Murray not out for revenge

Andy Murray will put thoughts of revenge to the back of his mind when he takes on world number one Roger Federer in Sunday’s Olympic men’s singles tennis gold medal match (Federer 4/7, Murray 11/8 Match Betting with bet365).

Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, lifted his seventh Wimbledon title last month by beating Murray in an absorbing final. The Scot was left in tears but insisted his sole aim will be to win gold on centre court tomorrow.

“I want to try to win. I don’t think going into matches trying to get revenge for something that’s happened in the past really helps. I think you need to try and focus on the future,” said the 25-year-old.

“It’s going to be a tough match. I’ll need to play great tennis to win. I hope it’s a great match because the way the semi-finals went, the tournament deserves a great final. I hope we can provide that.”

Murray overcame Novak Djokovic to reach his first Olympic final, while Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro in the longest match in Olympic history. That could give Murray the advantage in the energy stakes (5/1 Murray to win 3-1 with bet365).

“I don’t feel tired at all. Mentally I feel really fresh. Normally after playing a match with Novak, you will feel a bit fatigued. I feel fine,” added the British number one.

“Anybody that knows me knows I won’t go into the match happy with just having a silver medal. I go into the match 100 per cent trying to win. I’ll give everything I can on the court.”

Murray looking for perfect match

Andy Murray is preparing for his first Wimbledon final and admits he is going to need to pull out a massive performance to beat Roger Federer on Sunday (Federer 8/15, Murray 13/8 To Win Match with bet365).

The Scot became the first British man in 74 years to reach the Wimbledon singles final when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-5 in two hours 47 minutes in front of a passionate Centre Court crowd on Friday.

Murray ended a run of three straight losses in the semi-finals and in Sunday’s final he will take on the 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer, who overcame defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 earlier in the day.

The British number one has made three previous Grand Slam finals and twice before he has lost to Federer at this stage, going down in straight sets at both the US Open in 2008 and in Melbourne in 2010.

Murray admits the Swiss master has an “unbelievable” record in the Grand Slams but he has learnt from previous meetings with Federer and is looking to get off to a good start in Sunday’s final (Federer 4/7, Murray 5/4 – First Set Winner).

“My coaches will watch his matches this week and some stuff from when I have played him before. I try not to watch before I play against him. I’ve seen some of his matches this week,” said Murray.

“So I just need to try to make sure I play a perfect match on Sunday.”

He added: “Ideally you want to try to get off to a good start. That would make a big difference, I’m sure.”

Fears over Radwanska illness

Agnieszka Radwanska is due to take part in her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon but illness could have put her match with Serena Williams in doubt (Radwanska 9/2, Williams 1/7 with bet365).

The 25-year-old beat Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals to become the first Polish player for 75 years to reach a singles final at Wimbledon but pulled out of her pre-women’s singles final press conference on Friday.

Radwanska (3/1 – First Set Winner with bet365) had also cut short her press conference after the semi-final win and this came just a day after she had withdrawn from the doubles competition on Wednesday.

A statement from a WTA spokesman at the time said: “She has pulled out of the women’s doubles due to a respiratory illness and is struggling to speak today.”

The WTA are declining to comment over whether she will be able to face four-time Wimbledon champion Williams in Saturday’s women’s final at SW19.

But going into a match with the destructive Williams (2/9 – First Set Winner with bet365) at anything less than 100% fitness would be a huge challenge for Radwanska.

The American was dominant in her 6-3 7-6 (8-6) over Victoria Azarenka, a game in which she hit a Wimbledon record of 24 aces and a total of 45 winners as she blew away her opponent.

Radwanska and Williams to contest final

Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska will face four-time champion Serena Williams in the women’s in the women’s Wimbledon final on Saturday.

Both players managed to see off their semi-final opponents in straight sets, with Williams securing a 6-3 7-6 victory over Victoria Azarenka and Radwanska a 6-3 6-4 win over Angelique Kerber.

Williams sealed the second and decisive set with an 8-6 win in a tie break and hit a record 24 aces in the match on Thursday.

