It’s surely official by now, the golden era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has been consigned to the tennis history books with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner firmly positioned at the head of affairs.
Federer and Nadal are both retired and although Djokovic reached the Wimbledon semi-finals he will have to roll back the years and produce an epic performance for the ages to win that coveted 25th grand slam and take sole possession of the record he shares with Margaret Court.
Alcaraz and Sinner have now won the last seven major tournaments between them, including the French Open at the beginning of June when the Spaniard battled back from two sets down to Sinner to win in five on the Roland Garros clay and at the All England Club on Sunday when the Italian triumphed in four sets against his great rival despite losing the opener.
It’s gripping stuff with some of the extraordinary shots a wonder to behold and debates are certain to rage for age over whether the new kids on the block could have lived with the Big Three and the likes of Andy Murray or, before that, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg…
American Taylor Fritz and of course Britain’s Jack Draper are among those who can upset the apple cart by claiming a slam with Ben Shelton, Joao Fonseca and Alexander Bublik bubbling under many radars and the beauty of sport is that the next generational talent can burst into the big time from apparently nowhere at any given tournament.
But it’s hard to see anyone breaking the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner on a regular basis for the moment and after winning Wimbledon for the first time, the latter is currently no bigger than 6/5 with Betfred to successfully defend his US Open title on the Arthur Ashe Court in New York, in September.
Alcaraz is 2/1 with the same firm and many others with last year’s Olympic gold medallist Djokovic, who is now solely focused on gaining that record before retiring, 7/1 with Betfred, Ladbrokes, Coral and many more. Draper is 16/1 with Unibet and BetMGM but the smart money is on Sinner, who excels on the hard-court circuit, to prevail.
When it comes to betting on the men’s singles at slams, punters who prefer to back players at bigger prices face a long wait before finding a winner as while there’s no such thing as a certainty in sport, Sinner or Alcaraz to loft silverware at one of the four major tournaments looks as close as it gets.
Chelsea Premier League title odds
To be honest, it’s probably a safe bet that the chant ‘Let’s Go Chelsea, Let’s Go’ which rang around MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday as the Blues beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the Club World Cup won’t catch on at Stamford Bridge this season.
The 3-0 victory was a shock result given how well PSG were playing in the tournament but while they may have had an off day it is fairer to assume Enzo Maresca’s young Chelsea side are starting to mature into a decent outfit which will be serious contenders on all fronts when the new season commences.
There’s a lot of unfinished business in the transfer market which could change perspectives but Chelsea are currently 9/1 with Unibet and BetMGM to win the Premier League and 18/1 with Betway and BoyleSports for the Champions League and those prices are not likely to get any bigger.
Baseball bet
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is enjoying an outstanding season both offensively and defensively and he’s 9/1 with Sky Bet to be the MVP at Major League Baseball’s All Star Game in Atlanta.
