Novak Djokovic became the odds-on favorite to win his sixth Wimbledon title with Rafael Nadal announcing Thursday that he will skip the event to recover from a grueling clay-court season.
Djokovic was being offered at -109 by DraftKings and -110 by BetMGM and PointsBet shortly after Nadal’s announcement on social media. It was a significant change from just four days before, when Djokovic was the +110 favorite by BetMGM and +125 by the other two sportsbooks after winning his second French Open.
The most recent of Nadal’s two Wimbledon titles came 11 years ago, but he was still among the top four favorites at all three books after the French Open. The 20-time Grand Slam champion cited the quick turnaround for his decision.
Nadal lost to Djokovic on Saturday in a dramatic four-set semifinal. Wimbledon begins June 28.
Djokovic will attempt to equal Nadal and Roger Federer for the Open Era record with 20 Grand Slam titles. He is also the two-time defending Wimbledon champion after the event was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Federer withdrew from the French Open and failed to get past the second round of the Noventi Open in this week’s Wimbledon tune-up. He is being offered at +700 by BetMGM, with his odds lengthening from +700 to +800 by PointsBet and from +800 to +900 by DraftKings since Sunday, although he now has the fourth-shortest odds at all three.
The 39-year-old will be attempting to win his ninth Wimbledon title after missing most of 2020 to recover from knee surgery.
The two players right behind Djokovic in the odds are still seeking their first career Grand Slam singles titles.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas nearly claimed his first on Sunday, but was unable to hold off Djokovic after winning the first two sets in the men’s final. He is being offered at +500 by DraftKings, +550 by BetMGM and +600 by PointsBet.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has yet to get past the third round at Wimbledon. The 25-year-old did reach the finals of this year’s Australian Open, where he fell to Djokovic. He’s also coming off his deepest run at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarterfinals.
He is being offered at +600 by each of three sportsbooks, making him the co-second favorite at PointsBet with Tsitsipas.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem claimed his first Grand Slam title at last year’s U.S. Open. He has not gotten out of the third round at Wimbledon since 2017, and is the fifth betting favorite at all three books: +1200 at BetMGM and PointsBet and +1300 at DraftKings.
Djokovic on Sunday became the first player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams twice. He is also halfway to the calendar year Grand Slam.
–Field Level Media
