Wimbledon men's singles predictions and tennis betting tips: Back Brits

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the men's singles matches on day one of Wimbledon.

Where to watch

BBC1, BBC2 & BBC red button, from 11am, Monday

Best bets

Andy Murray to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili
1pt 19-20 Hills

Over 37.5 games in Dan Evans v Feliciano Lopez
1pt 4-6Betfair, Paddy Power

Jack Draper +10.5 games v Novak Djokovic
1pt 7-10 Hills

Benoit Paire to win at least a set v Diego Schwartzman
2pts 10-11bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

Sebastian Korda +1.5 sets v Alex de Minaur
1pt 4-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

Preview

Wimbledon returns – gosh, how we missed it last summer – and punters can welcome back a good friend and institution by backing the Brits on the opening day of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

The All England Club closed its gates due to the coronavirus pandemic last year, but it is starting out with 50 per cent capacity with intentions to rise to capacity audiences as it nears the final weekend.

Andy Murray v Nikoloz Basilashvili

Andy Murray is an ever-so-slight outsider for his Wimbledon first-round clash with Nikoloz Basilashvili and considering the Scotsman has played little competitive tennis and the fine form his opponent has been showing this season, that's perhaps not too surprising.

However, this match has been scheduled for the last match on Centre Court and it will be hugely disappointing if Murray has not prepared properly for an outing in which he will be advertising his wellbeing having claimed a place in the British Olympic squad.

Punters who backed Basil, as he is known, blindly for titles in recent years have probably retired on their yachts by now – the Georgian has been at it again this season.

But while regular tennis bettors will know how underrated Basilashvili has been by bookmakers, he's no world-beater. And if Murray's fitness is anywhere near the level it should be at, he can win his opener.

Murray has played only ten competitive matches this year and that's not a positive, but he was stopped by top-ten opponents in Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini in his last two tournaments in Rotterdam in March and at the Queen's Club earlier this month – a huge gap without playing – and the two-time All England Club champion can be given the benefit of the doubt in his attempts to survive his opener.

Dan Evans v Feliciano Lopez

Dan Evans' clash with Feliciano Lopez looks highly likely to go long and the best bet is to go over the total games.

Both men are playing well. Evans is the oddsmakers' favourite, but Lopez is such a good grass-court performer that the Birmingham battler is no certainty to triumph.

Lopez, a superb server who is no stranger to tiebreaks, is likely to ensure that sets are long too, another pointer for those getting long of total games.

Evans makes little appeal for a quick victory and the biggest threat to the predicted long game could be the Spaniard, champion at the Queen's Club in 2017 and 2019, obliging in three close sets.

Novak Djokovic v Jack Draper

Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming title favourite this year after his superlative French Open triumph, but the world number one opens the show-court proceedings this year up against a promising young Briton in Jack Draper.

The son of former Sport England and LTA supremo Roger Draper, the wild-card entry went well at Queen's Club recently, defeating Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik in his first two main-tour victories before falling to Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic's experience and greatness are obviously likely to tell in the long haul, but the 19-year-old Draper looks as if he has a decent temperament and could keep it close for a set or two against the world's best player.

Diego Schwartzman v Benoit Paire

The bet of the day could be backing Benoit Paire to fare better than the oddsmakers expect against Diego Schwartzman.

Paire has been shambolic on court for much of the season, but the fact that the 6ft 5in outsider, who was ranked 18th in 2016, has been priced up at around 6-1 for his opener against his diminutive opponent is an insult to a player who has produced decent tennis on the London lawns.

The Frenchman has reached the last 32 at least in his last three visits to Wimbledon – he made the last 16 in two of those – losing to luminaries Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Roberto Bautista Agut. Schwartzman, meanwhile, competed in the third round at the All England Club for the first time in 2019 but only won his first main-draw match there a year earlier.

Paire is odds-against to win at least a set, which looks overpriced.

Sebastian Korda v Alex de Minaur

Alex Minaur has been advised as value to win his opening quarter of the draw, but the Australian faces a difficult opener against Sebastian Korda and the outsider is worth an interest with a handicap pull of 1.5 sets.

Both players look special talents who are booked to climb higher in the rankings, but while De Minaur goes into the major on a high after winning in Eastbourne last week, the fact Korda will be fresher for his opener could help him to keep it close.

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