Wimbledon 2019: Day five betting previews & free tips

Third round
From 11am Friday (1pm Centre Court & Court One)

Singles title favourites Novak Djokovic and Karolina Pliskova top the bill on the first day of third-round action at Wimble­don but 15-year-old qualifier Cori Gauff, who has been hogging the headlines with some superb performances, could again be the one to watch.

Djokovic, still embroiled in off-court political disputes, is a hot favourite to silence Hubert Hurkacz, while Eastbourne champion Pliskova's run shows no sign of stopping and she next meets Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh.

Hercog v Gauff

Bookmakers are control freaks – they love to be in command of the markets they produce – but that was not the case when they priced up Gauff's third-round clash with Polona Hercog.

After the American teenager's 6-3 6-3 victory on Wednesday night over Magdalena Rybarikova, a successful grass-court performer with an Edgbaston title and a Wimbledon semi-final appearance to her name, BBC pundits John McEnroe and Tim Henman, after learning that Hercog had upset Madison Keys 6-2 6-4, asserted that Gauff would be favourite to win her last-32 match.

The outright betting backs up their beliefs – Gauff is 14-1 to lift the Venus Rosewater dish while her 28-year-old Slovenian opponent is 300-1.

Yet the first bookmaker to issue prices on their rumble pitched Gauff at odds-against at 11-8, similar to the way they were betting prior to her clash with Rybarikova. It didn't take long before the quotes flip-flopped.

This is new ground for the oddsmakers. It's uncomfortable for them because they have so little to go on in their attempts to assess the prodigy. At the same time, these are hugely exciting times for punters and, in particular, anyone who backs Gauff.

At this stage of her career Gauff has achieved more than her idols Serena and Venus Williams had. She is some player – we could be witnessing one of the finest talents the sport has seen – and the power she packs into her groundstrokes, the product of an intense, committed training regime, is incredible.

Of course, Gauff is no certainty to defeat Hercog, whose shrewd coach Zeljko Krajan says is playing at or near her peak. But if Gauff reproduces the form and temper­ament she showed when defeat­ing five-time Wimbledon champ Venus and Rybarikova, then she is big value to continue her dream run in London.

Recommendation
C Gauff
3pts 8-13 general

Back C Gauff with Paddy Power

Opelka v Raonic

Milos Raonic did well to eliminate Robin Haase in straight sets in round two because the Dutchman had started well at Wimbledon, but the Canadian may meet his match in Reilly Opelka.

American giant Opelka is made for Wimbledon – he's 6ft 11in tall and fires down bullet serves. The way he has performed in the course of defeating Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-3 7-6 6-1 and three-time major hero Stan Wawrinka 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4 8-6 suggests he could knock the orthodox Raonic out of his comfort zone.

Raonic, whose 7-6 7-5 7-6 victory over Haase followed a routine triumph over Prajnesh Gunneswaran, is an accomplished performer and what he does, he does well. But he's also a bit of a flat-track bully on court and Opelka may have the talent and belief to surprise the 15th seed.

There may just be a shade of handicap value in Opelka winning at least two sets.

Recommendation
R Opelka +1.5 sets
1pt 5-4 Coral

Other matches

Benoit Paire was considered as a recommendation to see off Jiri Vesely, but it's difficult to be confident about the Frenchman doing the business.

Vesely, who ousted Alexander Zverev, comes alive during the grass season and even though Paire has won four of the previous five sets the duo have contested, the fact that the Czech has just the one set triumph to his name is enough to prevent a bet.

Paire, who is enjoying a fine campaign with clay-court titles secured in Marrakech and Lyon, may still have enough to win but Vesely is a serious underachiever given his ability and power.

Danielle Collins can also be considered to win at least a set against Petra Martic.

American Collins is by far the more aggressive of the pair and that may help her to compete with greater reward.

That said, Martic, who can be something of a shrinking violet on court, is a sublime talent on grass and quite capable of posting a quick win.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport