Sports Interaction betting analyst Frank Doyle makes his picks for Wimbledon 2012!

32 of the 36 Grand Slams played since Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam title have been won by just three men. Novak Djokovic has won five, including three of the past four. Rafael Nadal has won eleven, and Federer himself has won sixteen. It’s an astonishing level of dominance across the Slams.

Only four men have crashed the party in that time – Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open, Gaston Gaudio the 2004 French Open, Marat Safin won Australia in 2005 and Juan Martin del Porto won at Flushing Meadows in 2009. Other than that, the big three have dominated.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won all twelve Grand Slams since del Porto won that US Open, and it’s been ten years since someone other than the big three won at Wimbledon, Lleyton Hewitt beating David Nalbandian in straight sets in 2002. Sports Interaction’s odds for Wimbledon don’t suggest there’s going to be any breakup in that hegemony.

Novak Djokovic is favorite to defend his title at 8/5, followed by Rafa Nadal at 9/4. Nadal won Wimbledon twice. He beat Roger Federer in the 2008 final in one of the greatest games in the history of tennis and won again in 2010. Nadal is in rich form, and he’s coming off a win over Djokovic in the final of the French Open last month. Djokovic and Nadal are seeded #1 and #2 respectively, and if the final features anyone other than those two it’ll be a shock.

Even if it’s Federer. Federer is four years older than Nadal and five years older than Djokovic. There’s a feeling that his time is over, and his loss to Tommy Haas in the final of the Gerry Weber Open, the grass court tournament Federer likes to play before Wimbledon, is another sign of the great man’s mortality.

Andy Murray remains the local hero but Britons are likely to wait another while until Fred Perry has a successor. Murray is out of form and isn’t in the same league as the big three. If you’re looking for a longshot bet, you could do worse than Canada’s own Milos Raonic. Raonic is a big man and that counts for a lot in a serve-and-volley game. Pete Sampras thinks Raonic can do it, and if anybody ought to know, it’s the seven-time former Champion. Raonic is well worth a bet at 20/1 or better with Sports Interaction.