We are used to seeing Rafael Nadal at big odds-on to win the French Open, such has been the Spaniard’s dominance in this tournament over the past few years. Since 2005, Nadal has only been beaten once at Roland Garros, landing five Grand Slams on clay and all this at the tender age of 24.
However, it is currently possible to back the world number one at odds of 10/11 (bet365 – £200 free bets) to win the 2011 French Open over the next fortnight and that is because he faces a serious threat to his clay crown in the form of Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian has been outstanding since the turn of the year and remains unbeaten in 2011 after beating Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters and then ATP event at Rome which means he is clearly the form player coming into this event.
However, the bookmakers are prepared to lay 17/10 (Boylesports – £20 free betting) about the Serbian remaining on course for a clean sweep of Grand Slam titles by winning the French Open, with Djokovic having previously struggled to make an impact in Paris. It has been three years since he reached the semi-finals – his best ever finish in this tournament.
It remains to be seen whether the men’s singles will pan out to be the two-horse race that the bookmakers currently make it at the moment, with Roger Federer available at odds of 14/1 (Paddy Power – £100 free bet) despite the fact that the Swiss was victorious in 2009 when beating Robin Soderling in the final after the Swede had eliminated Nadal.
Andy Murray is also expected to reach the semi-finals by the bookies and Blue Square offer 16/1 that the Brit lands his first Grand Slam title when everyone is least expecting it. It is certainly worth noting that he ran Djokovic extremely close in Rome before the Serbian prospered and perhaps he can perform well with the pressure off in France.
David Ferrer’s best achievement in the French Open is the quarter finals in 2005 and 2008, although the Spaniard has good form coming into this event and can be backed at odds of 33/1 (bet365). Juan Martin Del Potro (35/1 Paddy Power) is available at similar odds and the Argentine is now fully recovered from the injury which saw him sidelined for most of 2010.
Aside from these players, the only other viable contender is probably Robin Soderling, who has proved that he can trouble (and beat) Nadal on clay, so it comes down to whether he can raise his game to the requisite level once again. Betfred offer 50/1 that the Swede is triumphant at Roland Garros.