French Open 2016

[CzechPunter]

[Torque]

A couple of outright bets to get me started at Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal to win The French Open @ 6.5 Coral (1 pt)

If memory serves, Nadal was about this price last year when he wasn't playing as well as he is now so that immediately arouses my interest. Coming into this tournament the Spaniard has won in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and has only lost to Djokovic and Murray since the tour returned to European clay. Those two are obviously his biggest rivals and are ahead of him in the betting, but Djokovic was strangely subdued in Rome and I continue to have reservations about Murray's mentality when it comes to this slam, which is arguably the most difficult to win as it is so demanding. Nadal's level certainly dropped last season, but he appears to be in the ascendency once again and you can always count on him when it comes to effort and attitude. Can Nadal complete his own version of 'La Decima'? I wouldn't put it past him, particularly if Djokovic buckles under the pressure of trying to win here for the first time.

Serena Williams to win The French Open @ 5.0 Unibet (1 pt)

Not an original choice it's fair to say, but as Unibet have boosted this price I think it's worth taking. For the most part, Williams continues to dominate the rest of the WTA and she warmed up for this tournament with a fairly straightforward win at the Rome Masters. That should mean she is in good shape and ready to hit the ground running here, and in all honesty I don't see anyone that is playing well enough right now to beat the American. It's possible that she could slump in a match as we've seen before, and it's possible that an Azarenka or a Halep could step up and deliver a knock-out performance but based on recent tournaments I wouldn't want to bet on it. Like Nadal, Williams is going for her own slice of history and I think this could be the tournament where she finally draws level with Graf on 22 Grand Slam Singles titles.

I'm also going to have a 1pt punt on Nadal/S Williams in the Winning Double market on Betfair at odds of 25.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Torque