French Open betting: WOMEN to watch at Roland Garros
by DOC’S SPORTS
The Grand Slam of the tennis season gets underway on the red dirt of Roland Garros Sunday. As always, Serena Williams is the obvious favorite on the women’s side, but Paris is always good for a few surprises.
Who will it be this year?
Favorite
Serena Williams (+120)
Serena is prone to the random loss from out of left field every now and then. She has too many off-the-court interests not to be. Heck, even Roger Federer in his prime took a few in the loss column.
For Serena, more than a few of her hiccups have come at the French Open. Part of the reason, of course, is that her overwhelming power game simply does not work as well on clay. She has triumphed in Paris only twice, including a 2002 sister-versus-sister final against Venus. That may be why the odds suggest Serena is a slight underdog against the field -but still a massive favorite overall – for the upcoming fortnight.
But there’s a lot to like. Serena’s second Roland Garros triumph came last spring, so she should be confident. The World No. 1 is also coming off a title last week in Rome, where she dropped only one set and none of the sets she won were closer than 6-3.
Best of the rest
Maria Sharapova (+400)
With Victoria Azarenka still sidelined by a foot injury, Sharapova is the second choice – slightly ahead of 2011 French Open champion Li Na (+500). The Russian has done extremely well to reinvent herself on clay. After making only one semifinal in her first eight appearances at Roland Garros, her last three results there are semifinal, champion, runner-up.
What’s not to think Sharapova won’t contend again this time around? She won two of three clay-court tournaments heading into Paris, first in Stuttgart and then in Madrid.
Underdog to watch
Simona Halep (+1,000)
Halep is the best player you’ve never heard. Well, at this point maybe you have. The 22 year old is finding her stride – on fire, in fact – and up to No. 4 in the world. Prior to 2013, she had never finished a season ranked better than 47th. She was 11th after last year and is certainly not looking back. Halep’s 2014 highlights include a quarterfinal at the Australian Open (so she knows how to get it done on the big stage), a title in Doha, a semifinal in Indian Wells, and a runner-up performance on the clay courts of Madrid.
The Romanian has made it out of the first round in Paris only once, but she has been at the mercy of the draw as an unseeded player. This is a new Halep, however, so that will no longer be an issue.
Live long shot
Sara Errani (+2,500)
Errani is not playing quite as well as she was in 2012 and 2013, but there is some reason for encouragement after last week’s event in Rome. The Italian reached the final before succumbing to Serena.
On that note, Serena is the one woman Errani simply can’t beat. The World No. 11 is 0-7 lifetime against Serena, has won only a single set, and none of the 14 sets she has lost has even gone to a tiebreaker. If someone can upset Serena before Errani has to face her, though, she would have a legitimate shot at the title.
As for her recent history at Roland Garros, Errani finished runner-up to Sharapova in 2012 and lost to Serena in last year’s semis.