French Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 05 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Ben Caudell looks at the betting ahead of Roger Federer's clash with Juan Martin Del Potro.

The Russian revolution has hit Paris with both Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova reaching the final of the French Open. Safina, the runner-up at last year's event and number one seed this year, had to survive some testing situations against first time semi-finalist Dominika Cibulkova to record a straight sets win 6-3 6-3.

Since her loss to fellow finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in Stuttgart two months ago, the Russian has gone on a 16-0 winning streak, the longest of the season, gaining titles in Rome and Madrid. There is little doubting that this could finally be the year she achieves her first Grand Slam win, she has been in mesmerising form and is worthy of her current world number one ranking, dropping only one set and 23 games in six matches, who would bet against her this Saturday?

Today's Selections:

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) v Roger Federer (SWI)
Roger Federer is one step closer to achieving his dream of winning that elusive French Open title, only Juan Martin Del Potro, Fernando Gonzalez or Robin Soderling stand in his way, none of whom have ever beaten the Swiss master on clay before.

Federer is just the fourth man to reach the Rolland Garros semi-finals on five or more occasions, Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet and Eric Sturgess are the others. And happily for his fans, The Fed Express has a 5-0 head-to-head series lead over Del Potro, the last win coming at the Madrid Masters one month ago. Federer won this match 6-3, 6-4 and is still yet to drop a set against the 20-year-old Argentinean, he is 12-0 in sets, and 69-29 in games.

Of the two, Del Potro has had a more comfortable route into the semi-finals winning four of his five matches in straight sets - he dropped one set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - compared with Federer's slightly less straight forward route, dropping sets against Jose Acasuso, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Tommy Haas where he came from two sets down to eventually take the match in the fifth and final set.

Federer will definitely have a psychological advantage against the Argentine, he recorded a 6-3 6-0 6-0 demolition job on Del Potro at this year's Australian Open, a scoreline that suggests Del Potro has little in his armoury to test his opponent and push him to the limit. I can't see any reason to back Del Potro in this match, he may win a set for the first time against Federer and this could boost his confidence, however with the finish line in sight for the Swiss it will take more than Del Potro can offer to disrupt his title challenge.

Selections:

Back Roger Federer @ [1.31] to win match
Back Federer -4.5 Games @ [1.8]
Back Federer 3-1 @ [3.7] (small bet)