STAR PREVIEW: Garbine Muguruza v Agnieszka Radwanska

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nd then there were four….

We’re down to four in both the Mens and Ladies tournaments at Wimbledon and thankfully they include my two ante-post picks:

BACK ANDY MURRAY for 8 points at around 11/4 with Star Sports

BACK MARIA SHARAPOVA for 4 points at around 10/1 with Star Sports

So far so good. I’m still happy with both selections but the reality of tennis betting is that the odds are pretty much as they were (Sharapova has contracted a couple of points) because of the one sided nature of the earlier rounds.

It’s Ladies semi-finals day today and the big test for Sharapova will be Serena Williams and this has always been the potential pot hole for Sharapova backers. Get through this and she’ll be an odds on chance to lift the trophy on Saturday.

The stats say she can’t win – she’s on a losing run of 16 against the younger Williams sister and is a 4/7 chance to lose in straight sets.

The only hope is that Serena Williams gets off to a slow start, which sometimes happens, and that Sharapova can start to build some early pressure. Whilst the stats are not positive some of the more recent head to heads between these two have been closer and Williams looked out of the tournament against Heather Watson – a result I wish hadn’t gone her way in the end – given I’m clutching a Sharapova ante-post ticket.

The second Ladies semi-final looks far more interesting and competitive from a punting angle.

Garbine Muguruza v Agnieszka Radwanska are first up on Centre Court at 1pm and the pair are seeded 20th and 13th respectively.

I’m keen on Muguruza for the mini-upset. The 21-year-old Spaniard reached the last eight at Roland Garros last year which included a shock defeat of Serena Williams.

Despite dropping a couple of sets earlier in this tournament she beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the fourth round and Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets in the quarter finals.

The rising star could prove too strong for Radwanska.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-50 points)

BACK MUGURUZA for 10 points at around 4/5 with Star Sports

RETURN SINCE START OF WORLD CUP: PROFIT 26.51 POINTS (two Wimbledon ante-post bets outstanding)

What’s your view? CALL STAR SPORTS 08000 521 321