French Open Betting: Back Nadal to prove the doubters wrong in Paris

 

After Novak Djokovic's defeat of Rafa Nadal in the final of the Monte Carlo Classic, Callum Davis looks at the antepost betting on the French Open. Can Djokovic add  the Roland Garros title to his Grand Slam haul or is reigning champ Nadal the best bet?

 

In the past eight years of Grand Slam tennis, the sight of Rafael Nadal gnawing playfully on the arms of the Roland Garros trophy has become one of the most  predictable scenes in professional sport. Ordinarily any French Open preview would consist of trying to unearth any potential challengers who could realistically  thwart Nadal's march to victory, but Sunday's defeat to world number one Novak Djokovic has raised questions around Nadal's invincibility on the clay courts of Paris.

 

Take one look at Betfair's winners market, and you get the impression that the title is almost certainly likely to be won by either Djokovic or Nadal and it's hard to  argue anything to the contrary. Both players are trading at supremely short odds compared to the rest of the field but that's simply testament to the historical  dominance of Nadal and current form of Djokovic, so do not let this deter you from backing either of them.

 

The Serbian rightfully sits at the top of the ATP rankings and only needs a win in Roland Garros to a career Grand Slam and has already signalled his determination to  overcome the final hurdle which has so far eluded him while Nadal's record of winning 52 singles matches out of 53 at Roland Garros speaks for itself.

 

Despite Djokovic's victory over Nadal, punters should be cautious before they pile into the Serbian to dethrone the clay court King. In 2011, Djokovic managed to score  a series of clay court victories over the Spaniard in the lead up to last year's French Open yet was unable to bring his form to Roland Garros where he eventually lost  in the semis while Rafa scooped his fifth title.

 

For me, Nadal's shift in price from around 1.75 to win the French prior to the Monte Carlo final, to 2.2 now, represents an undeserved shift in market confidence. Despite this recent loss, Nadal has had seven months rest and seems to have recovered from the knee injury which threatened his career. I'd be wary of dismissing Nadal's chances of retaining his title and will be looking to back him at odds of 2.2, a tempting price when you consider he would usually begin any other clay court competitions as the odds-on favourite.

 

Is there anything to suggest that any other player will have the ability to topple one of these two titans? It doesn't look likely. World number three Andy Murray  began Monte Carlo with aspirations of surpassing Djokovic as the ATP's best ranked player in the world, but his lacklustre defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka in straight  sets has done nothing to persuade punters that he is a strong bet to prove his worth on the red stuff, shifting out to 27 for Roland Garros glory. The general  consensus amongst tennis pundits seems to be that although Murray can defend the baseline as doggedly as Nadal and Djokovic, the Scot lacks the raw power in his  groundstroke game to contend on clay.

 

If you had to pick any one of the unlikely challengers to potentially cause a shock, I'd be tempted to back David Ferrer at 42 to win and hope he has a good run on his favoured surface to enable a back to lay before he comes up against the two favourites.

 

Recommended Bets

Back Rafa Nadal to win the French Open at 2.2

Back David Ferrer 42 for a back to lay opportunity

 

Bet HERE

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