A British Charity is Pulling for a Federer Championship on Sunday

Written by: Staff on 5th July 2012

A British Charity is Pulling for a Federer Championship on Sunday |

Betting on tennis is frowned upon and gambling websites are blocked within the All England Club but the international charity Oxfam could be set to reap more than £100,000 from a wager made by a Englishman who died three years ago if Roger Federer wins a seventh men’s title on Sunday.

Nine years ago Nick Newlife, from Tackley in Oxfordshire gambled £1,520 on Federer, about to win his first Wimbledon title at the All England Club, going on to collect seven Wimbledon titles by 2019, at odds of 66/1.

Newliffe had written to bookmakers William Hill with the request for the bet. He died aged 59 in 2009 but in his will left the betting slip, potentially worth £101,840, to Oxfam and a spokesman for the charity said: “We will be keeping our fingers firmly crossed for Federer’s success”.

William Hill executive Graham Sharpe, who took the original bet, said the wager was unique. “We’re not likely to see its like again for some time,” he said, adding a number of people have drawn Federer’s attention to this bet”.

Federer maintained perfect course to what would extend his record collection of Grand Slam singles titles to 17 with a 6-1 ,6-2, 6-2 win over Mikhael Youzhny in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, sitting alongside the Wimbledon Chairman’s Special Guests Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. The 30 year old now faces world no.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in tomorrow (Friday’s) semi-final.

Sharpe continued: “I don’t know whether Roger is thinking about this hugely philanthropic gesture to Oxfam. It’s certainly not going to harm his reputation if that’s a side project.”

Andrew Barton, Oxfam’s Head of Relationship Marketing, said: “Legacies amount to 12 per cent of our total income from individuals, so they’re essential to us, and as this case proves they can come in all shapes and sizes. We wish Roger Federer all the very best for Wimbledon .”