British wildcard Charles Broom will face one of the toughest tests of his career today, when he takes on three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in round one of Wimbledon.
Broom will have the home crowd and youth on his side, while Wawrinka is a wily old veteran looking to get one last hurrah out of his career. Who prevails? Read on for our Broom vs Wawrinka prediction and betting tips.
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Player Form: Stark Contrast
The form of these two players couldn’t be more different. Wawrinka hasn’t played in over a month, having lost second round at the French Open.
Broom, on the other hand, has had a busy month. The world No 245 worked his way through qualifying at the Nottingham Challenger, upsetting big names like Lloyd Harris and Dan Evans en route to the final. Since then, he won another match at the Ilkley Challenger as well, upsetting Mikhail Kukushkin before losing in the second round.
How the Bookies View It: Wawrinka Ahead
Bookmaker Betfred has this as a tight clash, with Wawrinka just ahead in the betting odds. The Swiss pays 8/13 to win, while Broom is nearby on 13/10. Set betting favours Wawrinka in straight sets at 14/5, and gives him a -1.5 handicap at 8/11.
Recent Head-to-Head: Nothing to See Here
Broom and Wawrinka have not met before on the ATP Tour.
Anything Else Catch the Eye?
The contrast between experience levels couldn’t be more vast here. Broom is playing in just his second-ever ATP-level match, and has never played at a Grand Slam before.
Wawrinka, on the other hand, has played 227 Grand Slams, winning three of them. However, the Swiss is certainly at the back-end of his career, and has only won three matches in the first half of this season.
Broom will have the home crowd behind him, plus the freshness of playing in his maiden Grand Slam. Relatively speaking, he’s playing some of the best tennis of his life and will feel confident coming up against Wawrinka.
Broom vs Wawrinka Betting Tips & Predictions
This is a tough match to pick. Unfortunately for Broom and for British tennis fans, we expect that Wawrinka will prevail. However, Broom should give a good account of himself, and it would be no surprise if he claimed a set along the way.
- Wawrinka to win @ 8/13
- Wawrinka to win 3-1 @ 3/1
Broom and Wawrinka play second on No.2 Court this Monday, at approximately 1pm local time.
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