The weird and truncated schedule in 2020 means that the third Grand Slam of the year takes place in Paris over the next couple of weeks when the best women tennis players in the world head to Roland Garros for the French Open.
It was a breakthrough week for Ash Barty here last year but because of the current travel situation she has decided to close down for the year so she won’t be defending the title. That means we are set for a new winner on the second Saturday of the tournament.
Recent Winners
2019 – Ash Barty
2018 – Simona Halep
2017 – Jelena Ostapenko
2016 – Garbine Muguruza
2015 – Serena Williams
2014 – Maria Sharapova
2013 – Serena Williams
2012 – Maria Sharapova
2011 – Li Na
2010 – Francesca Schiavone
The Format
There are 128 players in the draw which has been determined prior to the event beginning and the competition is a straight knockout over the best of five sets like the other Grand Slams. Where there is a difference in this one is that there is no tiebreak in the final set of matches. They have to be won by two clear games when the score reaches 6-6. The champion will be crowned on the third Sunday of the tournament.
Top Quarter
With Ash Barty absent it is the 2018 champion Simona Halep who is the number one seed this week. She has recently won in Rome so would appear to be a genuine favourite to win the tournament but there are second other seeds in the top quarter who will be looking to deny her sufficient progress. They are Amanda Anisimova, Dayana Yastremska, last year’s finalist Marketa Vondrousova, Jo Konta, Maria Sakkari, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Kiki Bertens.
There are a number of eye catching names who aren’t seeded in this quarter. They include Eugenie Bouchard, the Olympic champion Monica Puig, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, US Open quarter finalist Shelby Rogers, Coco Gauff, Daria Gavilrova and Cici Bellis. If Halep doesn’t come out of this quarter then you get the feeling this will be a very competitive little section of the overall draw over the course of the fortnight.
Second Quarter
The Strasbourg champion Elina Svitolina is the highest seed in the second quarter. She should arrive here full of confidence and be fairly fresh after she gave the US Open a miss. If it all goes to the seeds she will meet Serena Williams in the quarter final but this is an absolutely loaded section with some very strong seeds. They are Barbora Strycova, Yulia Putintseva, US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka, the woman she beat in the quarter final in New York in Elise Mertens, Anett Kontaveit and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
There aren’t as many standout names among those who are unseeded in this quarter this year. Home favourite Caroline Garcia would be one though and she showed some decent form in New York. Kaia Kanepi, Venus Williams, Kirsten Flipkens and the sensational Tsvetana Pironkova are all in this quarter but you’ve got to think one of the many good seeds will come out of it, although picking which one isn’t as easy.
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Third Quarter
The Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin heads up the third quarter over the course of this fortnight. She looks a little vulnerable to me so Aryna Sabalenka, the next highest ranked seed in the draw, will fancy her chances of going deep at this Grand Slam. The other seeds in this section will all fancy their chances of a decent run here. They are Donna Vekic, Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina, Garbine Muguruza, Jennifer Brady and the good to watch Ons Jabeur.
The unseeded players who stand out in this quarter are Daria Kasatkina, Strasbourg semi-final Nao Hibino, Danielle Collins, Sorana Cirstea, British number two Heather Watson and Timea Babos. There feels like this is a wide open section and it wouldn’t really surprise us regardless of who comes out of this quarter although it might be that Garbine Muguruza’s experience of going the distance here holds up.
Bottom Quarter
Karolina Pliskova began the US Open as the number one seed but she is down to number two here. Nevertheless she will fancy her chances of coming out of what might be the weaker of the four quarters. She is seeded to meet Petra Kvitova in the quarter final but Kvitova has only ever been past the last 16 here once. That will interest the other seeds in this section and they include Sloane Stephens, Alison Riske, Petra Martic, Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber and Magda Linette.
The standout name among those who aren’t seeded for this fortnight is the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko who will be looking to revive her best form. Kiki Mladenovic will be eager to go well in her home Grand Slam to make up for the disappointment of the way her US Open tilt ended. Julia Goerges is the other well known name in what is a very open looking quarter of the draw.
Outright Betting
I’m keen to avoid getting too involved in the women’s draw because it always opens right up and often throws up surprise winners or finalists. When you add in the Covid-19 threat particularly with the public allowed on site throughout the fortnight and it just isn’t worth the risk in tying a load of dough up in what is often a complete lottery of an event to predict when there has been a full clay court season let alone one when there has only been a couple of events on the dirt.
Elena Rybakina is my idea of the best chance of a winner at a value price of 25/1. The Kazakh has enjoyed her couple of weeks on the clay so far with a couple of wins in Rome and then a run to the final in Strasbourg. Confidence counts for plenty at the minute as we saw with Victoria Azarenka in New York and if you take Garbine Muguruza out there isn’t a lot in her quarter to worry her so she should fancy her chances. It would be foolish not to take someone in the bottom quarter where Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova look vulnerable Sloane Stephens made the final here a couple of years ago and the quarter final last year and only once in her last seven visits to this tournament has she not made the second week. You’ve got to think the big seeds in her quarter are vulnerable so at 100/1 the American, who pushed Serena all the way in the US Open, is a big price.
Tips
Back E.Rybakina to win French Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with 888sport (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back S.Stephens to win French Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
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