2010 French Open Tennis Betting – Henin Again Favored, But Women’s Side Is Wide Open
Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin have eight French Open titles amongst themselves – are you surprised that either are among the favorites in 2010? The sports betting community knows that Nadal is a better bet than Henin because the women’s side – as per usual – is wide open. Last year, Svetlana Kuznetsova surprised us all and this year, it’s the Belgians and the Williams’ who are favored again.
- What: Women’s Tennis Betting
- When: May 23rd – June 6th
- Where: Roland Garros – Paris, France
- Who: WTA
The Favorites – Serena Williams (+250), Justine Henin (+500), Venus Williams (+550), Kim Clijsters (+700)
Things are back to normal in the tennis world. With both Belgian ladies back, it’s pretty much how things used to be in the olden days when the Williams sisters and the two Belgians were favored at most tournaments.
Justine Henin came out of retirement last year and stirred things up quite a bit but she was unable to win at her best tournament. She has seven grand slams and sportsbook odds makers know that her best is the French, where she has four wins.
Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters will contend as per usual but one has to wonder if both are just enough past their primes to no longer be a real threat.
Meanwhile, Serena is always a threat but the French Open is her weakest of the four. Henin appears to be good value at +500.
The Second Tier – Maria Sharapova (+1500), Victoria Azarenka (+2000), Elena Dementieva (+2000), Caroline Wozniacki (+2500), Svetlana Kuznetsova (+3300), Dinara Safina (+3400), Jelena Jankovic (+3500)
There is some real value in this second tier for the online betting crowd.
First off, we can cross Elena Dementieva off the list since she never wins at Grand Slams. Maria Sharapova is also someone we can remove as she is all glamour and no performance.
Victoria Azarenka is an intriguing up-and-comer and she did make the quarter-finals last year. She’s still just 20-years-old so she’s likely not quite ready to win it.
Safina appears to offer good value as she has been in the final the last two years. She has not been very good on the clay this year and will drop in the rankings, but at 35-to-1 you have to consider the two-time finalists a decent bet – even if you plan to hedge in the final.
Jelena Jankovic is an intriguing prospect as well. J.J. had a pair of semi-final appearances in 2007 and 2008 before exiting early last year. She is playing well and if she can somehow avoid Henin, who she has lost 10 straight times against, then she might surprise at Roland Garros.
The Longshots – Sam Stosur (+5500), Yanina Wickmayer (+6000), Vera Zvonareva (+6500), Ana Ivanovic (+7500)
The longshots are exactly that and may not be worth mentioning.
Stosur and Wickmayer are up-and-comers that have yet to prove anything, so it’s tough to back them for French Open tennis betting.
Meanwhile, Ivanovic is an interesting bet at 75-to-1 as she is a former winner. Unfortunately she has absolutely torpedoed since then and she would need some kind of a miracle to win it.
Outlook & Pick
We’ll go with one of the ladies expected to win it: Henin.
Last year, it was too soon for her and she had a little bit of rust. This year, she should be in much better form to win it all.