Should a set in the final go to a tie-break, it seems unlikely Radwanska will be able to get the better of the 30-year-old American, who demonstrated why many feel she has the best serve ever seen in the women’s game in a powerful display against Azarenka.

Radwanska is 7/2 to win the final, while Williams can be backed at 1/5 and the two players head into the tie in fine form, having made light work of Kerber and Azarenka respectively.

Williams is a 13-time Grand Slam winner and has taken the top prize at SW19 on four separate occasions, the most recent of which came in 2010.  The American star also boasts a career Grand Slam, with at least one title in all four major events.

Radwanska, 23, will be competing in her first-ever Grand Slam final on Saturday but, after some early nerves, she didn’t seem to be affected when making a debut semi-final appearance on Thursday and should not be ruled out, although Williams will be confident of securing a fifth title at SW19.

Radwanska is 11/4 to win the first set, while Williams is 1/4 to win the opening set of the showpiece event.

Williams under no pressure

Serena Williams insists she is not weighed down by the burden of expectation and that she can go out and enjoy herself against Victoria Azarenka because she has “nothing to lose” (Williams 4/7, Azarenka 11/8 Match Betting – bet365).

The American has been here many times before having won the Wimbledon title on four previous occasions, while she is bidding to book her place in a seventh final at SW19.

Williams is now the 11/10 favourite in the outright betting with bet365 but she insists she feels under no pressure against Azarenka (12/5) who has the advantage of having an ‘unbelievable’ year.

The Belarusian won her first Grand Slam tournament in Australia and has climbed to number two in the rankings, while Williams is trying to battle her way back to the top following injury problems.

“She’s playing unbelievable and already having a Grand Slam under her belt is really great. She did it in such style, so it’s not going to be easy if I play her,” Williams said.

“It’s going to be another match where I have absolutely nothing to lose. I can just go out there and enjoy myself and have fun.

“Right now if Victoria beats me, she’s had a better year than I have.

“Going against a player like that, I feel like she almost has an advantage. So that makes me really relaxed and I can just kind of hit.”

Williams does have history on her side having won seven of eight previous meetings, including the last five as well as a comfortable straight sets win in their only match on grass – 6-2 6-3 at Wimbledon in 2009.

Murray not looking past Ferrer

Andy Murray insists he is fully focused on his quarter-final clash with David Ferrer and has not even thought about the possibility of winning Wimbledon this year (Murray 4/1 Wimbledon Outright with bet365).

The British number one breezed into the last eight with a straight sets victory over Marin Cilic on Tuesday, while Ferrer was equally impressive in downing Juan Martin del Potro.

The two stars will square off on Wednesday for the right to play either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semi-finals, after Rafael Nadal’s shock second-round exit at SW19 left the door open for someone other than the world number two to reach the latter stages for once (Ferrer 15/8, Murray 2/5 Match Prices with bet365).

The Spaniard has beaten Murray at the last-four stage for the past three years at the All England Club and his early exit this time around raised hopes that the British fans might finally see a home winner in the men’s singles for the first time since 1936.

But the Scot is refusing to get ahead of himself and admits that he has his hands full just trying to reach the semi-finals.

“It (the title) is so far away, it’s not something I’m thinking about, “he said. “Ferrer is playing the best tennis of his career. I need to play very well.”

Ferrer and Murray have played each other 10 times down the years and the head-to-head record stands at five wins each.

The Spanish seventh seed has won his last two outings against Murray and was too good for him at Roland Garros just a few weeks ago.

They have never faced each other at Wimbledon but Murray feels he will be a handful having already claimed one title on grass this summer.

“To me, he’s not a clay-court specialist,” he added. “He’s been in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, US Open and French Open, and now he’s starting to play better on grass.”

Ferrer targets Murray upset

David Ferrer has revealed he is hoping to spoil the party when he meets Andy Murray in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon (Ferrer 7/4, Murray 4/9 Match Betting with bet365).

