The BBC will broadcast the 125th Wimbledon Championships singles’ finals in 3D for the first time ever, but you can catch the rest of grass court extravaganza on the Worldwide Leader as the venerable Grand Slam serves up more than just strawberries and cream from June 20 – July 3, 2011.

Punters looking to profit on lopsided matches at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club should know that 5Dimes is providing the best Wimbledon betting futures and matchup odds and selections. Keep in mind that it has been a long, long time (1936) since a Brit (Fred Perry) won the Wimbledon title, in straight sets that took only 40 minutes in the second-shortest Wimbledon finals ever.

Since 2003 Roger Federer as won six Gentlemen’s singles titles and Rafael Nadal, the defending Champion, has won two titles. On the Women’s side, a Williams sister has won the ladies final nine out of the last 11 times at Wimbledon. You have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last time a person not named Williams won the title (Amelie Mauresmo). You can follow my daily Wimbledon selections on Twitter @degeneratedad. 

Wimbledon Predictions: Gentlemen’s 2011 Wimbledon Championship

Despite losing in the French Open finals, Roger Federer is set as the 2.65/1 favorite to win Wimbledon. Nadal is the second favorite at 2.75/1 and comes off an impressive sixth French Open title in seven years! Nadal got better and better throughout the two weeks at Paris and did not drop a set in his win. Nadal will look to build upon that level of tennis as the ATP hits SW19 for the next fortnight.

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Federer, however, seemed to find his game at the French Open that had been MIA for the past few tournaments this year and last year. The quiet confidence that was missing over the past year or so has returned (maybe he is sleeping better now that his kid is older) and he looked like a force on the red clay, which is usually not Federer’s best surface. It will be very interesting to see what happens when Federer plays on his best surface. If Federer can duplicate this at Wimbledon he will cruise into the finals without a doubt.

Meanwhile, the good news for Britannia is that Andy Murray’s prospects of finally bringing a Wimbledon title to England might possibly happen. Indeed, Henman Hill will be saturated with joy if Murray can accomplish this almost impossible task. Murray made it to the semi-finals at the French Open when, inexplicably, his serve abandoned him. However, Murray has been nothing short of spectacular since. Earlier this week in the Aegon Championships Murray made the Queen’s Final by demolishing Andy Roddick in 58 minutes of what can only be described as two sets of transcendent tennis. He then went on to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a one-sided victory. At this point it looks like Murray is the player to beat on the men’s side.

Pick! Roger Federer, +2.65
Long Odds Pick! Andy Murray, +8.00

Wimbledon Predictions: Ladies 2011 Wimbledon Championship

Ordinarily Na Li would dominate Wimbledon chatter. However, Serena Williams, 29, announced that she’s healthy and back to defend her title, but this comes after a year hiatus due to injuries ranging from foot surgery to stomach bruises with a side of blood clots in her lungs. And immediately Serena was set as a 4/1 co-favorite with Maria Sharapova? Excuse me, but I have to scratch my head at this oddsmaker choice when Li, based upon her performance in her past two Grand Slams, has to be the cut-and-dried clear favorite to win.

A big reason Serena is the favorite is because the bookmakers have bought into the Williams’ myth; even if the sisters only play Grand Slams they’ll win at Wimbledon. However, let’s face reality and go beyond the name and statistics and look at why they Williams’ were away from tennis this time – and it wasn’t so they could launch a new line of couture bathing suits. Serena hasn’t picked up a racket in a year and the shortening odds on Serena winning her fifth Wimbledon are a bit of a mystery when you consider the power shift that is going on in the WTA right now. Venus Williams is set at 9/1. The 31-year-old hasn’t played tennis due to hip and abdominal injuries since the Australian Open. Last year Venus only played the four Grand Slams, but missed this year’s French Open.

Kim Clijsters’ ankle injury eventually did her in at the French Open, and it will be interesting to see if she is completely recovered by Wimbledon. Oddsmakers think so as Clijsters is set at 5.50/1 to win here. Then there is Na Li’s French Open finals opponent, Francesca Schiavone, who was one of the huge disappointments of Wimbledon in 2010, as she exited in the first round. Bounce factor, anyone? For this reason I’d be careful if you are thinking about backing Schiavone.

Caroline Wozniacki is set at the No.1 seed at Wimbledon, but is only 9/1 to win outright. Wozniacki has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon and grass isn’t her best surface. While I love watching her play tennis, I am not holding out too much hope for her to make it deep into the second week of the fortnight. However, I do like my pick from the French Open, Petra Kvitova, at 8/1. The statuesque Czech is bound to win a title some point soon. Last year she made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon. I would love to see her make it to the finals, she has the skills-to-pay-the-bills.

