Sports Interaction’s betting analyst Al Dannity breaks down the betting options at the French Open.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Nadal is back in 2010 as the King of Roland Garros looks to reclaim his crown. At -278 the Spaniard is hot favorite to rebound from his early exit it last year and win the title but don’t get too hot on Nadal. While he owns a win over Roger Federer from last week’s Madrid Open, Nadal showed he wasn’t invincible last year and one of the best bets to take the title in 2010 is his conqueror Robin Soderling at +3300. The Swede is the World number 7 and made it all the way to the final last year, inflicting the only defeat Nadal has ever suffered at Roland Garros in the process. With an extra year’s experience under his belt Soderling offers great value as an underdog.<o></o>
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Don’t count out defending champion Roger Federer. The World number 1 is going through a slump at present but only by the extraordinary standards Tennis fans set for the greatest of all time. A poor performance in the final of the Madrid Masters has helped push out the odds on Federer to +275. It’s rare to get this kind of value on a player with the potential to hit his top form at any moment. While Federer and Soderling offer great value, when it comes to the crunch back Nadal to win big with Sports Interaction.<o></o>
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In the women’s draw the golden rule of never bet against Serena doesn’t apply in Roland Garros. The more successful of the Williams sisters saves her best for the Grand Slams but clay lessens her ability to physically dominate opponents. All that being said, at +550 Serena is a great value bet certainly capable of pulling through. Justine Henin is my pick to win it all even at +150. She had a murderer’s row of a draw in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Australia</st1lace></st1:country-region>, her first Grand Slam since ending her retirement, and still nearly came through. Now Henin returns to her favorite surface with a likely more favorable draw. This tournament is almost made for here.<o></o>
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Outside of the big two there are plenty of good options. The best shot of the underdogs is Jelena Jankovic, who at +500 is actually second-favorite and it’s easy to see why. Having failed to win the big one until this year, Jankovic finally silenced her critics by winning in Indian Wells. Jankovic followed that up with wins over both Venus and Serena Williams in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Rome</st1lace></st1:City> to cement her status as the form player of the year to date.<o></o>
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Two other outsiders worth considering are Aravane Rezai, at +1100, and Maria Jose Martina Sanchez, at +1600. Rezai will have her home French crowd behind her in Roland Garros and comes into the tournament having won in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Madrid</st1lace></st1:State> last week. Sanchez has been a consistent clay court player throughout her career and won in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Rome</st1lace></st1:City> earlier this year. While the underdogs look tempting I can’t see the favorite faltering, back Justine Henin to win big with Sports Interaction.<o></o>
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> </o>Nadal is back in 2010 as the King of Roland Garros looks to reclaim his crown. At -278 the Spaniard is hot favorite to rebound from his early exit it last year and win the title but don’t get too hot on Nadal. While he owns a win over Roger Federer from last week’s Madrid Open, Nadal showed he wasn’t invincible last year and one of the best bets to take the title in 2010 is his conqueror Robin Soderling at +3300. The Swede is the World number 7 and made it all the way to the final last year, inflicting the only defeat Nadal has ever suffered at Roland Garros in the process. With an extra year’s experience under his belt Soderling offers great value as an underdog.<o
></o><o
> </o>Don’t count out defending champion Roger Federer. The World number 1 is going through a slump at present but only by the extraordinary standards Tennis fans set for the greatest of all time. A poor performance in the final of the Madrid Masters has helped push out the odds on Federer to +275. It’s rare to get this kind of value on a player with the potential to hit his top form at any moment. While Federer and Soderling offer great value, when it comes to the crunch back Nadal to win big with Sports Interaction.<o
></o><o
> </o>In the women’s draw the golden rule of never bet against Serena doesn’t apply in Roland Garros. The more successful of the Williams sisters saves her best for the Grand Slams but clay lessens her ability to physically dominate opponents. All that being said, at +550 Serena is a great value bet certainly capable of pulling through. Justine Henin is my pick to win it all even at +150. She had a murderer’s row of a draw in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Australia</st1lace></st1:country-region>, her first Grand Slam since ending her retirement, and still nearly came through. Now Henin returns to her favorite surface with a likely more favorable draw. This tournament is almost made for here.<o></o><o
> </o>Outside of the big two there are plenty of good options. The best shot of the underdogs is Jelena Jankovic, who at +500 is actually second-favorite and it’s easy to see why. Having failed to win the big one until this year, Jankovic finally silenced her critics by winning in Indian Wells. Jankovic followed that up with wins over both Venus and Serena Williams in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Rome</st1lace></st1:City> to cement her status as the form player of the year to date.<o></o><o
> </o>Two other outsiders worth considering are Aravane Rezai, at +1100, and Maria Jose Martina Sanchez, at +1600. Rezai will have her home French crowd behind her in Roland Garros and comes into the tournament having won in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1
lace w:st="on">Madrid</st1lace></st1:State> last week. Sanchez has been a consistent clay court player throughout her career and won in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Rome</st1lace></st1:City> earlier this year. While the underdogs look tempting I can’t see the favorite faltering, back Justine Henin to win big with Sports Interaction.<o></o>
