Getting money down on Fed now may be the key to turning a profit in the spring.

Roger Federer is currently considered the second favorite heading into the 2010 French Open but he should probably be the outright favorite. 

The French Open at Roland Garros in Paris is not going to start until late May, however betting lines have been open since the conclusion of the 2010 Australian Open.

While Federer has missed some action lately with a lung infection, do not expect him to miss a Grand Slam as he has not missed one since the 1999 US Open, something that makes him a very safe bet in the futures market as you're incredibly unlikely to get burned by a no-show.

Federer has been in 4 consecutive French Open finals and while he has won only 1 of those finals, the player that has stood in his way, Rafael Nadal, looks highly overrated for the French Open as Ladbrokes have his price on the shorter side of EVEN at -150 (2/3).  Those odds are way too short given Nadal's injury problems and his history on tour for the last 9 months that does not include even 1 title.

Andrew Murray (+1000, 10/1; Ladbrokes) cannot really be considered a threat to Federer on clay as Murray has not experienced fantastic results at the French Open as of yet.  Last year he made the quarters before losing to Fernando Gonzalez (+10000, 100/1; Stan James) in what was actually a predictable result. 

Should Murray survive to the final and happen to meet Federer in that match, Murray should have a lot more confidence against Fed than he had in the past Grand Slam finals, but will Murray actually survive the field when the non-Slam threats like Gonzalez and others are perfectly capable of taking him out on clay in the earlier rounds?

The player who is most likely to up-end Federer at the French is probably Juan Martin Del Potro.  Del Potro didn't have any weak nerves in taking Federer out of the 2009 US Open and he followed up that performance with a win over Federer at the World Championships.

Del Potro played Federer to a tough five set match at Roland Garros in the semifinals last year, an effort that was head turning.

However the problem with Del Potro is that his drive is questionable and his ambition may have been at least temporarily satisfied with the US Open victory.  He is priced at +450 (9/2) to win the French with either bet365 or Stan James and you would like those odds if you could be sure he was going to play his best.

However, since winning the US Open, Del Potro has not cashed in for his backers in the outright winners market for any event.  His play at the Australian Open was not impressive and lead to a 4th round exit to Marin Cilic, a player Del Potro should defeat on a regular basis.

Federer goes for Slam after Slam after Slam.......and Del Potro doesn't appear to be like that.  Watch this guy in the events leading up to the French and look for at least 1 distinguished title (like Madrid) and a deep run in another tournament before taking him in the futures market for the French.

Register with Ladbrokes to bet on French Open futures and use MAXIMUMBONUS where it asks you for your promotion code for £25 free.