Wild Card Juan Carlos Ferrero next in Murray’s path at Wimbledon

London, Great Britain – With Rafael Nadal out of the Wimbledon draw there has been a different tone to this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Many shed a nostalgic tear when it became obvious we would not have another Nadal-Federer final at the All England Club (the 2008 Wimbledon final stands out as one of the best in the history of the event and will be a tough act to follow). But, one has to agree that this year’s Wimbledon has had its fair share of drama thus far. Not least was Andy Murray’s R16 encounter against Stanislas Wawrinka.

One has to give Stan props for making a match of it, really giving it his all – didn’t think he had that in him. Newfound respect for Stan. More props go to Murray who brought the roof down with his five-set victory. It was the match of the day on Monday. More importantly, any doubts about Murray and the legitimacy of his claim to the Wimbledon title have to be vanquished. Well, maybe some lingering doubts remain; and he has yet to win a major title. No question, best five-setter he ever played.

Next up is Juan Carlos Ferrero who is enjoying a fairytale Wimbledon, flying the Spanish flag in Nadal’s stead through to the quarterfinals. In spite of his heroics, most believe he poses a less challenging threat to Murray. Or, so they think.

Tennis Betting Line:

Andrew Murray -7 +105 -1000 34½ O -130 U -110

Juan Carlos Ferrero +7 -145 +500 34½ O -130 U -110

Match Time: 08:00 A.M. Eastern Time Wednesday July 1 2009

Head-to-Head Series: Andy Murray owns a 1-0 edge over Juan Carlos Ferrero. He beat the Spaniard recently at the London Queen’s Club semis 6-2, 6-4, en route to the title.

Tennis Betting Verdict: Juan Carlos Ferrero recently saw Murray’s game on grass so he should be better prepared for the fiery Scot on Wednesday. It was the first time they ever met and he lost relatively quickly and easily. At Wimbledon, Ferrero has enjoyed a dream run, beating some tough opponents along the way. Most recently, he topped the tournament’s eighth seed Gilles Simon. One can point to Simon’s patchy season and say therein lies the rub but no matter which way you slice it Ferrero beat him and he thoroughly deserved the win. He was coming off a five set thriller against Fernando Gonzalez, another tough opponent and a viable contender at Wimbledon.

Granted a Murray victory is more likely than a Ferrero upset but what if the unthinkable happens. Murray is coming off an emotional roller coaster in the R16 – not much unlike his R16 match against Gasquet last year in which he earned the nickname Braveheart. He followed up with a meek hearted three set loss to Nadal in the quarters. Indeed, Murray’s fitness has improved leaps and bounds since then. That poor showing led him to work on his fitness. He showed some of that newfangled fitness against Wawrinka on Monday. Can he come up with back-to-back performances?

Tennis Free Picks: Most say yes. Absolutely. And the betting trend will fall in line with the heavy odds in his favour. Yet, after the Ferrero-heroics of the last two rounds ,I don’t think he can be so easily dismissed. Methinks, the underdog has a legitimate chance.