Record £50,000 bet on Murray to win Wimbledon

A PUNTER has placed the largest ever tennis bet in Scottish history – £50,000 on Murray to win Wimbledon.

The anonymous fan, from Aberdeen, put the record-breaking sum on his hero to win the title, despite Murray coming in as second favourite to Novak Djokovic, the world number 1.

His current odds stand at 5/2, meaning the hopeful punter will pocket £175,000 if Murray wins for the second time in his career.

His first opponent, Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, is ranked 58 in the world and has only a 25/1 chance of defeating Murray in the first round of the tournament today.

Murray’s good standing is closely followed by Roger Federer, who has a 13/2 chance of winning, and Stan Wawrinka, who holds a 12/1 chance of coming out on top.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: “Our Murray fan in Aberdeen has given his hero the ultimate vote of confidence with this record-breaking bet.

“While we expect him to need to show gr anitetough nerves later on in the tournament, the betting suggests he shouldn’t have to break a sweat during the first round match at least.”

About 8,000 people joined the queue for tickets for the opening day at SW19, which was at full capacity by 8.02am yesterday – two-and-a-half hours before the gates opened.

Michael Slatcher and his girlfriend Jenny Crockford were sixth and seventh in the queue. Mr Slatcher, 32, of Ash Vale in Surrey, said he did not think Murray’s support among English fans would be dented after the British number one backed Scottish independence.

Sport: Pages 1-6