ATP Tour tips: Alexander Zverev is looking good on grass at the Halle Open
- Derek Bilton
- 22 June 2023
Planet Sport's tennis tipster Derek Bilton turns his attention to the Halle Open where German Alexander Zverez is ramping up his preparations for Wimbledon.
With Wimbledon now just around the corner, it is probably a nice time to remember a legendary SW19 punt from two decades ago that ultimately helped Oxfam cop for £100,000.
Reclusive UK punter Nick Newlife placed a ballsy £1,520 wager in 2003 on Roger Federer to have won Wimbledon seven times by 2019, at spicy odds of 66/1.
Those odds obviously look amazing in hindsight given how dominant 'The Fed Express' ended up being on grass. However, when this bet was struck in 2003, he had only the one Wimbledon title, beating Andy Roddick in the semi-finals and Mark Philippoussis in the final.
Nick, from Oxford, was obviously impressed and immediately got on the phone with William Hill to ask for odds that the Swiss would go on to win a record-breaking seven or more titles before he retired.
Sadly, Nick was unable to appreciate Federer's 'Magnificent Seven' as he died in February 2009, at the age of 59.
However, like a Netflix movie, there was an insane plot twist. When his will was revealed, it emerged that old Nick did not have any family or friends but had been prudent enough to leave a bequest to Oxfam - which included the Federer wager.
So when Andy Murray famously fought back the tears after being beaten 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in 2012 - as the Swiss master won a record-equalling seventh men's singles crown - Oxfam were slightly less upset after the bet landed to win them £101,840!
I can't promise you a 66/1 winner this week, but Alexander Zverev might be worth a small interest to win Halle this week.
German ace Zverev, the No 9 seed, beat Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2 6-4 on Wednesday evening to advance to the quarter-finals at the Owl Arena/Gerry-Weber-Stadion.
It was a pretty dominant showing by Zverev, against a former Wimbledon semi-finalist in Shapovalov. He gets Nicolas Jarry next, and while the pair are 2-2 against each other lifetime, all those meetings have been on clay and they have never met on grass.
Jarry caused a huge shock as he knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier this week, but Zverev has looked at his destructive best in Germany and starts as a healthy favourite for their Friday quarter-final.
Daniil Medvedev is a 15/8 favourite with Planet Sport Bet to win Halle but while a precocious talent, he rarely does the business on grass. The World No. 3 has never gone beyond round four at Wimbledon and is candid enough to admit he finds the surface the most difficult to play on.
Zverev has not won an ATP title since 2021 (he won six that year) but in mitigation the big German suffered a shocking ankle injury during the 2022 French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal. That kept him out for the rest of the season but he is very much back now and bringing the energy.
There would be no more popular winner in Halle this week and he looks worth a punt at 4/1, a price that might even tempt that old maverick Mr Newlife if he was still with us.
