Wimbledon 2014: Serena sets her sights on sixth title

Can Serena win her sixth Wimbledon singles title?

Serena Williams is favourite in the women's singles winner market but there are several strong contenders around her. Max Liu takes a look at the market...

Betfair punters make Serena Williams 2.767/4 favourite to win her sixth Wimbledon title when 2014's third Grand Slam gets underway on Monday, even though the American isn't in great form.  

With 2013 winner Marion Bartoli retiring last August, there's no defending champion this year and Williams, who triumphed in 2012, is first seed. That's despite having been knocked out in the fourth-round by Sabine Lisicki at the All England club last year and crashing out of the French Open in the second round one month ago. However, Williams' power makes her the composite Wimbledon competitor and few bettors will be confident about opposing her at this stage.

But there are plenty of other promising bets to be had in the women's tournament winner market. Maria Sharapova, who's seeded fifth, appeals at 8.27/1, after her recent triumph at Roland Garros. It's exactly ten years since the Russian stunned Wimbledon by blitzing Williams in the 2004 final but bettors will be wary of backing her, as she's never repeated that form. In winning the French Open, though, Sharapova looked focused and hungry, as though she might be getting back to her best.

Australian Open champion Na Li is second seed but the Betfair markets make her a generous 19.018/1, perhaps because the Chinese player has only ever progressed as far as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. Punters prefer 2011 champion Petra Kitova 15.014/1 and Victoria Azarenka 17.5n/a who's made the semi-finals on two occasions but crashed out of the Wimbledon warm-up at Eastbourne this week in the first round.     

All this means that the women's draw looks wide open and it could be high time for a dark horse to take SW19 by storm. Laura Robson won't be playing this year but Heather Watson is, at the time of writing, in the semi-finals at Eastbourne. The Brit is a 330.00329/1 outsider in the winner market but could she do better than the third round where she was knocked out two years ago? Second week involvement would mark excellent progress for the 22-year-old. 

What about world number three Simona Halep 19.5n/a, fresh from her French Open final and, prior to that, a decent run at the Australian Open. An aggressive base-liner in the ascendancy, she'll be confident that she can get further than the second round where she was knocked out in her two Wimbledon appearances to date.  

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The guys at Abelson Info, who will be providing daily tips on the women's draw throughout the tournament, have picked their outright bets.