WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—The prospect of a British man winning Wimbledon for the first time since Fred Perry in 1936 is making betting shops busy.
Andy Murray of Scotland, second choice for the men’s title after Roger Federer, is driving unprecedented wagering this year.
Not even Englishman Tim Henman, a four-time semifinalist, stirred such heavy betting.
William Hill, a prominent British bookmaker, has Murray at 15-8 odds to win the title, with Federer at 8-11.
“We expect ‘Murraymania’ to put ‘Henmania’ in the shade, and for the first time we expect turnover to top 100 million pounds,” about $165 million, said Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill.
Other men’s odds at William Hill are: Novak Djokovic 10-1, Andy Roddick 14-1, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 18-1, Fernando Verdasco 33-1, Robin Soderling 40-1, and Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt 50-1.
Two-time defending champion Venus Williams leads the women’s odds at 3-1. Other odds: Serena Williams 9-4, Maria Sharapova 8-1, top-seeded Dinara Safina 9-1, Victoria Azarenka 12-1, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Carolina Wozniacki 14-1, Ana Ivanovic 16-1, and Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic at 25-1.
The new retractable roof on Centre Court has also attracted interest. Odds that the roof won’t be closed at all during the tournament are 10-1, while odds that the roof will be used every day are 33-1.
SHARAPOVA WARMUP: Maria Sharapova is dabbling in a second sport: American football. The 2004 Wimbledon champion, who had shoulder surgery in October, frequently tosses a ball when it’s time to practice tennis.
“I always do that just to warm up my shoulder,” she said.
Sharapova, who plays her first-round match Monday against Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine, said she feels like last year’s Wimbledon never really happened for her. She lost in the second round to Alla Kudryavtseva, then played in only one more tournament before sitting out the rest of 2008.
She started playing again in May and reached the semifinals on grass at Birmingham, England, in advance of Wimbledon.
She isn’t touting herself to win a second Wimbledon title this year.
“I think it’s a little too soon to put that in my mind,” Sharapova said. “I certainly know that I’m capable of it, and I think if I do the right things and I play the right way, there’s always a little bit of luck involved, as well.”
SERENA’S TWEETING: Here’s something Serena Williams could try that it seems safe to say other past Wimbledon champions such as Chris Evert, Billie Jean King or Althea Gibson never did during their heyday: Williams might just update her Twitter feed during a match at the All England Club.
“Maybe I’ll send a tweet from my chair when I’m playing: ‘Gosh, I shouldn’t have lost that game!”’ she said, smiling at the thought of it. Then, thinking better of it, Williams added: “But I think the umpire will probably stop me, thinking I’m getting coached.”
The 2002-03 Wimbledon champion said she planned to send an update after her official, pre-tournament news conference this weekend.
“I’m really into that,” Williams said. “Mostly because I want my fans to be able to relate to me.”
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