29th Jun 2012 | Tennis
Wimbledon Tip: Almagro v Gasquet
The Spaniard has won all three previous clashes and is the better player based on rankings.
The bookies have priced up Richard Gasquet as firm favourite (4/7 Ladbrokes) against Nicolas Almagro (13/8 Bet365) but I think he’s very opposable.
I’m sure Gasquet is thought of as the more accomplished grass court player because he made the semi-finals here in 2007 and has had the odd memorable tussle with Andy Murray. But I would argue that both these two are still most at home on clay, so we shouldn’t just hold that against Almagro.
The main argument for siding with the underdog is that the Spaniard has a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Frenchman. That can be a big psychological advantage at this level. Furthermore, Almagro is the higher ranked player (11) and is pretty close to his peak on that criteria. Gasquet was flying five years ago (7) but his current ranking of 19 might suggest his best days are behind him.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 00:03 29th Jun, 2012 but subject to change
