Murray has Troicki test in Queen’s semis, Simon plays Anderson

Andy Murray is now firmly odds-on at 1/3 with Coral to have the perfect Wimbledon warm-up by winning the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club for the fourth time, and keep up a curious a pattern of taking this ATP title in odd years.

Great Britain’s number one tennis pro is the top seed, and only two of those are left in the draw. France’s Gilles Simon is the other, and he could be Murray’s opponent in the final, if they get through respective semis against Viktor Troicki and Kevin Anderson.

Gilles Simon v Kevin Anderson
Seven seed Simon is rated an 11/8 outsider to reach the final because South Africa’s Anderson has won their only previous head-to-head. That was a three-set affair at Indian Wells, a hard court tournament, two years ago.

Anderson is odds-on 8/15 match favourite to advance instead, following a string of impressive victories over former Queen’s winner Lleyton Hewitt, French Open champion Stan Wawrinka and Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Simon’s own progress to the semis has been far from plain sailing either. It took three-set wins over David Goffin and third seed Milos Raonic, with a more convincing result against Australian teenage talent Thanasi Kokkinakis sandwiched in between to get here.

What their respective routes suggest is that this one will go the distance. Punters should be bold here, nailing their colours to the mast by choosing the winner to take it in three sets. Anderson is an awesome 11/4, while Simon is a superb 7/2.

Andy Murray v Viktor Troicki
To say Scottish star Murray has had the better of his previous encounters with Troicki is an understatement. A dominant 6-0 head-to-head record, including a straight sets win on British soil at Wimbledon, entirely justify his massive odds-on match favourite status at 1/7.