Li, who just won the French Open, is set at 6/1 and the fourth favorite. If you want back Li at this price you’d better get on it right now since once the first quart of cream is poured over the first strawberry Li’s odds will shorten like Sharapova serve. Li is now 1-1 in Grand Slam finals THIS YEAR, and I won’t be surprised to see Li make it three.

Pick! Na Li, 6/1
Long Odds Pick! Petra Kvitova 8/1
 
Odds* to Win 2011 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final
Roger Federer 2.65/1
Rafael Nadal 2.75/1
Novak Djokovic 3.65/1
Andy Murray 8/1
Juan Martin del Potro 45/1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 45/1
Tomas Berdych 70/1
Andy Roddick 70/1
Robin Soderling 75/1
John Isner 105/1
Milos Raonic 125/1
Richard Gasquet 175/1
Mardy Fish 250/1
Alexandr Dolgopolov 325/1
Philipp Kohlschreiber 325/1
Marin Cilic 350/1
Gael Monfils 350/1
Ivy Karlovic 425/1
David Nalbandian 500/1
David Ferrer 500/1
Lleyton Hewitt 500/1
Feliciano Lopez 525/1
Stanislas Wawrinka 600/1
Sam Querrey 625/1
Viktor Troicki 625/1
Jurgen Melzer 700/1
Nikolay Davydenko 750/1
Fernando Verdasco 800/1
Nicolas Almagro 875/1
Philipp Petzschner 875/1
Gilles Simon 900/1
Ivan Ljubicic 950/1
Tommy Robredo 1,000/1
Juan Monaco 1,000/1
Ernests Gulbis 1,000/1
Mikhail Youzhny 1,000/1
Juan Carlos Ferrero 1,000/1
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 1,000/1
Marcos Baghdatis 1,000/1
Michael Llodra 1,000/1
Albert Montanes 1,000/1
Thomaz Bellucci 1,000/1
Florian Mayer 1,000/1
Andrey Golubev 1,000/1
Sergiy Stakhovsky 1,000/1
Jarkko Nieminen 1,000/1
Xavier Malisse 1,000/1
Jeremy Chardy 1,000/1
Marcel Granollers 1,000/1
Denis Istomin 1,000/1
Thiemo De Bakker 1,000/1
Janko Tipsarevic 1,000/1
Victor Hanescu 1,000/1
Santiago Giraldo 1,000/1
Radek Stepanek 1,000/1
Kei Nishikori 1,000/1
Richard Berankis 1,000/1
Julien Benneteau 1,000/1
Florent Serra 1,000/1
Frederico Gil 1,000/1
Ilya Marchenko 1,000/1
Blaz Kavcic 1,000/1
Ivan Dodig 1,000/1
Grigor Dimitrov 1,000/1
Dudi Sela 1,000/1
Rainer Schuettler 1,000/1
Igor Kunitsyn 1,000/1
Lukasz Kubot 1,000/1
Kevin Anderson 1,000/1
Adrian Mannarino 1,000/1

Odds* to Win 2011 Wimbledon Women’s Final
Maria Sharapova 4/1
Serena Williams 4/1
Kim Clijsters 5.50/1
Na Li 6/1
Petra Kvitova 8/1
Venus Williams 9/1
Caroline Wozniacki 9/1
Vera Zvonareva 15/1
Victoria Azarenka 18/1
Samatha Stosur 25/1
Andrea Petkovic 25/1
Marion Bartoli 33/1
Julia Goerges 33/1
Francesca Schiavone 40/1
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 40/1
Svetlana Kuznetsova 40/1
Agnieszka Radwanska 40/1
Daniela Hantuchova 50/1
Sabine Lisicki 50/1
Yanina Wickmayer 50/1
Jelena Jankovic 50/1
Ana Ivanovic 80/1
Lucie Safarova 100/1
Shuai Peng 100/1
Kaia Kanepi 150/1
Jie Zheng 150/1
Nadia Petrova 150/1
Jarmila Groth 150/1
Maria Kirilenko 150/1
Alisa Kleybanova 150/1
Aravane Rezai 200/1
Tsvetana Pironkova 200/1
Shahar Peer 200/1
Dominika Cibulkova 200/1
Flavia Pennetta 200/1
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 200/1
Jarmila Gajdosova 250/1
Alexandra Dulgheru 250/1
Gisela Dulko 250/1

*Odds courtesy of 5Dimes