Williams Sisters Bow Out

The women’s draw at Wimbledon was decimated on Monday as three of the favourites crashed out. Serena Williams saw her defence come to an end 6-3 7-6 at the hands of Marion Bartoli. The French woman is now 9/1 with Totesport to go all the way. Venus followed her sister out the exit door after losing, again in straight sets, to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-3 - an exact repeat of their quarter-final last year. Last year’s semi-finalist is now 22/1 with Boylesports.

World number one Caroline Wozniacki again failed to deliver in a Grand Slam event as she exited 1-6 7-6 7-5. Dominika Cibulkova sprung that surprise but is still regarded as a total outsider at 40/1 for the title with sportingbet. The bookies have hardened their resolve that Maria Sharapova will grab a second Wimbledon crown at a best price of 9/4 with the same firm.

The big news on the men’s side is that Rafa Nadal could be forced out through injury after he progressed 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-4 against Juan Martin Del Potro. The defending champion is 5/2 with VictorChandler pending an MRI scan on his foot on Tuesday. Andy Murray is scheduled to meet the Spaniard in the semi-finals if both men progress through one more round each. The British favourite is 5/1 with StanJames after a commanding straight sets win over Richard Gasquet 7-6 6-3 6-2.