Latest betting ahead of Tommy Haas v Roger Federer in the semi-finals at Wimbledon

Tennis

Online Bonuses

Ladbrokes.com £25 free - use the promotion code MAXIMUMBONUS to guarantee your £25 free
Read More

Can Tommy Haas shock Roger Federer? Latest Wimbledon betting

Can Tommy Haas shock Roger Federer and reach the final at Wimbledon?(credit: tais)

Oddspreview staff - 3 Jul 2009

Can the German outsider cause a shock against Roger Federer in this afternoon's Wimbledon semi-finals?

Wimbledon is the only major tennis tournament all year that is still played on a grass court. Okay, that's stating the blindingly obvious, but it's still amazing how often people ignore that fact.

Every year you hear and read so-called experts discussing previous results between players when in reality what goes on the rest of the year bears little relationship to the very short season in England. Yes, of course the best players will be the best players on any surface. But when it gets to the big games at the end of it then the ability to deal with the different bounce of the ball, and the incredible speed it leaves the surface, becomes the defining factor.

All of that brings us to Tommy Haas, not surprisingly a long shot at odds of 10.0 with Betfair to shock Wimbledon legend Roger Federer in this afternoon's semi-final. While everybody is getting excited about whether Andy Murray can be the first Brit since Fred Perry to reach a men's singles final, it's taken as a given that if he does get there Federer will be his opponent. Don't be so sure.

Haas has now put together an unbroken run of 10 victories on the surface and his fairly comfortable quarter-final win over world number four Novak Djokovic underlined the improvement the 31-year-old has made this year. Certainly Djokovic reckons Federer could very easily be dumped on his Haas.

"I think he has a good chance if he serves well," said the Serb after his defeat. "He's a very aggressive player and just needs to keep his consistency. I think he's a perfect player for this surface."

While Federer's Wimbledon record - and come to that his record everywhere else - is long and glorious, Haas himself has a fairly miserable history at SW19. But he's got his excuses.

"I always felt, deep down, that Wimbledon had something left for me," he told today's papers. "There's been a lot of bad luck before.

"When I was seeded three my parents were involved in a really bad motorcycle accident so I skipped a year. Then I stepped on a ball in the warm-up when I felt I had a decent draw. I've lost on three tie-breaks against Wayne Arthurs, and 9-7 in the fifth set to Marc Rosset. But whatever happens, happens for a reason, and I always felt there was something left for me on grass."

Could that be this year? Haas came within two games of knocking out Federer in the French Open and will be an even tougher prospect for the Swiss master on this surface. If you think backing the German for the win is too much of a longshot, then laying the 1.8 for Federer to triumph in straight sets looks sensational value.

You can watch Tommy Haas vs Roger Federer streamed live for free online via Betfair this afternoon from 1pm BST.