Serena Williams v Simona Halep
Wimbledon Final – 2.00 pm
BBC
Serena Williams will tie-up with Margaret Court for a record 24 Grand Slams won, if the American triumphs on Center Court on Saturday. Williams breezed past Barbora Strycova in her Wimbledon semi-final match on Thursday. It was a match which saw Williams back to her powerful best after having been seriously challenged by compatriot Alison Riske in the quarter-finals. Williams goes in search of her eighth Wimbledon title.
Serena lost the Final 12 months ago to Angelique Kerber. Actually, the tennis legend has lost the last two Grand Slam finals she has appeared in and four of the last six. So there are vulnerabilities there. So is this going to be as cut and dry as the leading bookmaker’s appear to think? Serena is priced up at a general 8/15 favourite across the board. She’s been here done it before. Many times. However, injury has denied her long-playing spells this calendar year. So far in this year’s Slams, she has taken a quarter final bow at the Australian Open and a third-round exit at the French Open.
Standing on the other side of the net from her on Saturday is Simona Halep. The former World Number one has lived up to her strong billing, even though the grass isn’t her best surface. She has beaten her previous Wimbledon best of a 2014 semi-final. She did that with a very strong, comprehensive victory over top-eight seed Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals. Halep has actually had a quietly confident, positive tournament. She trails Williams 9-1 in the head to head. The last two losses have been over three sets. She’s been getting closer. Halep is 6/4 underdog with top bookies and that may make her one of the best bets of the day for punters.
Daniel Dubois v Nathan Gorman
Boxing – 10.00 pm
BT Sport
This should be a great fight between two undefeated youngsters. There is a big prize on the line as well as it is for the British Heavyweight title. Hughie Fury was the holder at the start of the year, but he vacated the title in March. So now Daniel Dubois and Nathan Gorman will go head to head for it in a big night of British action. Given the list of names like Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury who have previously held this belt, it shows what a stepping stone to greater things this could be.
You have a contrast in style in this one too. There is the heavy, heavy-hitting threat of Dubois who is a beast, going up against the quicker guile of Gorman. Dubois has smashed his way to knockout wins in 10 of his 11 pro fights. He gave up a place at next year’s Olympics to go down this pro-route so has a lot of trust in himself. Dubois shades the betting at 4/7 with leading bookmakers. Gorman though knows how to stick in there with good footwork and is a very intelligent fighter. He goes at 11/8 with leading bookies. Can he keep himself out of trouble and away from the power of Dubois? He may have to get up on the inside to stop Dubois from swinging. It should be a cracker.
England v Scotland
Netball World Cup – 5.00 pm
Sky Sports
There is an interesting clash coming up on Saturday from the Netball World Cup. It is England, who were bronze medalists four years ago, going up against Scotland in the first preliminary stage. England, coached by Tracey Neville, are one of the front runners to take the title this year. England are actually 2/1 second-favourites with leading bookmakers, behind only Australia who are the reigning champions. The Roses are the current Commonwealth champions after beating the Australians in last year’s final and are the hosts of this World Cup.
England have never finished outside of the top four at a tournament, but are still looking for their first title. This is group stage action and they are taking on a Scotland are a team who are on the up at the moment. The Thistles would love a win in this one and they are up to eighth in the INF world rankings. They have a young squad with just three players who have had a taste of World Cup action before. The Scots have never finished higher than 6th in the tournament. Can they pull off a shock against one of the best in the world game?
