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