The tennis betting experts at Point-Spreads.com really like the look of Serbian siren Jelena Jankovic for the forthcoming Wimbledon tennis championships. Jankovic is currently an 8 to 1 shot with Sportsbook.com.
Jankovic upset the rankings to win her first grass-court title as she beat former Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova in the recent DFS Classic in Birmingham.
The 22-year-old Serb has surged to number three in the world on the back of her best-ever season. And she came from behind to beat the top-seeded Maria Sharapova 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the Wimbledon warm-up tournament. It was her first win in four clashes with the 20-year old Russian on the WTA Tour.
"I grew up with Jelena," said Maria Sharapova. "We practiced for a couple of years together. We were always competing in junior tournaments in Florida and we always had battles when we were young. Everyone expected great things from her. Success comes later for some and she's taken some time to develop. I think a lot of people knew she was going to be a great player because she had potential from when she was young. Things come together and you just never know when. This has probably been one of her best years."
Jankovic had been the more impressive tennis player throughout the build-up to the Birmingham final even though she isn’t totally familiar with grass.
Her title success this year came on hard courts and clay in Auckland, Charleston and Rome and she arrived in Birmingham with no pressure to succeed.
But her win over Sharapova means she’s definitely a force to be reckoned with on grass.
Sportsbook.com has posted tennis betting odds to win the Wimbledon Ladies Title:
Serena Williams: 5-2
Justine Henin-Hardenne: 3-1
Maria Sharapova: 4-1
Jelena Jankovic: 8-1
Amelie Mauresmo: 9-1
Nicole Vaidisova: 12-1
Venus Williams: 12-1
Ana Ivanovic: 12-1
Svetlana Kuznetsova: 25-1
Martina Hingis: 40-1
Nadia Petrova: 40-1
