Just like the men’s version, the women’s French Open gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday with all eyes on Serena Williams to see if she can retain her title or whether someone else will land the second Grand Slam of 2016.
This tournament will be lacking a few big names with Maria Sharapova currently suspended from the sport while Caroline Wozniacki and Belinda Bencic miss the tournament with injury but there are plenty of high profile players competing.
Recent Winners
2015 – Serena Williams
2014 – Maria Sharapova
2013 – Serena Williams
2012 – Maria Sharapova
2011 – Li Na
2010 – Francesca Schiavone
2009 – Svetlana Kuznetsova
2008 – Ana Ivanovic
2007 – Justine Henin
2006 – Justine Henin
Top Seeds
Serena Williams is the number one seed and is clearly the best player in the women’s game right now and like Djokovic in the men’s event we could look at her odds of 9/4 at the end of the tournament and think that was a gift but the American didn’t win in Australia and has been beaten a couple of times since so she is more vulnerable this year. She doesn’t have a nice draw either.
Agnieszka Radwanska is the second seed this year and as such she looks to have a nice draw but I’m never certain this is her best surface and I think I would rather wait until the grass court season before backing her although I could understand why someone would be tempted to take her at 50/1.
Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber is the third seed and she is 22/1 to keep the calendar slam alive by winning this title too. She has gone ok on the clay this season but again I wonder if this is her best surface. I’m not convinced. She’s also been drawn in Serena’s half.
Garbine Muguruza is the fourth seed. Muguruza burst onto the scene in a major way when she made it to the Wimbledon final last year. She has made the quarter final here for each of the last two years but I just wonder if she is slightly overrated now. On her day she can match anyone but either way 12/1 is a little short.
Victoria Azarenka is seeded fifth for this tournament but realistically I think most judges know that without Sharapova, the Belarussian is the second best player in the world when she is on song. She is 8/1 for this title but a word of caution, she could run into Serena as early as the quarter final which isn’t good for long term betting potential.
Other Contenders
Simona Halep begins the tournament as the second favourite and in terms of the draw she has lots going for her. The Madrid champion has avoided the same half as Serena and has found herself in the weak looking Radwanska quarter so the 2014 finalist has the potential to go very deep again. She’s 13/2 to win the title.
Madison Keys was a runner up to Serena in Rome recently and if she has that form with her this fortnight then she is entitled to go well at 45/1 while Timea Bacsinszky is another one who could surprise a few at 40/1 but both ladies are in the same half as Serena which is less than ideal.
Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has never truly convinced me on clay but she is seeded 10 and in the weakest quarter of them all so there could be some mileage in her at 28/1 but you would be taking a leap of faith I think.
Outright Betting
I’m going with two outrights in this tournament. I respect Serena enough to shy away from her side of the draw but I don’t think I would have backed anyone in that half anyway because not only does it have Serena but it has Azarenka, Kerber, Bacsinsky, Keys and Cibulkova and it could turn out to be a tournament in itself.
With so many strong names who are in form all in the top half there is plenty of value to be had in the bottom half, especially if something happens to Simona Halep at any stage. She really should cruise into the latter stages of this tournament but there is something telling me she won’t, even so she’s too short for me and I’m no major fan of Muguruza at her price either. Instead I’ll go with two ladies who have done the course and distance here in the past.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is having a good season at the minute. The 2009 winner is currently sat in seventh place on the Road to Singapore rankings which shows how well she has begun the year. Kuznetsova won in Sydney earlier in the year and lost in the final in Miami in a tournament where she beat Serena in the earlier rounds.
She has made the semi-finals in Prague and the quarter final of Rome on the clay too where she lost to Serena so she’s in really good touch at the minute. Muguruza is the main seed in her quarter but I look down it from top to bottom and there isn’t a whole lot in the way of top name dangers. At 70/1 I’m more than happy to take the Russian to see if she can roll back the years and land a second title.
Lucie Safarova was a finalist in this tournament last year and she is in a nice part of the draw to go well again this year. It was a quiet start to the season for the Czech but she came to life in her home tournament in Prague recently when she landed the title and that should hopefully have set her up nicely for a tilt here.
Simona Halep would be a potential last 16 opponent but if she can come past that she would probably be the favourite to see off Errani or Radwanska in a worst case scenario in the quarter final so at 45/1 I’ve got to pay to see how well the big serving leftie can go back at a venue she has good memories at.
Quarter Betting
I’m not really interested in a lot in the top half of the draw because as I mentioned above it really is like a mini tournament in itself but given that the quality is top draw and good players will be playing equally good players throughout there is a chance it opens right up for someone to take advantage so I’m going to play a small punt in the hope of landing the bacon in the second quarter.
Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber and Timea Bacsinsky are all worthy short prices in this quarter but I think there could be a little bit of mileage in taking the Australian player Daria Gavrilova. We saw how gritty and gutsy she is at the Australian Open where she had a fine run and they are qualities I like in the women’s game.
Gavrilova isn’t consistent but she does seem to raise her game against the big names. In her last two tournaments she has taken care of Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep and they are two decent scalps for anyone let alone someone making her name in the game. Gavrilova has made a couple of quarter finals here and if she can avoid early battles and others get weary or big names get knocked out this draw could open up for her to land a semi-final spot at 33/1.
Tips
Back S.Kuznetsova to win French Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 71.00 with NetBet (1/2 1-2)
Back L.Safarova to win French Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with NetBet (1/2 1-2)
Back them here:
Back D.Gavrilova to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Betfred
Back her here:
