A set down and facing two break points...the young British hope matched at 5/1 on Monday
Nearly £30 million was matched on betfair during Andy Murray's fourth round clash with Stanislas Wawrinka, making it the most traded last sixteen match on a balmy second Monday at SW19. The first men's single match on Centre Court with the roof in place provided threw up foreign conditions and a belter of a start to the Swiss, who raced into a first set lead. At one point, he was matched at a low of 2.68 to produce a famous upset.
However, Murray was only matched at an all time high of 1.6 (betfair) when a set down and facing two break points in the second set. The Scot got a second and third wind (despite the still air at Centre Court this evening) to take the second and third sets, although he made heavy weather of the fourth set, allowing Wawrinka to get back on track and take the match to a final set.
Despite the obvious fatigue from such a tight game, the British number one remains the clear second favourite (3/1 Blue Square) to win the tournament and make history. Some might argue that he's not playing particularly well and that the 8/11 (totesport) about Roger Federer landing a sixth Wimbledon title is a cracking bet. The world number two is expected to cruise past Karlovic into the semi-final on Friday, whilst Murray has a tricky tie against Juan Carlos Ferrero. It's surprising to see the Spaniard available at 100/1 (Paddy Power), especially with his quarter final opponent having endured such a late finish on Monday.
In the ladies competition, Dinara Safina beat Amelie Mauresmo after being a set down and then 3-0 down in the third set. The Russian was matched at a high of 80/1 (betfair) on the outright market, although the world number one is back into 10/1 (Ladbrokes) and shouldn't yet be discounted. The Williams sisters truly eased their way through to the quarter final stage with the siblings conceding just six games between them all afternoon.
The odds are saying Venus (7/4 Boylesports) and Roger could be dancing away come Sunday night, as they did two years ago. However, if you fancy seeing a bit more dollar for your dime, how about an American and Russian waltz with Roddick at 22/1 (William Hill) and Safina at 10/1 (Ladbrokes)?