Amir Khan v Billy Dib
Boxing – 10.00 pm
Channel 5
If Amir Khan does not win in Jeddah on Friday against Billy Dib, then he is going to get further ostracised from title challenges. This looks to be, at least on paper, a bit of a nothing fight really for Khan. He is back in the ring pretty quickly actually after his loss against Terence Crawford in a WBO welterweight title shot in April. Khan couldn’t handle the step up to that weight. His corner threw in the towel in the sixth after he was accidentally hit below the belt.
Khan had already been on the canvas and was so far behind on points at that point, his corner spared him another bruising six rounds. The former Olympic gold medalist has the chance to shake all that off as he takes on Australia’s Billy Dib. Dib is going up through the weight divisions to meet Khan in this one, which really never seems like a good idea. The Australian is a seasoned journeyman and nothing more really.
He is a former IBF featherweight (super-featherweight is his natural division) champion. This is for a vacant WBC international welterweight belt. Dib is a massive 10/1 underdog with leading bookmakers for this fight, which is going to be the highest-profile of his career. As for Khan he needs to put on a bit of a show in Saudi Arabia to gloss over that loss to Crawford as quickly as possible. This is back at his preferred weight and is odds on at 2/9 to win the fight by a knockout.
Novak Djokovic v Roberto Bautista-Agut
Wimbledon Semi Final – 1.00 pm
BBC
This is set to be a more routine affair than the other semi-final of Nadal v Federer. Novak Djokovic is the reigning Wimbledon champion and he looks as dialled in and as formidable as ever. There has been just one set dropped by the Serbian on his way to the final four. That was back in the third round when he got a bigger challenger from Hubert Hurkacz than expected. Djokovic’s opponent had levelled things up in the second, but that just fired up Djokovic to another level.
Top seed Djokovic will continue to hold three of the four Grand Slam titles at once if he retains his Wimbledon crown. The challenge that is in front of him in the semi-finals doesn’t look to anything that he can’t handle. At least according to the bookies who have Djokovic as short as 8/13 to win 3-0 in the set betting. But then a quick glance at the head to head between the two makes for some interesting reading. Bautista Agut has won the last two meetings.
The overall head to head between the two is 7-3 in favour of Djokovic. But all three of his losses against Bautista Agut have happened in the last five meetings. Earlier this year in Doha the Spaniard beat Djokovic in the semi-finals on the way to lifting the title. This is the first Grand Slam semi-final for Bautista Agut and the leading bookmakers have him at 7/1 to get the better of the Serbian again. Can he ride his positive wave against Djokovic to pull off his biggest win over him so far?
Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon Semi Final – 3.30 pm
BBC
The match that everyone has been waiting for. The last eleven days of the tournament have pretty much been wasted. Everyone else in this bottom half of the draw may as well have stayed home, leaving Nadal and Federer to just play this one match to see who faces Novak Djokovic (most likely) in the final. The two big guns have delivered the goods yet again in a Grand Slam. Federer, an eight time Wimbledon champion is the 11/10 underdog with top bookies. That is despite him winning five of the last six against the Spaniard. It’s a toss-up as to which makes for the best bet of the day for punters.
Federer dropped the opening set of his quarter-final tie against Kei Nishikori but then just powered his way through a comeback to take the tie 3-1. He has, despite his advancing years, still looked so majestically brilliant at times. He has done things a little differently this season, in having played the clay swing of the season. Is that extra work and sharpness helping him out? He will need to be at his very best here to get at Nadal and wipe out the hiding that he took against the Spaniard just back at the French Open.
Nadal crushed Federer in the semi-finals at Roland Garros in straight sets. He is 8/11 with top bookies to beat Federer again. He was given a horrible draw starting as the third seed, but it didn’t pan out to be that challenging at all. His only real test was in that spicy second-round duel with his nemesis Nick Kyrgios. But Nadal handled himself well in a strange atmosphere to win in four sets. He has been totally untroubled since. Nadal leads the head to head over Federer 24-15. He trails him 2-1 in previous Wimbledon meetings though. The last time they met at SW19 was in the 2008 Final. That was arguably the greatest ever tennis match, played when Nadal won in five sets. Let’s hope for more of the same.
