French Open Daily Double: Laaksonen value against Martinez in damp conditions

It was a perfect start to the French Open on Monday when my first daily double was successful - and pretty comfortably, too - at odds of 4.9579/20.

Aljaz Bedene broke in game one and never looked back in winning the opening set against Christopher O'Connell and ended up winning the match 3-1, while Pablo Cuevas demolished Jenson Brooksby.

On to day two, then, and the all-important weather forecast says to expect a rainy day in Paris pretty much all day, so the roof will probably be utilised on Chatrier and play may be intermittent on the outside courts.

In theory, that should cause problems for those players that use heavy top spin, with damp courts less likely to take the spin as much, and in any case, I was of a mind to take on one Spaniard today anyway.

Martinez looks short in damp conditions against Laaksonen

Pedro Martinez has had a dismal clay swing, losing five of his six matches so far, with the latest loss only a week ago in Lyon against world number 263 Yosuke Watanuki being a new low for the struggling Spaniard.

Clearly his confidence is in his boots right now and the same could be said of his opponent on Tuesday, Henri Laaksonen, but the Swiss is not to be underestimated at majors, as he showed here in Paris a year ago.

Laaksonen's heavier weight on shot on the forehand could be key in damp conditions and 2.255/4 about Laaksonen +1.5 sets looks value with Martinez also badly out of form

Laaksonen took down Roberto Bautista Agut as a 9.94447/50 underdog and also beat Yannick Hanfmann before having to retire in the third round against Kei Nishikori and a few months later he went well at the US Open, beating John Millman and Cristian Garin before again falling in round three.

The Swiss has struggled this season, hence the price today, but he won't fear Martinez, having beaten the Spaniard here at the French Open in 2019 as favourite at 1.748/11 - now he's the 3.55/2 underdog.

His heavier weight on shot on the forehand could be key in damp conditions and 2.255/4 about Laaksonen +1.5 sets looks value with Martinez also badly out of form.

Tough turnaround and change of conditions for Gasquet

The second leg of Tuesday's double is to take Lloyd Harris to win over 18.5 games against Richard Gasquet at 1.674/6 to make the combined odds of both selections a 3.7511/4 chance.

This is a tough turnaround for the French veteran, who'll turn 36 in a few weeks' time, from dry, quick conditions at altitude in Geneva to a damp court at sea level in Paris and Harris's power may well have its moments in this match.

The crowd will obviously lift Gasquet I'm expecting a lengthy match here, with Harris more than capable on clay, as wins over Albert Ramos and Roberto Carballes Baena in similarly damp conditions in Barcelona last month show.

Gasquet won't get as much spin as he'd like on a damp surface and it'll also sap the energy from those ageing legs of his - and all of this after only finishing playing in Geneva on Friday.

The Gasman's form is very up and down these days, with that Geneva semi final, where he beat world number two Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, coming straight after defeats to Christopher Eubanks and Alexandre Muller at Challenger level.

The crowd will obviously lift Gasquet in this one and I'm expecting a lengthy match here, with Harris more than capable on clay, as wins over Albert Ramos and Roberto Carballes Baena in similarly damp conditions in Barcelona last month show.

He also beat Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the French Open last year when Sonego was coming off a semi final finish in Rome, so the South African shouldn't be underestimated here.

His main problem on the clay has been breaking serve, with only 11% breaks this past year on the red dirt (nine matches), but 82% holds, so unless Gasquet wins this in straight sets, which seems unlikely, Harris should at least win more than 18 games and may even win if they play on a damp surface.

So, Laaksonen +1.5 sets and Harris over 18.5 total games at 3.7511/4 is Tuesday's daily double.