Roland Garros - Nadal to halt Djokovic winning run in French Open
The French Open appears anything but with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic taking most of the market with all others 16/1 or bigger. The latter has built up a formidable unbeaten run of 37 games this calendar year, despatching Federer, Nadal and Murray as well as all others put before him. Will he continue his run and surpass John McEnroe’s record of 42 straight victories? Well the bookies do not make him favourite, that honour belongs to Rafael Nadal who is bidding for a sixth win in this event.
Nadal is always strong at the Roland Garros and although you could conclude that the Spaniard has a potentially difficult path ahead, you can do that for all the main contenders. His first opponent is John Isner who has a fierce serve but little else to back that up. Progression should be a formality but possible later opponents will provide a greater level of resistance; Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Soderling all scheduled to meet Nadal if winning their prior matches.
Federer has not shone on clay this year, meeting defeat at the hands of Jurgen Melzer, Richard Gasquet and Nadal and the veteran player may just be succumbing to age. The fire still burns strongly though and Federer is desperate to claim number one spot once again in order to beat Pete Sampras’ record.
Andy Murray remains one to tread warily with, with his temperament, consistency and self-belief all remaining a worry for bettors.
On balance, Nadal is going to carry my money so he gets the ValueChecker win vote. It doesn’t seem right to consider Roger Federer as an ‘outsider’ and his odds of 16/1 are the most tempting outside the two market leaders.