Looking forward to a productive 2 weeks
Last year, I think we saw 5 players overturned at 1.01
Had a nice touch this morning on Federer after the draw. Backed him at 18, layed off 16, but annoyed with myself when he ended up 13.5
I'm thinking of laying Serena at Evens
Yes, she's in great form winning Madrid & Rome, but she is too short IMO. Her record at Roland Garros is really poor, she has only won the French open once & that was 11 years ago, way back in 2002. She hasn't even reached the final since, so Evens is terrible value
Roland Garros 2013
Great match!
Berdych loses to Monfils having come back from two sets down and traded as low as 1.10
Monfils went 2-0 up and Berdych fought back in two consecutive tie breaks to tie the match at 2-2 before losing the third 5-7
Berdych loses to Monfils having come back from two sets down and traded as low as 1.10
Monfils went 2-0 up and Berdych fought back in two consecutive tie breaks to tie the match at 2-2 before losing the third 5-7
OK, I'm making my move with a big punt on Federer to take out the French. I feel Djok and Rafa are a bit vulnerable at the moment (wasn't impressed with their early games), and Fed has a good draw and can avoid them both before the final. If Djok takes out Rafa, Fed has a good chance of taking out Djok in the final (Fed has a good record against Djok). At odds of 10-1, Feds a good bet.
Big punt on Fed for me, and if Fed takes it out, I'll be able to make my trading come-back
Big punt on Fed for me, and if Fed takes it out, I'll be able to make my trading come-back
I think you need Djokovic to beat Nadal
If it's Nadal v Federer in the final, you've lost, or at least green up
Federer will never be considered the best player ever IMO, simply because he is so tactically inept when it comes to playing Nadal on clay
If it's Nadal v Federer in the final, you've lost, or at least green up
Federer will never be considered the best player ever IMO, simply because he is so tactically inept when it comes to playing Nadal on clay
Yes, in one of the semi-finals, I really need Djok to beat Rafa. I feel Fed probably can't beat Rafa on clay, but Fed would have a great chance against Djok. Djok seems to have trouble with Fed's playing style, and games between them have always been very close, even on clay.LeTiss 4pm wrote:I think you need Djokovic to beat Nadal
If it's Nadal v Federer in the final, you've lost, or at least green up
Federer will never be considered the best player ever IMO, simply because he is so tactically inept when it comes to playing Nadal on clay
I still think you can make a strong case that Fed is the best ever overall, its just that on clay, Rafa is better.
He seems to be doing alright at the moment:Euler wrote:Federer is surely too old now to beat more athletic players on clay?
"Roger Federer was in no mood to hang around as he moved into the third round of the French Open with a 6-2 6-1 6-1 demolition of India's Somdev Devvarman today, but his title credentials were barely put to the test in a hopelessly one-sided match.
Federer, chasing a second French Open title, was never put under pressure and ruthlessly exploited his opponent's frailties.
The Swiss did not lose a point against the 188th ranked qualifier until the third game and took the first set in just 23 minutes with two breaks of serve.
The 17-times grand slam winner broke a further three times in both the second and third sets as Devvarman wilted."
http://tvnz.co.nz/tennis-news/federer-s ... nd-5451624
Looking at Nadals first game on the other hand, suggests he may no longer have the dominance he once had on clay:
"Rafael Nadal did not walk off the court as a beaten man after his first-round match at the French Open. But did he walk off as a beatable man?
He was considered nearly invincible against everyone but Novak Djokovic coming into the tournament, but in his very first match, the seven-time champion found himself in danger of going down two sets to love against the unheralded Daniel Brands before wrestling control of the match in four sets.
Suddenly, the implausible was plausible.
If not for a missed volley by Brands that would have put him up 4-2 in the second-set tiebreak, Nadal might have been in his deepest hole ever at the start of a French Open match (he has never lost the first two sets of a match at this tournament). And against a streaking opponent, that would have been "more than a problem," as Nadal put it.
Onlookers watched, transfixed, as Brands belted ball after ball past Nadal. Minds flashed back to other times the Spaniard has been in this kind of trouble on Court Philippe Chatrier, which are so few they are easy to recall -- Robin Soderling in 2009, the only match Nadal has ever lost at the French Open, and John Isner in 2011, the only five-setter he has played at this event. It also triggered memories of other recent occasions when Nadal has been thoroughly dictated to on the court -- his defeat to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon last year, and a three-setter against Ernests Gulbis in Rome a couple of weeks ago.
Line all those players and performances up, and a pattern starts to emerge -- a magic formula for beating Nadal?"
http://espn.go.com/tennis/french13/stor ... nadal-clay