Over the past 2 decades tennis has experienced a surge in popularity. It was introduced to the Olympic games in 1896, but was later removed after the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Tennis wasn’t an official Olympic sport until the Olympics in Seoul, which took place in 1988, with both individuals and doubles being returned to the Olympic family. In London, the mixed doubles were reintroduced which are going to be part of the Summer Olympics in Rio 2016.
The tennis events will be held at the Olympics Tennis Centre, the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. This tennis center has 16 tennis courts, which allow the participants to train in between their matches. The Center Court will host the most attractive tennis matches, including the finals with a capacity for 10,000 spectators. The other venue, Track 2 will host exciting tennis matches as well, such as the quarter finals, the semi finals and the men’s doubles final match. Track 3-9 hosts less popular encounters which are part of the early tournament round.
There are 64 participants in total, including both men and female competitors. The top 56 in the ATP and WTA (limited to 4 players per country), plus 8 invited Wild Card tennis players. This guarantees a lot of exciting encounters, plus there’s room for surprises due to the 8 wild card invites.
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Men’s Singles Tennis – Odds and Predictions
The current King of Tennis, Novak Djokovic is the favorite to win the gold medal on the Center Court. He Serbian ace, winner of 12 Grand Slams is missing the Olympic gold in his collection. Without a doubt, he has the gold in sight and he’s going to do everything he can to finally win an Olympic gold. Over the past few years he has shown the world that he’s the best in his field. Federer’s absence will certainly make his Rio 2016 adventure a whole lot easier. 888 Sport offers odds at 1.80 for Djokovic to win the gold medal, whereas Djokovic to win the silver or bronze come at odds of 1.20.
His biggest rival for the gold is Andy Murray. If you want to back the Scot to win the gold you can expect a prize of 4.50 the bet amount, whereas if you think he’s going to have a position on the podium the odds stand at 1.67. The 3rd favorite is the Japanese Kei Nishikori, due to the absence of both Nadal and Federer. It’s as if it was meant for Novak Djokovic to finally win a gold medal. Other players that are worthy to consider betting on are Wawrinka, the Argentinian Del Potro, David Ferrer or Tsonga.
Men’s Doubles Tennis – Odds and Predictions
The main fight in the men’s doubles is between the French Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut and their opponents. Bookmakers offer odds at 5.00 on average. If the Murray brothers are victorious and you bet on them, you can expect a prize at around 6.00 the bet amount. The sports community is well familiarized with Andy Murray, but his brother Jamie Murray is also a top-notch tennis player that can do wonders. He was number one in doubles with the Brazilian Bruno Soares in the Australian Open.
The Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock are third in line for the gold in the men’s doubles tennis category at odds of generous 11.00.
Women’s Singles Tennis – Odds and Predictions
The outstanding Serena Williams, the world number one and Olympic gold medalist from London 2012 is considered to be the most fearsome contender for the gold in Rio 2016. In London 2012 the podium had Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova who’s absent and Victoria Azarenka.
She, Serena Williams, is undisputed on hard courts, although she lost in Australia to Kerber. Angelique Kerber is the 3rd in line for the gold medal in this category with odds at around 11.00. The 2nd place is filled in by the Spanish Garbine Muguruza, backing her can bring you a total prize of 5.00. She is the winner of Roland Garos. Garbine met Serena Williams in the finals and crushed her. She has a lot of qualities and she is experienced, but the past has shown us she’s inconsistent. Other participants that can turn out to be a pleasant surprise are Radwanska (13.00 for gold, 3.40 for any medal), Dominika Cibulkova (17.00 and 4.50), Kvitova (17.00 and 4.50) and Madison Keys (21.00 and 4.50).
Women’s Doubles Tennis – Odds and Predictions
Serena is amazing, but when she doubles up with her sister, Venus Williams they become the unbeatable duo. This can be their fourth gold after triumphing I Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Bookmakers offer odds at 3.50 for the marvelous American duo. The French Kristina Mladenovic with Serbian ancestry along with Caroline Garcia are breathing in the Americans’ necks with odds at 6.00. This was a fruitful year for them as they’ve won Roland Garos, Family Cicle Cup, Madrid Open and the other tournaments.
Consider betting on the duo coming from Russia, Makarova and Vesnina at odds at 8.00 and the Spanish duo as well, Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez at 11.00. We’re perfectly aware of the Wiliams’ dominance, but this can be the year when everything turns upside down.
Mixed Doubles
We were very excited to see Nadal and Muguruza out on the court together, as they were our best bet. Unfortunately, Nadal’s slow recovery forced us to reconsider our already limited options. If some sort of miracle happens and Rafael gets back on the court, recovered and ready to take on any challenge, bet on this duo and you won’t regret it. 2nd line according to our analysis is the Swiss duo Hingis and Wawrinka since Roger Federer is also out of the tournament due to injury.