French Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 24 May 2010 /

Andy Murray's build-up to the second Slam of the year has been far from convincing and a first round clash against the unseeded and extremely dangerous Richard Gasquet is the last thing he would have wanted. It may all be a bit much for the young Scot, says Ben Caudell.

Andy Murray starts his French Open campaign today knowing that he is going to have to dramatically improve his clay court form if he is to have any chance of reaching the same round as he did last year.

In the lead up to last year's edition of the French Open, the feisty young Scot, showered us with scintillating performances that gave the British public hope that at some stage in the near future they would have a Grand Slam Champion to claim as their own.

That year Murray reached the quarter finals of the French Open, losing to semi-finalist Fernando Gonzalez in four sets; it was a successful campaign nonetheless for the Brit whose expectations on the clay are nowhere near as high as his expectations for the other three Grand Slams.

The contrasts in form from the months of March through to June this year and last can't have been any greater. In 2009 Murray reached the final of Indian Wells, won the title in Miami and reached the semi finals of the Madrid Masters event, which was played on clay. This year, his form as well as the hope of the British public has faded due to several inconsistent performances that have led to a drop in both his rankings and his confidence. First round losses in Miami and Monte Carlo, a second round loss in Rome and a quarter final appearance in Madrid only highlights the troubles the Brit will face when he steps out on the Suzanne Lenglen court against home favourite Richard Gasquet.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet is back after a turbulent year in which he was charged with a doping offence and then later acquitted. The signs are looking good for Gasquet, especially after recording two consecutive tournament wins on the red dirt (Bordeaux Challenger, Nice Open ATP). His win over Fernando Verdasco, a player at the top of his game, in the final of the Nice Open event just two days ago will give Gasquet all the confidence he needs to gain his revenge for the 2008 epic five set loss at Wimbledon.

Gasquet is 10-0 in all matches, in France, in Europe and on clay. He leads the head-to-head 2-1 against Murray, who is 5-5 in all matches and 6-4 on clay. The only way I believe Murray can win this match is if it goes to a deciding set. Gasquet will be slightly fatigued after a gruelling two weeks and requested to play on Tuesday rather than Monday to get an extra day's rest. Unfortunately for him, this was not granted. However, with this match being played on home soil, the crowed will be behind their man and this will surely give him the energy to get through to the second round at Murray's expense.

Selection:

Back Richard Gasquet @ [2.66] to win match
Back Gasquet 3-1 @ [7.5]

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: