Federer clear favourite to retain title

Not since 1986 have both the reigning champions gone on to successfully defend their Wimbledon titles, but that's exactly what the bookies are predicting will happen when the greatest tennis tournament of them all begins on Monday.

Roger Federer, at 8/15 (1.66) with bet365, and Maria Sharapova, at 11/4 (3.75), are both tipped to emulate the achievements of Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova, while the annual can he?/will he?/why didn't he? hype surrounding the chances of Briton Tim Henman is about to begin.

Despite a tight price of 4/6, everything looks rosy in Federer's garden. The Swiss has won his last 20 Tour finals, an amazing achievement, and has lost just three times this year, once apiece to Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal. His abilities on grass are well above those of his rivals, a matter reflected in the fact that Andy Roddick, runner-up last year, is next best at 9/2 (4.50). What's more, Federer has a great draw which should see him cruise into the semi-finals almost without breaking sweat and he looks a great bet to become the first man since Pete Sampras to win the title three years in a row.

The problem for backers of the field is that there are question marks about everyone else in the tournament. Roddick can't beat Federer, Lleyton Hewitt is just returning from injury, Marat Safin is at his least comfortable on grass, Rafael Nadal is inexperienced and Henman's grasscourt skills have been negated by age and the slowness of the courts.

Of the rest Nadal has by far the best of the draw, with no grasscourt specialists in his section, and it would not surprise me to see the young Spaniard feed off his French Open victory by reaching at least the semi-finals. He is now a 14/1 (15.00) chance for the title, and that's not bad value, as he showed enough in reaching the third round on his only previous appearance that he will enjoy the demands of grass. However, Bjorn Borg was the last man to win back-to-back Paris and Wimbledon titles, way back in 1980.

Hewitt, a 10/1 (11.00) chance, is a great competitor but is unlikely to be at his best yet, while Safin, a 16/1 (17.00) shot, has a tough draw. He could well come through it but when things get on top of him on grass, he tends to give in. Roddick is perhaps a sound each-way bet at 9/2 (5.50), given his victory at Queen's a week ago, but despite his great serve, he lacks the ability to improvise on the faster surfaces, at least against the very best.

As for Henman, he has Sebastien Grosjean and Roddick blocking his path to the semi-finals and though he has the beating of them on his day, he is not playing well. Although he's a four-time semi-finalist, it would take a vast improvement for him to make the final for the first time.