The Spaniard confirmed his place in the last eight of the SW19 tournament thanks to a 6-3 6-2 6-3 straight-sets victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday.

Likewise Murray breezed through to the quarters after he was able to complete his 7-5 6-2 6-3 victory over the Croatian Marin Cilic in a game that took place over two days on Court One due to rain.

With the much fancied Rafael Nadal out of the tournament Murray’s (9/2 Wimbledon Outright with bet365) side of the draw is wide open and Ferrer is hoping he is the one to book his place into the semi-finals of the Grand Slam event.

He said: “I am trying to improve every day and of course, against these opponents, it’s difficult to beat them.

“It’s going to be very difficult to beat Andy on this surface but I will try to do my best and play like I did today.”

Advantage Djokovic, says top seed

Novak Djokovic, the 8/13 favourite to win Wimbledon 2012, has suggested tournament organisers may have done him a favour in his efforts to defend his SW19 crown.

The top seed and defending champion avoided the rain when beating Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-1 6-3 under the Centre Court roof on Monday in just 90 minutes and will now take on the winner of the match between Richard Gasquet and Florian Mayer.

The Serbia superstar has the rare luxury of putting his feet up on Tuesday, while home fancy Andy Murray (4/1 Wimbledon 2012 outright – bet365) is forced to go back out on Court One to complete his match against Marin Cilic.

The British number one was in front 7-5 3-1 when the weather took a turn for the worse and Djokovic said the extra day off could work in his favour.

“I was happy that I was on the Centre Court because of the weather conditions,” Djokovic said. “It is a relief to finish the match on time. Obviously it’s good for me to finish and to have a day of practice to get ready for the next challenge.”

Sharapova issues Lisicki warning

Maria Sharapova saw her Wimbledon dreams go up in smoke at the hands of Sabine Lisicki – then tipped her conqueror to take SW19 by storm (Lisicki 8/1 Wimbledon 2012 outright – bet365).

The top seed and world number one joined Kim Clijsters in exiting the third major of 2012 when crashing 6-4 6-3 on Court One to the fearless German.

The Russian, who beat Lisicki at the same tournament 12 months ago, had been bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2002 to win the French Open-Wimbledon double in the same year.

Next up for Lisicki is an all-German showdown against Angelique Kerber (Lisicki 13/8 Kerber 1/2 – bet365 match prices) in the last eight and Sharapova said she would not be surprised if she went all the way.

She said: “I had chances and didn’t take them. But a lot of the credit goes to my opponent.”

Sharapova added: “If she serves as well as she did today, and is as aggressive, there’s no doubt she can go all the way here.

“Anyone has a chance. Sabine has performed well here before so it’s not a big surprise that she can go out and play a great grass-court match.”

Rampant Lisicki eager for more

Sabine Lisicki admits she is already looking forward to her next match after taking care of pre-tournament favourite Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon on Monday (Lisicki 8/1 Wimbledon Outright with bet365).

Sharapova was tipped to go all the way at SW19 this year after winning her first French Open title and heading into the years’ third Grand Slam as the in-form player.

But she was unable to deal with the German’s powerful groundstrokes and crashed out in straight sets, with Lisicki now set to face compatriot Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals (Lisicki Evens, Kerber 4/5 Match Prices with bet365).

Lisicki needed three match points to get over the line and the 22-year-old admitted afterwards that she feels right at home at the All England Club and hopes to use her battling qualities to go even further in the event.

“It’s my favourite tournament. I love the grass and the crowd,” she said. “I am a fighter, I got to the last point, the last game was tough and I’m happy.

“I’m getting better with each match and am looking forward to another one.”

Kerber hammered four-time Grand Slam winner Kim Clijsters 6-1 6-1 to set up the clash with the 15th seed and is the slight favourite to triumph in their last-eight encounter.

But she is in unfamiliar territory, having never before progressed past the third round at the famous venue, and will face a much tougher opponent later this week, with Clijsters never as at home on the grass as she is at the other ‘Slams.