The comeback win of Stan Wawrinka over Richard Gasquet was the undoubted highlight at Roland Garros on Monday. The fact that it was our only win of the day made it even more significant, and the only regret was laying off too much of the potential Wawrinka profit when he came back to two sets all! Wawrinka was phenomenal in the final few sets, as was Gasquet to give him his due, but Stan's shotmaking was exquisite. There were so many single-handed winners down the line, it was fantastic. Unfortunately for Stan, he will go no further, as Nadal is his next opponent but it was a fantastic display today. Wawrinka traded as high as 14.00 on the exchnages today, and while I did get on him @ 10.00, I layed off too much too soon and made only a relatively small profit.
Elsewhere today, Mikhail Youzhny was absolutely pathetic against Tommy Haas. While the German was typically efficient, Mikhail Youzhny ensured that all Tommy Haas had to do was stand at the other end of the court. Every second shot Youzhny hit was out and it was possibly the worst display I have ever seen from a professional tennis player. In the women's matches, Francesca Schiavone was doing well up until 3-3 in the first set, after which she didn't win another game against Vika Azarenka - so much for the plus 5.5 games there!
Anyway, moving onto quarter final day in the French capital tomorrow, the men's draw sees Roger Federer come up against Big Jo Tsonga as expected, while Tommy Robredo meets David Ferrer in a match I have very little interest in to be honest! On the women's side, Serena meets Kuznetsova while Errani meets Radwanska in the other match. Here are my four previews:
Tsonga v Federer: I can see Tsonga and Federer being an almightly struggle and I think Federer's price of 1.61 is actually very attractive. I won't be backing him however, as I was far from impressed with him the last day against Gilles Simon, while Tsonga, on the other hand, has progressed this far with the minimum of fuss. It will be a titanic struggle and if someone held a gun to my head I would probably take Federer in 5. If this match was on grass I would be recommending Jo for sure. I just think the clay might prove detrimental to his chances as Federer is certainly a better mover than him on this surface. For that reason, I am opting for Federer just about, but no bet recommended. If you do fancy a flutter, Federer in 5 sets is available @ 6.50 on the exchanges.
Robredo v Ferrer: Ferrer leads the head to head here 6-2 and I can't see anything other than a straight set rout for Ferrer. I think maybe one set might be close, but Robredo has come back from two sets down too often this week and his race is run in my opinion. Ferrer, like Jo Tsonga, has been very efficient and ruthless this week and his odds of 1.07 accurately reflect his chances tomorrow. No bet recommeded.
Williams v Kuznetsova: This is a match which Serena should and probably will win, but I think Svetlana Kuznetsova could give her plenty of trouble along the way. Kuznetsova is my favourite female player, I love the way she plays the game. She is aggressive, serves well, hits a big ball, and sets up points very well. And tellingly, she isn't afraid of anybody, Serena Williams included. Much like Rafa Nadal, Williams often wins matches before they ever begin by intimidating other players, but the butch, tattooed, former French Open winning Russian won't be intimidated. I think she has shown great form, and she won't mind dealing with Serena's pace. She moves way better than Serena, although that wouldn't be hard, and I just hope she can maintain her good form tomorrow. I will take Serena to probably win the match but I am recommending Kuznetsova plus 6.5 games @ 2.10 on the exchanges.
Errani v Radwanska: Sara Errani was far from impressive in her previous round against Suaraz-Navarro, but she did well to pull through from a set down to take her place in the QF. Tomorrow, she comes up against an in-form Agnieska Radwanska who has looked great all tournament. However, in terms of clay court pedigree, this one is no contest, with Errani as a former finalist and Radwasnka having more success on hard courts. The odds suggest Errani only has a 40% chance of winning here as she is priced at 2.50 on the exchanges. I think she represents good value as I would give her more than a 50% chance of winning this one. Take Errani to progress as a recommended bet. Probably in three.
Enjoy the tennis tomorrow! Over and out :)
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