Wimbledon Tip: Falla v Mahut

The bookies may have their odds back-to-front for the round two clash between Nicholas Mahut (4/6 Coral) and Alejandro Falla (6/4 Bet365) scheduled for Wednesday.

Mahut is still best known to British fans as one half of the longest match in professional tennis history. In 2010 the Frenchman lost 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-7 68-70 to John Isner in a first round Wimbledon match that lasted over 11 hours. By coincidence, Falla has just beaten Isner in five sets to set-up this clash. After beating the top-ranked American in the draw, there’s no reason why he should fear his next opponent.

Mahut also took five sets to progress past round one but he should be beating the likes of Paolo Lorenzi, a man who has never won a Grand Slam match, with considerably more ease. Presumably the 30-year-old has assumed favouritism simply because of his higher ranking (65). But that reasoning if flimsy given that Falla (70) is virtually the same and was at a career-high of 50 in the world only a month ago.

The Colombian may not be a household name but he has had big moments at Wimbledon. He beat Davydenko a few years ago and in 2010 served for the match against the mighty Roger Federer. Having just claimed the scalp of Isner, I’m happy to side with him at best odds of 6/4 with Bet365.