French Open Tennis Betting Preview: If you are looking for a good outside bet for the WTA French Open Grand Slam, then keep an eye on hometown favourite Aravane Rezai. She genuinely represents the best of French hopes at Roland Garros, and she has perhaps gotten her timing just perfect, after racking up a surprise, but nonetheless impressive victory in Madrid. They clay surface can be a tough on players, but Rezai looked pretty accomplished in her tournament victory and makes a good case for an outside bet. She breezed confidently through her first round match, winning 6-1, 6-1. Britain’s Elena Baltacha bowed out in the first round, after receiving a tough draw against eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Baltacha lost the first set heavily 6-0, but put up a stirling performance in the second set, but was narrowly edged out of that 7-5. There has only been one real surprise in the first round so far, and that was the defeat of 10th seed Victoria Azarenka to Argentina’s Gisela Dulko. Azarenka, one of the genuine shots for the title, played an error strewn game and lost heavily in two sets.
Venus and Serena Williams
So where are the favourites for this prime tennis betting event? Roland Garros is the second of four Grand Slam tournaments on the year, and naturally there is a great competitive edge to all the players. With the fantastic French atmosphere, there is some fantastic tennis action to enjoy over the next couple of weeks. Excluding injuries, all of the World’s top players are obliged to attend in this tennis showcase, but the tournament will be missing Kim Clijsters who would have been right up there in the betting. Naturally the duo who are up there in the betting are the Williams sisters. World number one Serena Williams has had limited appearances this season, but did win the Australian Open. Sister Venus has been the more dominant figure this season so far on the whole though, reaching four finals. Venus Williams did just reach the final of the Madrid Open, so it shows she is fine on clay, but lost there to some surprise against the aforementioned Aravane Rezai. Undoubtedly she is in all honesty, the strongest bet to get behind for the tournament.
Justin Henin
The diminuitive Justin Henin should be a threat, as she holds the record for the most clay court titles of current active players on the WTA tour. Since making her comeback from retirement, she has been in fine form, and should not be ignored in the betting. The clay court surface brings the best out of her, as it is perfectly suited to her game. She is looking as powerful as ever in her understated way, and out of all the players on the tour, she has the best and most proven consistency on clay, which will make her a strong bet to lift the title. As good as she is, she looks even more elevated in stature on clay.
Jelena Jankovic
At the Rome Open, Indian Wells winner Jelena Jankovic beat both Williams sisters on her route to the finals, but is another who fell to the inspired Rezai at Madrid. Jankovic comfortably won her first round match, and she is one of the most accomplished movers on the court. She has perfect balance and control on all surfaces, and her speed around the court will give opposition plenty of problems. She is a winner and could very well go all the way, as she must be high on confidence at the moment. Jankovic has been a beaten semi finalist twice at Roland Garros, in 2007 and 2008. Can she make the step up? She is a great price and a great potential bet for the French Open.
Caroline Wozniacki
The young Danish star is the darling of the court, and she has enjoyed a successful season, climbing up to number two in the world. She looked unstoppable around the end of March, beginning of April, where she reached the final of Indian Wells, losing to Jankovic, but rebounded to win well in Ponte Verde. Has been struggling to make deep runs in tournaments since then, particularly on clay, but has the undisputed talent to win Grand Slam. Went out at the quarter final stage in Madrid to China’s Jie Zheng. She easily made her way through to the second round.
Svetlana Kuznetsova
The defending Champion is safely through to the second round, but has not, in any way shape or form, produced any form this season which suggests that she will be capable of defending the much coveted title. She hasn’t been past the last sixteen in any of her tournaments this year, and after falling in the last 64 to Shahar Peer at Madrid, she suddenly becomes a very long shot.
Other Contenders
The leading chasing pack should be Baltacha’s conqueror Agnieszka Radwanska (100/1 at Boylesports), who has made solid yet steady improvements over the year. Along with her, Samantha Stosur has shown a great deal of grit and determination this year too, but whether she has the Grand Slam winning credentials is a different matter. Elena Dementieva will be somewhat expectant of a good run, as she is a class act, but falling below expectations this year. Her progress will have been made a bit easier thanks to the early exit of Azarenka. Dinara Safina really should be in the latter stages of the tournament, but has been struggling with injuries this year. Still a threat though, and if she is at a decent price at your online bookmaker, she may well be worth an each way bet.
Former World Number One Ana Ivanovic (40/1 at Bet365) is another kind of outside wild card bet to take notice of. There have been signs that she is getting back to the kind of form and ability that took her to the top of the tennis world a couple of years ago, before suffering a huge fall in the rankings. Along with Jankovic and Azarenka, she is one of the best movers on the court with superb footwork. Maria Sharapova (66/1 at SkyBet) is also showing much improved signs in her game, picking up two titles this year, but in the tough half of the draw is unlikely to make too much of an impact.
The Roland Garros Draw
Always look at the draw for tennis tournament betting. Seeding numbers are in brackets for the quarters of the French Open draw. It has been broken down in the four main quarters of the draw, with the top seeds in each. The winners of each quarter will bump into each other in the quarter final stage, meaning that Quarter 1 winner will meet Quarter 2 winner at that stage, just to help in aiding your betting decisions. So, as can be seen below, the top half of the draw looks the toughest to get through.
Quarter 1
Serena Williams (1st)
Samantha Stour (7th)
Maria Sharapova (12th)
Quarter 2
Jelena Jankovic (4th)
Agnieska Radwanska (8th)
Dinara Safina (9th)
Quarter 3
Svetlana Kuznetsova (6th)
Caroline Wozniacki (3rd)
Quarter 4
Elena Dementieva (5th)
Venus Williams (2nd)
French Open Tennis Outright Odds
Justine Henin: 2/1 at Bet365
Serena Williams: 5/1 at SkyBet
Jelena Jankovic: 13/2 at Boylesports
Venus Williams: 9/1 at Bet365
Aravane Rezai: 14/1 at Stan James
Svetlana Kuznetsova: 20/1 at Stan James
Elena Dementieva: 22/1 at Coral
Samantha Stosur: 25/1 at Bet365
