Where are they now? The Wimbledon 2017 underdogs that came close

Every year, in the rounds preceding the Wimbledon quarter-finals, the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are invariably odds-on with most bookmakers to win in straight sets against weaker opponents. There were, however, far more impressive odds available for such giants of the game to win 3-2 across five sets – as is always the case in tennis betting.

Roger Federer won Wimbledon 2017 without dropping a set – great for tennis, bad for betting.

There were two incidences of a seeded player being taken all the way by unseeded opponents in the early rounds of Wimbledon 2017.

ATP – Andrey Kuznetsov

The initial draw for the men’s section of Wimbledon 2017 saw Kuznetsov drawn alongside fellow countryman Karen Khachanov (seeded #30).

Khachanov stamped his superiority on Kuznetsov in the first set, but only just. It required a tiebreaker for settlement, and in the second, Kuznetsov roared back with a dominant 6-2. Khachanov duly replied (6-3) before the fourth set went the way of Kuznetsov – this time by six games to one.

Predictably, however, Kuznetsov struggled to cope with the serving power of his opponent. The fifth and final set was all Khachanov’s, but there can be little question of who emerged with more credibility on the day. In a professional career spanning twelve years, Kuznetsov has yet to finish a year with a positive return from matches (produced via the main draw) in ATP tournaments played on grass.

He has twice emerged with a record of W2, L3 from such (2013 and 2014), last finishing with a level record (2-2) back in 2016.

A Wimbledon winner as a boy in 2009, he is ranked 278th ahead of Wimbledon 2018, and will command stratospheric odds in tennis betting markets – if indeed he gets the opportunity to play against leading lights of the game. Ultimately, nothing is guaranteed, but in ATP Grand Slam qualifiers that lie ahead, he can still channel some of the magic that nearly erupted in last year’s first round.

Kuznetsov in action against Andy Murray.

WTA – Timea Babos

With the women’s section matches only going to three sets, the odds for a split sets win pale compared to those that figure in a men’s game. Nonetheless, the WTA editions of Grand Slam tournaments are experiencing a greater year-on-year surge in popularity compared to their ATP counterparts.

Being drawn against Caroline Wozniacki in the first round of any tournament is almost as bad as it gets these days. Nonetheless, it is an opportunity that few are granted, and the Danish dynamo almost learned the harshest of lessons in the first round of last year’s edition of Wimbledon. She ended the first round as the highest-seeded player to be taken to the final set by an unseeded opponent.

Wozniacki’s opponent on the day was Timea Babos, who faced her on the back of two consecutive losing years on grass (both 2-3). Wozniacki also had a point to prove, having finished 2016 with a 3-4 grass record. Any self-doubts Wozniacki may have had dissipated with a 6-4 win in the opening set, but they were brought back with a vengeance.

Babos won the second set by the same scoreline, but whatever psychological advantage she might have gained from her comeback was quickly erased. Wozniacki blew Babos away 6-1 to advance. Babos went on to finish 2017 a chastening 0-4 on grass, but with the Hungarian ranked 36th ahead of Wimbledon, she will at least be amongst the better unseeded players in the tournament.  Tough though last summer was for her, Babos needs only a shade more ingenuity to turn a ‘nearly’ into a ‘did’.