Favorites may have been dominate in recent years but if you want to do more than just scratch the surface of French Open Tennis Championship betting, look to, well, the surface.
The sport’s second Grand Slam event, which begins service on May 25 in Paris before concluding with the respective crowning of its women’s and men’s champions on June 7 and 8, presents an entirely different set of handicapping and wagering challenges than the bettor will encounter in the other three Grand Slam spectaculars.
The key difference is surface. While the Australian Open and US Open are played on fast hardcourt surfaces and Wimbledon is contested on lightning quick grass, the court at Roland Garros is made of clay, a surface slower than Maurice Chevalier riding a tricycle up a hill. The clay keeps the ball in play longer so players hit fewer winners and the games of big serve-and-volley types are greatly compromised.
The French Open, then, becomes a war of attrition, with fit and patient players often outlasting players with superior weaponry.
Future book odds, past and present, reflect this dramatic difference. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal, who has won three consecutive French Open Championships but has failed to capture any other Major, is a huge favorite over the world’s No. 1 ranked tennis player, Roger Federer, who has won five straight Wimbledon titles, four consecutive US Open Championships and three Australian Open crowns—-a total of 12 Grand Slams in all--but has never succeeded at the French Open.
Thus, it’s not surprising then that Nadal opened as the 4/9 favorite to win the 2008 French Open. Federer, who has lost in the finals to Nadal in each of the last two years, opened as the 4/1 second choice.
Interestingly, when these two men line-up for a Grand Slam tournament on any surface other than clay, the odds are reversed. For example, at the 2008 Australian Open this January, Federer opened at odds of 4/9 while Nadal was quoted at 13/2.
Nadal’s dominance at the French Open has been so complete that sportsbooks even allow you to wager on the field at +160 (bet $100 to win $160) if you don’t want to lay 4/9 (bet $225 to win $100) on Nadal or take a price on any other individual player.
Speaking of other players, Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, a French Open semi-finalist last year, is the third choice at future book odds of 6/1. Others hoping to spring an upset of Nadal include David Nalbandian, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in both 2006 and 2004, and Nikolay Davydenko, a French Open semi-finalist in 2007 and 2005, each at future book odds of 20/1.
On the women’s side, Justine Henin has been every bit as dominant at Roland Garros as Nadal, also winning the last three French Open singles titles, as well as one in 2003. Unlike Nadal, however, Henin also has captured three other Major titles, winning two US Open Championships and one Australian Open crown. Still, by the numbers, clay would seem to be Henin’s favorite surface, as demonstrated by future book odds of 3/2.
Serena Williams, the champion here in 2002 and the reigning Australian Open heroine, opened as the 11/2 second choice in futures. Maria Sharapova, who reached the semis in Paris last year but is far more effective on fast surfaces, is offered at odds of 7/1, the same price as Ana Ivanovic, the runner-up to Henin last year.
Jelena Jankovic, a semi-finalist in last year’s French Open, opens at odds of 12/1 while Venus Williams, who boasts six Major championships but never has succeeded at the French Open, is 14/1 to end her winless streak in Paris.
While Nadal and Henin are strong favorites, French Open tennis betting enthusiasts must remember that nothing is certain. To that end, Nadal lost on clay for only the second time in 105 matches when he was ousted in the second round of the Rome Masters, May 7 and Henin was defeated in the third round of the German Open, May 8.
Just two more factors to consider before plunging into French Open tennis betting.
