Magic Monday is a wonderful day for viewing tennis with all fourth round matches in action. It will quieten down from here but here we have four bets worthy of your attention.
Recommended bets
0.5pts Ash Barty to win 2-1 at 17/4
2pts Goffin to win and both players to win a set 6/4
1pt Raonic to win and over 35.5 games 5/4
1pt Bautista-Agut v Paire Both to win a set at 8/11
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Ashleigh Barty v Alison Riske
Commencing the day's proceedings out on Court 2 is a clash between the women's no.1 and a dangerous unseeded player with multiple grasscourt titles.
Ash Barty has not dropped a set on grass this summer, and in three matches at Wimbledon, has conceded only a dozen games. On the WTA Tour this year, she is second only to Karolina Pliskova in percentage of service games won, enabling her to dominate on all surfaces.
However this time she faces someone who could genuinely be called a grass specialist, something quite rare on the WTA Tour, in Alison Riske. The American has won her last four titles (at WTA and ITF level) on grass and has won more matches at the All-England Club than at the rest of the major tournaments combined. She grinds away with flat groundstrokes and has beaten Barty in their only previous meeting, in the semi-finals at Eastbourne three years ago.
I'd still be very surprised if the #BartyParty stops here, but Riske is capable of upsetting her rhythm for a while. The Burlington Bertie price (RIP John McCririck) for Barty to win in three sets looks to be the value in this clash.
Best bet: 0.5pts Ash Barty to win 2-1 at 100/30
David Goffin v Fernando Verdasco
David Goffin did the business for us on Friday surviving a tight five-setter and while he is more strongly favoured here, it will not be straightforward.
The slate stands at 3-3 over the years but they have never met on grass. The Belgian has won three of the past four clashes, all in Masters Series events under best-of-three conditions.
The switch to grass is perhaps the decisive one. Fernando Verdasco hits a heavy topspin ball, getting the ball up high into the opponent's hitting zone, which can prove uncomfortable for some. On clay and hard courts, this pins the opponent deep behind the baseline, making it tough to dictate the play. For an exaggerated wrist-snap forehand exponent like Goffin, the ball at shoulder level is harder to work with than one at knee height. The lower bounce on grass removes this advantage.
Verdasco is still a solid opponent at age 35, making his fifth appearance in the second week, his first since 2013. The left-handed serve is always awkward on grass and notably in 17 years at Wimbledon, he has only ever lost in straight sets three times - to Stan Wawrinka, Andy Roddick and back in 2005 to Florian Mayer.
Goffin to continue on his run, but not without a battle.
Best bet: 2pts Goffin to win and both players to win a set 6/4
Guido Pella v Milos Raonic
Argentinian Guido Pella caused a surprise on Friday, knocking out 2018 finalist Kevin Anderson in straight sets.
Anderson had been short of match practice after missing the clay season but Pella was simply brilliant on serve and from the baseline, denying the beanpole South African any opportunity to get into the match.
Next he faces Milos Raonic who, at least in my opinion, has a bit more to his game than Anderson.
Big serving will still be the key to the match, but with a little more to work with behind that. In the first three rounds, Raonic hasn't dropped a set in three rounds and has only conceded serve once, against Robin Haase, from almost 50 service games.
I can see a left-handed serve and solid baseline game from Pella putting up more resistance than Raonic's opponents so far. That should keep the games total ticking over either via tiebreaks or even pinching a set.
Roberto Bautista-Agut v Benoit Paire
The official ATP head-to-head record for Roberto Bautista-Agut and Benoit Paire stands at 8-0, bringing up memories of that famous line from 1980 when Vitas Geraluitis finally overcame Jimmy Connors after sixteen straight losses, "Because nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!"
Three years in the second round, the French hipster gave up a 2-0 lead when ranked #68. In theory he's much better off here ranked #32, just 10 places behind Bautista-Agut. The Spaniard is Mr Consistent, keeping his error count down and working his opponent around without taking big risks, while Paire wants to shorten points, demonstrated by a 78:30 winners to unforced errors ratio against Jiri Vesely last time.
Six of their eight previous meetings have been on hardcourt which suits Bautista-Agut's style, while grass and clay have created more of a contest. I doubt Paire has the patience to wear his opponent down completely, but he can land a few blows and take a set.
Best bet: 1pt Bautista-Agut v Paire Both to win a set at 8/11
