French Open Betting / Editor / 03 June 2007 /

It's the halfway stage at the French Open in Paris today in more than one sense with the action reaching the middle Sunday and the men's singles title challengers facing their fourth of the seven matches you must win to lift the crown.

And the early favourites are still setting a hot pace. Double defending champion Rafael Nadal has a day off, allowing him to celebrate his 21st birthday, but will play his last 16 match with Lleyton Hewitt tomorrow.

So once again world number one and top seed Roger Federer takes centre stage against 13th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in one of four last 16 men's matches scheduled today.

Federer is second on Court Philippe Chartrier and he is aiming to make it a perfect ten against the man from Moscow - he leads him 9-0 in head to heads, including wins this year on the way to the Australian title and in the Dubai final.

Youzhny hasn't taken a set off him in the last five meetings and Federer is trading at 1.06 with Betfair to make the last eight. Youzhny, who has never been beyond the third round until today, is 15 to cause an upset against last year's runner-up, who is chasing the one major title to elude him.

A win will earn him a quarter-final clash with the winner of today's clash between ninth seed Tommy Robredo and 29th seed Filippo Volandri. This, on paper, is a much better match-up on Court Lenglen with the pair currently locked 3-3 in head to heads - and all their meetings having been played out on clay.

They haven't met this year but the improving Volandri has won all of their last three contests after Robredo, who is aiming to reach his third French quarter-final, won the first three without dropping a set.

The Spaniard has the experience with four title triumphs to the Italian's two and Volandri, until this year, had never been beyond the third round.

The Betfair match odds market suggests experience will count more than current form with Volandri 3.1 to make the quarter-finals - but wouldn't he like another crack at Federer after beating him at that stage in Rome a month ago?
Possibly the match of the day sees fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko take on Argentina's 15th seed David Nalbandian.

Here are two players who know each other's game inside out, having met seven times. Nalbandian leads 5-2, having taken the last four meetings.

But Davydenko, a French quarter-finalist in 2006 and a semi-finalist in 2005, is available at 1.71 with Betfair to make the last eight. Nalbandian, a semi-finalist last year and in 2004, trades at 2.38.

The winner will meet the victor of the clash between comeback man Guillermo Canas, the 19th seed, and Juan Monaco in the battle of the Argentine stars. Monaco is the only unseeded player left in the top half and is through to the fourth round for the first time in four attempts.

Canas has never gone further than the quarter-finals (twice) but if he does he could be in for a semi-final clash with Federer, the man he beat in Indian Wells and Miami.

Canas and Monaco, Buenos Aries neighbours, have met once - in Rome in 2005 when Canas won 6-0 6-0. Betfair have Canas trading at 1.55 to go through with Monaco a less fancied 2.88.

The pick of today's women's fourth round contests will reveal how sharp second seed Maria Sharapova is after her shoulder injury. She faces the dangerous 14th seed Patty Schnyder.

Sharapova leads 4-1 in head to heads but that one Schnyder win was in their only meeting on clay in Rome two years ago. The last three contests have been three setters and left-hander Schnyder is trading at 2.44 to make the last eight with Sharapova trading at 1.68.

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