French Open Betting / Ben Caudell / 26 May 2011 /

Ben has selected the best bets or three Friday ties at the French Open. But there's no doubt about which is the most exciting prospect and our man even reckons we might see an upset.

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) v Novak Djokovic (SRB)

This is by far the most exciting match of the men's third round and a must to watch.
Del Potro is a massive price at [6.6] to finally disrupt Novak's record breaking run of 45 matches in a row overall: 16 on clay, nine in a row at Grand Slam level and 51 in a row when priced as heavy favourite.

The Argentine himself is on an impressive run of form coming into this match and will have nothing to lose when he steps out to face Djokovic for the fourth time in his career. The 2009 US Open champion, who will be vying to take his first win against the Serbian, has won all nine matches this year on clay, reached the semi-final of last year's French Open and will like the speed of the new Roland Garros Balls that have so far favoured the big servers in Paris.

If the conditions are good for the Argentine, then we could see an end to Djokovic's winning streak. There's no doubting that a lot of tennis fans will be tuning into watch this one.

Recommended Bets
Back Juan martin Del Potro @ [6.8] (Back to Lay Bet)

Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Guillermo Garcia Lopez (ESP)

Fabio Fognini, the highest ranked Italian male still in the French Open, tore through qualifier and giant killer Stephane Robert in straight sets 6-2 6-1 6-0 in just over an hour on Wednesday.

Robert, who had previously dispatched of last year's semi-finalist Tomas Berdych in a five set epic first round match, had little energy left in his tank to provide any kind of threat against the formidable base-liner.

I predict that a similar scenario will take place on Friday as the fresh-legged Fognini takes on another fatigued player, Guillermo Garcia Lopez of Spain, who took nearly four hours to dispatch of Marsel Ilhan of Turkey 13-11 in the final set.

With the head-to-head series tied at 1-1, Fognini will be the more confident of the two players, having won their only clay court match, back in 2008. There are other reasons to favour the 5ft 10' Italian: he not only has a great record at the French Open 10-3, but also has a better Surface rating, winning four of his last five matches at the French Open, and 10 in a row when priced as favourite. Garcia Lopez has lost five in a row when priced as an underdog. This gives me every reason to back the Italian once again at around [1.70]

Recommended Bet
Back Fabio Fognini @ [1.70] to win match

Stanislas Wawrinka (SWI) v Jo Wilfried Tsonga

I fancy fist pumping home favourite Jo Wilfried Tsonga to make it two wins out of two against Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss numer two who stands only three places above Tsonga in the world rankings.

Having already destroyed Wawrinka in straight sets at the Guinot-Mary Cohr exhibition event last week 6-2 7-6, the Frenchman who has a 8-2 record in Paris will be heavily fancied to make it through to the fourth round for the third consecutive year.

Recommended Bet:
Back Tsonga @ [1.86] to win match

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: