Wimbledon: Djokovic clear favourite for seventh heaven, as Jabeur aims for history

Three first-time finalists

Wimbledon comes to a climax this weekend, with the Men’s Singles final taking place on Sunday after the Women’s Singles final on Centre Court 24 hours earlier.

Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina meet in the ladies’ final, with both reaching this stage of such a prestigious competition for the first time.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is a familiar face in the gents’ final as he chases his seventh title at the All England Club. Up against him is the maverick Nick Kyrgios, another first-time finalist.

Djokovic to outlast Kyrgios

Djokovic clearly starts as favourite in the Men’s Singles. He began the tournament as the odds-on favourite and that position is only strengthened as he stands only three sets from the title. Playing in his first grass-court event of the year, he has not been flawless but he has been able to respond impressively to adversity.

Indeed, Djokovic has dropped sets in each of his last three outings, including his semi against Cameron Norrie. Ultimately, though, he has been able to step up a gear and in eight of the last nine sets he has won, his opponents have not even reached four games. When he is winning, he is doing so big.

Kyrgios, meanwhile, has had an eventful couple of weeks. He has twice gone the distance but the unseeded Aussie has had a fairly straightforward time of it since Brian Nakashima took him to five on Monday. Two days later he swept past Carlos Garin in three sets then enjoyed a walkover against Rafael Nadal.

He has admitted he has slept terribly, however, so nerves may be a factor, and it will be difficult for such a mercurial figure to turn the match around if he has a slow start. Djokovic, though, has dropped the opening set in each of his two previous outings.

Interestingly, the head-to-head is 2-0 in Kyrgios’ favour, so he should approach this match with some confidence, even if both those previous meetings were on hard courts and were back in 2017.

Backing the underdog to win at least a set looks a strong bet at 1.55, but Djokovic’s ability to cope with adversity could be crucial in what promises to be a lengthy encounter. Back the Serb, who posts an unbeaten Wimbledon record stretching back to 2017, to take it in over 38.5 games at 2.54.

Novak Djokovic is aiming to win his seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday when he faces Nick Kyrgios in the men's singles final

Jabeur set for history

Ons Jabeur is bidding to become the first Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title and she starts as favourite in Saturday’s clash with Elena Rybakina, who upset Simona Halep in the semis to move into her first major final.

This will be the first meeting of the pair in 2022 and also their first meeting on grass, but their previous three matches have been close-fought. Two have gone all the way to three sets while the other was decided as Rybakina retired hurt while trailing midway through the second set.

There is little doubt that Jabeur has the greater pedigree on grass, having won all of her 11 matches on the surface. Meanwhile, she has shown a capacity to cope with adversity that Rybakina has not really been drawn into yet at the All England Club.

Jabeur has only dropped three sets in her winning run, and she responded to these setbacks by twice claiming the subsequent frame 6-1 and on the other occasion doing so 6-2. 

Meanwhile, she has overcome four top 40 opponents on grass this season while Rybakina has only had to beat Halep. Look for this to be a close-fought match but for Jabeur to have too much.

Recommended bets

Djokovic and over 38.5 games @ 2.54

Kyrgios at least one set @ 1.55

Ons Jabeur @ 1.74

Rybakina/Jabeur over 21.5 games @ 1.8