French Open Betting / Barry Millns / 25 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Monaco has already taken some impressive scalps on clay this season, Verdasco is getting stronger in all aspects of his game and could Safin make his mark in what is likely to be his Roland Garos swansong? Barry Millns picks the players who he believes could challenge Nadal in Paris.

For a man who has won all 45 of his best-of-five-set matches on clay it is hard to look beyond Rafael Nadal winning a fifth successive French Open title. Not surprisingly he is the overwhelming favourite, currently available at [1.49] while Roger Federer [7.4], Andy Murray [32.0] and Novak Djokovic [10.0] lead the list of his strongest challengers. Below are my picks for three other players who might make some headlines along the way.

Although Juan Monaco, currently available at [12.0], still has some way to go to match his career-high ranking of No.14, the un-seeded Argentine is on the up again having posted some good wins on his favourite surface. Among his 17 victims on clay this season are the likes of Murray, David Ferrer, David Nalbandian, Tommy Robredo, Marin Cilic and Marat Safin.

Monaco, who kicks off his bid against the struggling Marcos Baghdatis, has reached the fourth round of the French Open once before. Now, having put last year's injury and illness woes behind him, he could be a real threat to seeds such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Igor Andreev and Juan Martin Del Potro who might have to face him in the first week.

Seeded to meet Nadal in the last eight, I certainly believe Fernando Verdasco could get that far. Twelve months ago he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the second season in a row and just think how much better he is now!

Physically and mentally Verdasco is so much stronger in all facets of his game. Since clinching the Davis Cup and following that up with his memorable run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Verdasco has maintained a consistently high level, never falling before the quarter-finals of any tournament this year.

Having watched him fire up so impressively in Paris against Florent Serra, I do think the Spanish No.2 will enjoy his best French Open yet, even if Nadal is likely to prove his nemesis once again. As things stand, Verdasco is trading at [8.6] to win the top quarter of the draw.

Now, I know Marat Safin has done very little in a long time and this may be wishful thinking. But the 29 year-old Russian, probably making his final visit to Roland Garros, has, after so many recent failures, at least got into the tournament with a straight sets win over a French wildcard and could exploit the draw as he did at Wimbledon last year.

In the same quarter as Murray, who is by no means certain to live up to his seeding even though he made a highly impressive start, Safin (a semi-finalist in 2002) might just get enough confidence back in his game in time to make a last charge at the venue where he first made his name with epic wins over Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten.

Whether Safin's sister and new world No.1, Dinara, goes on to win her first major singles title here remains to be seen. But aside form the Russian top seed, currently trading at [4.4] to become champion, plus the likes of title-holder Ana Ivanovic [17.5], Jelena Jankovic [9.2], Serena Williams [9.0] and Venus Williams [14.5], keep and eye on Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki.

Kuznetsova [8.4], recently back in form after winning Stuttgart and reaching the final in Rome, has, with Ivanovic, a better match win record here in the last three years than any other player. Runner-up in 2006, she made the quarters the following season and the semis last year.

Azarenka [20.0], still in her teens, has been one of the form players of 2009, winning 28 matches already and titles in Brisbane, Memphis and Miami. That last triumph underlined her entry just beforehand into the Top 10 and only weeks later 18 year-old Wozniacki [23.0] put her name that high in the rankings by posting her 35th win of the season to reach the final in Madrid.