The French Open of tennis is just over two weeks away.
Roland Garros 2010 is just a couple of weeks away however betting lines and the women's field promises to be a lot more competitive than the men's.
Here are the odds to win outright for the players considered to be in the running to go deep into the draw at the 2010 French Open.
The favorite: Justine Henin, +175 (7/4) with Bodog (MAXIMUMBONUS is your promotion code)
Justine Henin has won the French Open a total of four times (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007). She 'retired' just before the 2008 French Open and did not make a return to Grand Slam tennis until this year's Aussie (l. to S. Williams in the final). Henin won the last three French Opens that she contested and since her form on tour has been very impressive since returning to tour, she's a clear favorite to win at Roland Garros once again.
While Henin has just one title in 2010, it is a recent title and it is a clay court title (Stuttgart, d. Stosur in the final). She did lose two sets in the event and that is two more sets than how many she lost during the entire 2007 French Open so perhaps she is a little bit more vulnerable on clay now than she was on clay the last time she was favored to win in Paris.
If you are betting Henin, Bodog is the site to register with (MAXIMUMBONUS is your promotional code) as they have the best odds on the Belgian star at this point.
2nd favorite: Serena Williams, +550 (11/2) with Paddy Power
Serena Williams' status as a second favorite to win the French Open is suspect. She has not won the event since 2002 and that is her only singles title in Roland Garros.
The reason that Williams is coming in as the second favorite is because she is the top ranked player on tour, she has won 2 of the last 3 Slams, and although, before this week, she had been idle on tour since defeating Justine Henin in the Australian Open final, Williams is currently deep into the clay court draw in Rome.
However the odds on Williams at +550, even as a best price, should NOT be bet due to the fact that Williams has only won one French Open and that was a full 8 years ago now.
3rd favorite: Kim Clijsters +1000 (10/1) with Paddy Power, Stan James
Kim Clijsters has two Grand Slams to her credit but both of those were in Flushing Meadows. At Roland Garros, Clijsters is 0 for 6.
Part of the reason that she is coming in as the third favorite is due to her past results at the French Open as she made the finals in both 2001 and 2003. She has yet to win the Slam however and while her opportunities have been limited due to 'retirement', in her last two outings in Paris she fell in the 4th round (2005) and in the semis (2006).
In terms of recent form, Clijsters won in Miami (d. V. Williams in the final) but she has picked up a left foot injury. Just how limiting that might be in a couple weeks time isn't clear and at +1000 Clijsters' odds are a good bet to sprinkle at this time.
4th favorite: Jelena Jankovic +1000 (10/1) with William Hill
Jelena Jankovic's odds are generally shortening to win the French Open. The reason she is considered the 4th favorite is not due to past Grand Slam success however, as Jankovic has never won a Grand Slam before, but rather it is due to her recent form.
Jankovic was the outright winner in Indian Wells earlier this season and on clay she has been playing well as she took Henin to three sets in Stuttgart and she, Jankovic, is a current semifinalist in Rome where she is favored to beat Serena Williams. Jankovic has made 2 semifinals at Roland Garros (2007, 2008) and she may be a little bit below the radar for 2010.
She is still only 25 years old and that makes her the youngest of the top 4 favorites and there is value in betting her at +1000.
5th favorite: Svetlana Kuznetsova +1600 (16/1) with Ladbrokes or Coral (MAXIMUMBONUS is your promotion code)
Svetlana Kuznetsova is considered a favorite because she is the defending champion at Roland Garros. She defeated Dinara Safina in straight sets in the 2009 French Open final to capture the championship as Safina had a meltdown.
However Kuznetsova is nowhere near the form she displayed in Paris last year as she has suffered losses to several players outside of top ten recently. All of these players have victories over Kuznetsova this season (all rankings at time of match):
Na Li (ranked 16th) on clay in Stuttgart
Marion Bartoli (ranked 15th) in Miami
Carla Suarez Navarro (ranked 42nd) in Indian Wells
Regina Kulikova (ranked 99th) in Dubai
Ana Ivanovic (ranked 23rd) Fed Cup Week 1
Nadia Petrova (ranked 19th) at the Australian Open
Dominika Cibukova (ranked 24th) in Sydney
There isn't a bad player in the above list but the 5th ranked player on tour should not be suffering routine losses to players outside of the top 10. There is definitely something wrong with Kuznetsova's game this season although she is only 24 and should be expected to bounce back sooner or later. But with 2000 ranking points to defend at this year's French Open, if Kuznetsova can't stop losing to players ranked 15th and longer, she's going to find herself out in the third or fourth round in Paris and may be on the edge of the top 10 before Wimbledon.
You need odds of +2500 or longer to bet Kuznetsova at this point and those are not available.
6th favorite: Victoria Azarenka +1600 (16/1) with Paddy Power
Victoria Azarenka is the 6th favorite to win the French Open for two reasons. She made the quarters last year (l. to Safina) and she is still only 20 years old with improvements no doubt pending.
When relative odds are considered, Azarenka is a better bet to win the French Open than either Serena Williams or Kim Clijsters so Azarenka backers can go into the water if they like.
Other favorites:
Venus Williams +2000, 20/1; Coral
Caroline Wozniacki +2000, 20/1; Paddy Power
Sam Stosur +2000, 20/1; Paddy Power
Elena Dementieva, +2200, 22/1; Coral
Dinara Safina, +2500, 25/1; Bodog
Ana Ivanovic, +2500, 25/1; bet365
Yanina Wickmayer, +4000, 40/1; Ladbrokes
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, +8000, 80/1; Stan James
Venus Williams has the big name but she has never won in Roland Garros before and she is well removed from her only finals appearance. She might be considered +300 just to make the fourth round at the French Open.
The only betting lines that could be entertained in the above list are Ivanovic (2008 champion) who is playing well in Rome and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who has been surging through the rankings in the last 6 months (she's only 18). Pavlyuchenkova made the third round of the French Open last year as a 17 year old and looks like a better complete player than fellow youngster Melanie Oudin. At 80 to 1, there's value on Pavlyuchenkova.
Not Impossible Longshots
Carla Suarez Navarro +12500 (125/1) Sky Bet
Dominika Cibulkova +15000 (150/1) Paddy Power
Sorana Cirstea +20000 (200/1) Paddy Power
Navarro has been to the quarterfinals of the French Open and she's out of Spain with their clay court traditions. She's still only 21 years of age.
Cibulkova made the semis in Roland Garros last year but has not been on great form in 2010. At 150 to 1 you could bet her based solely on her result from last season and because she's still only 21.
Cirstea made the quarters last year and is barely 20 years old so 200 to 1 is acceptable.
Top recommendations: run with Henin against the field with Bodog, or take 3 of these five players at long odds: Jankovic, Azarenka, Clijsters, Ivanovic, Pavlyuchenkova.
Register with Paddy Power to bet on WTA tennis - take advantage of their deposit bonus offer to receive free bets that can be used on the 2010 French Open.
