Victoria Azarenka’s Wimbledon Women’s Singles Odds Shorten to 22-1 Ahead of Third Round

• Victoria Azarenka has won her first two matches at Wimbledon, losing just ten games in the process
• Azarenka hasn’t won a singles title since 2016
• Belinda Bencic is a better flier at the same price (+2200)

Victoria Azarenka has had a decent run so far at Wimbledon with wins in her first two matches. As a result, her Wimbledon odds have shortened to +2200 to win the tournament outright. She’s been to the Wimbledon semis twice in her career and could be in line for a long run if she keeps this up. Is she a good bet or is there value elsewhere?

2019 Wimbledon Odds

*Odds taken 07/04/19

Azarenka Has Looked Crisp so Far

Azarenka has won two grand slams before (both at the Australian Open) and has been to at least the semis in every other grand slam. While none of that production is recent, when she plays well, people still wonder if she’s got it. At this tournament so far, she definitely has it.

Azarenka has yet to drop a set as she disposed of Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-4 in her opening match and then turned aside Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2, 6-0 in the second round. That sets up a match up of former major champs in the third round when Azarenka takes on No. 7 Simona Halep.

Azarenka Is Still a Bad Bet

Sure, she’s had a couple of wins to start her tournament but beating unranked opponents isn’t that impressive. It might be for her as she has only won two or more matches in two of her last six tournaments played. But let’s face it: the former grand slam champion is a shadow of what she used to be.

Azarenka is a brand name but she hasn’t been passed the third round in a grand slam in five straight. As far as Wimbledon goes, she has lost in the second round in three of her last five appearances.

Before we talk about her winning Wimbledon, it would be nice to see her win anything. She hasn’t won a singles title since 2016.

Tough Path Ahead

Next up for Azarenka is a head-to-head matchup with Simona Halep. She’s 2-2 against her but Halep has won the only grass court meeting. Halep won in straight sets when they met in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2017. I don’t think she gets past her next match, let alone the rest of the draw.

Bencic Worth a Flier

If you’re looking at players in the +2200 range, I would instead recommend investing in Belinda Bencic. Yes, she’s going to have a tough path because if she wins her next match, she’ll probably have to play No. 1 Ashleigh Barty. However, Bencic has shown the ability to win this tournament; Azarenka has not.

Bencic has already won a title this season (Dubai) and has made deep runs at Mallorca, Madrid and Indian Wells where she made it to the semis in each. She hasn’t fared great at any major – only once has been past the fourth round – but she has the tools to dominate this sport. At +2200 I’d rather bet her than Azarenka.