Bets on Murray

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The prospect of a British man winning Wimbledon for the first time since Fred Perry in 1936 is making betting shops busy.

Andy Murray of Scotland, second choice for the men’s title after Roger Federer, is driving unprecedented wagering this year.

Not even Englishman Tim Henman, a four-time semifinalist, stirred such heavy betting.

William Hill, a prominent British bookmaker, has Murray at 15-8 odds to win the title, with Federer at 8-11.

“We expect ‘Murraymania’ to put ‘Henmania’ in the shade, and for the first time we expect turnover to top 100 million pounds,” about $165 million, said Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill.

Other men’s odds at William Hill are: Novak Djokovic 10-1, Andy Roddick 14-1, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 18-1, Fernando Verdasco 33-1, Robin Soderling 40-1, and Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt 50-1.

Two-time defending champion Venus Williams leads the women’s odds at 3-1. Other odds: Serena Williams 9-4, Maria Sharapova 8-1, top-seeded Dinara Safina 9-1, Victoria Azarenka 12-1, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Carolina Wozniacki 14-1, Ana Ivanovic 16-1, and Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic at 25-1.

The new retractable roof on Centre Court has also attracted interest. Odds that the roof won’t be closed at all during the tournament are 10-1, while odds that the roof will be used every day are 33-1.

Tags: pro sports, sports, tennis, wimbledon, murray, bets