Roger Federer has defeated Andy Murray in their last three meetings.
US PRESSWIRE
Tennis fans are doing a double take at the All England Club with Roger Federer and Andy Murray meeting in the Olympic men’s gold medal final Sunday, less than a month after the Swiss star defeated Great Britain’s Murray in the Wimbledon final.
Oddsmakers currently have Federer set as a -175 favorite on the grass courts in London, where he’s won seven Grand Slam titles. Murray, who defeated Novak Djokovic to advance to the final, is priced at +138 and will have overwhelming fan support after failing to become the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 last month.
“I don’t think I did much wrong in that final,” Murray told reporters of the Wimbledon loss. “It was just a couple of certain patterns of play that maybe I could have done a little bit more. They were working at the beginning of the match but I didn’t do as much in the third and fourth sets.”
Federer trumped Murray 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 in the Wimbledon final and evened their all-time head-to-head record at 8-8, with Federer winning the last three meetings. He’s also won every best-of-five sets match between the two, which is the format for Sunday’s final after playing a best-of-three format in the previous rounds.
Both players come into the final with little left in the tank. Federer battled Juan Martin del Potro for four hours and 26 minutes - the longest three-set men's singles match in the Open Era - to advance to the final Friday.
Murray actually has a shot at two gold medals Sunday, with he and UK partner Lauron Robson facing Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the mixed doubles’ final, which is scheduled two hours after the men's finale. He and Robson defeated Germans Christopher Kas and Sabine Lisicki to advance Saturday.
Bettors may want to keep a close eye on Murray during his match with Federer and bet the doubles’ final according to how long he plays in the singles’ gold medal match.