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PrintNo British man has won Wimbledon in 76 years, since Fred Perry claimed the title in 1936. Andy Murray, the pride of Great Britain who will play Roger Federer in the men’s final on Sunday, has a chance to put an end to the slide.
U.K. bookmakers will be rooting against him.
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, told the New York Times that a Murray victory would be a catastrophic loss for U.K. books, who stand to suffer the worst single-day tennis loss in history.
“If he lifts the trophy,” Adams told the Times, “we will probably have the worst day of tennis betting in our long history, with a probable industry payout of £5 million.”
In U.S. dollars, that’s close to $8 million.
A Federer victory would unquestionably be a better result for William Hill, but even then, they’ll have at least one six-figure payout to make. Nick Newlife, who died in 2009, has a pending bet on Federer to win seven Wimbledon titles.
Newlife placed the bet in 2003 at 66-to-1 odds and stands to win $101,840. (The money will be donated to charity.)
Federer is currently listed as a -210 favorite at most offshore books.
