A great summer of sport continues in July as the football World Cup enters the final stages and the Wimbledon tennis championships get underway. Both the men’s and women’s events look very open this year with some big names missing or out of form.

Eight-time former champion Roger Federer will be back to defend his crown at the All England club. But who else is in with a shout?

Roger Federer

Federer did not drop a set on the way to the title last year and began 2018 by winning the Australian Open.

Having forced his way back to world No. 1 with a win in Stuttgart last week, the 36-year-old is showing no signs of letting up and will start as 6/4 favourite with bookmaker William Hill.

He has 20 Grand Slams to his name but Spanish rival Rafa Nadal is just three behind on 17.

Rafa Nadal


Nadal claimed an 11th French Open crown just a few weeks ago and would love to add another Wimbledon title to his haul. The world No. 2 sometimes finds the switch from clay to grass too demanding but such talent should never be ruled out. Last year, he fell in the fourth round to Gilles Muller. He has won the event twice before but has not reached a final since 2011.

"IMG_7056" (CC BY-ND 2.0) by Marianne Bevis

Alex Zverev


The world number three has yet to reach a Grand Slam semi-final but at just 21-years of age, 2018 has proved to be a big year for the German. He has already played in four ATP finals this year, winning two, and made it to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time suggesting he is finally getting to grips with the five-set format.

Marin Cilic


A finalist 12 months ago, Marin Cilic will look to go one better this time around. The 10/1 shot knows what it takes to win a major having bagged a US Open title in 2014. He has played in three Grand Slam finals, including this year’s Aussie Open, and has 17 career titles to his name. He has made it to at least the quarter-final stage in the last four editions of the Wimbledon Championships and is a very comfortable on grass.

"Marin Cilic – Wimbledon 2009" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by alphababy

Novak Djokovic


The 12-time Grand Slam winner is working hard to get back to his best after a spell out with an elbow injury following last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final retirement. It has been a long road back for the Serbian but he started to show glimpses of the old magic this term. He split with long-term coach Marián Vajda last April but the two were reunited for this year’s Monte Carlo Masters. He made it to the semi-finals in Rome and the quarter-finals of the French Open.

In April, Djokovic announced that he was finally playing without pain for the first time in two years. Wimbledon will play a big part in his recovery program but it might come a little too soon. Despite that, the bookies have him pencilled in as second-favourite behind Federer.