2013 French Open Odds: Rafael Nadal Favored Over Novak Djokovic

The 2013 French Open is quickly approaching as action will start from Roland Garros later this month with the qualifying tournaments. The main draw for men's singles will begin on May 26th with the final currently scheduled for June 9th. If you went by the current betting odds then that final would be between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

Currently Nadal is considered the outright favorite to win this year's French Open (Paddy Power 1/1, EVEN) despite the fact that he lost to Djokovic at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April in straight sets. Nadal has won the title at Roland Garros an incredible seven times, including three years running, and the Spaniard's only loss at the event remains his surprise loss in 2009 to two-time French Open finalist Robin Soderling.

Djokovic is currently coming in as a mild underdog to win the title at Roland Garros as he is best-priced with SpreadEx at 8/5 (+160). The French Open remains the only major title that the current World No. 1 has yet to win with his runnerup finish at last year's event his best ever showing.

While Djokovic defeated Nadal in their most recent clay court match without much trouble, it's still quite easy to understand why Nadal would remain the favorite for the French Open. Besides the Spaniard's success at the event, it has to be pointed out that Djokovic has numerous surprise losses at Roland Garros.

In 2009 he was among the favorites for the title and considered a shoe-in for at least the quarterfinals. However in that tournament he lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber, a player who has not enjoyed a ton of success in Grand Slams. In 2010 Djokovic once again looked like he was going to be a factor in the very late rounds but Jurgen Melzer, hardly a Grand Slam guru, defeated the Serb in the quarters despite trailing two sets to love in the match. In 2011 Djokovic lost to Roger Federer and while he's definitely a Grand Slam guru, let's not forget that Djokovic was undefeated in the calendar year prior to their match and for that reason the loss could be considered a surprise once again.

Ahead of the 2013 French Open we still have two Masters events to pay attention to with the Madrid Masters approaching and the Rome Masters to follow. Both Nadal and Djokovic have ranking points that they could gain in Madrid as they weren't exactly fond of last year's blue clay and both bowed out early in the 2012 event.

Federer, Andy Murray, and Juan Martin del Potro are the third, fourth, and fifth favored players respectively (bet365) although some sportsbooks consider Murray to be a stronger favorite than the Swiss Maestro (ie. William Hill). Federer, should he contend the tournament as expected, will be the only past champion besides Nadal that will be at this year's French Open tournament. However age is not on the Swiss Maestro's side and if he was not able to beat Nadal in earlier times, the soon-to-be 32 year old cannot be considered a threat to do that now. Murray and Delpo, though proven Grand Slam winners, have not made the final at Roland Garros to date and each player has just one semifinal appearance at the event.

One thing to be very aware of when placing your bets is that Nadal is currently the World No. 5. That implies a seeding of 5th at the French Open and that could lead to a very difficult draw at this year's Roland Garros tournament. There are scenarios where the Spaniard could slip down even further than 5th and, despite the betting odds suggesting a Djokovic vs. Nadal final, it's possible that the two players might be on the same side of the draw - or even in the same quarter.

For that reason, I would stay away from Nadal's odds until after the draw and I would also stay away from backing Djokovic at this time as well. Presently I think the best betting value is to hope for a surprise winner at the 2013 French Open with Murray at 23 to 1 with Betfair, del Potro at 25 to 1 with Boylesports, and Tomas Berdych at 80 to 1 with Boylesports as well (odds current as of May 3rd). Sprinking two of those players lightly and then checking out the odds on Nadal and Djokovic after the release of the draw later this month is probably the smartest thing to do.

Recommendations: Murray and Berdych.

2013 Australian Open: Li Na vs Victoria Azarenka Preview

My preview for the women's final at the 2013 Australian Open can be found at the following link:

Victoria Azarenka vs Li Na

Kimiko Date-Krumm Looking More Like Kimiko Date

Kimiko Date-Krumm is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon 1996. The 42-year old is easily the oldest player in the Australian Open singles draws, men or women, but that hasn't stopped her from winning two matches at this year's Aussie.

The former Wimbledon semifinalist, who made the 1994 Australian Open semifinals under the name Kimiko Date, is three match-wins away from equaling that result and it's not like anyone can point to soft draw. Date-Krumm pummeled 12th seeded Nadia Petrova in the opening round, a player who made the quarterfinals in Melbourne just three years ago through Kim Clijsters.

Date-Krumm's draw to the fourth round is quite reasonable as she'll face the winner between Bojana Jovanoski and Lucie Safarova, two inexperienced players for matches of significant Grand Slam magnitude. Looking ahead, Sloane Stephens or Petra Kvitova promise to be challenging however her third round match appears quite winnable, regardless of who wins between Jovanoski and Safarova.

2013 Australian Open: Roger Federer vs Nikolay Davydenko Preview

Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko both advanced through the first round at Melbourne Park on Tuesday. Those results set up a second round meeting at the 2013 Australian Open later this week. Federer will be looking to continue his history of success against the Russian, while Davydenko will be looking to inject some more life into his current efforts to once again become a factor on tour.

The Russian, ranked 40th, has been playing well lately as he made the final at ATP Doha earlier this month. He looked like a major threat for the title in that tournament after cruising through all matches en route to the final in straight sets. However Richard Gasquet of France proved too tough in the championship and denied Davydenko what would have been his first title since 2011.

Federer and Davydenko are two players that are quite familiar with one another. They are similarly aged and both players have their share of deep runs in ATP events and Grand Slams. However Federer appears to have the blue print to Davydenko's game as the Swiss Maestro is 17-2 against the Russian in their head-to-head series.

Davydenko appeared to be on the form of his life in early 2010 following a title in Doha and a title at the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals. The two players then met in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Australian Open with the Russian claiming the first set. Arguably it's been nearly all downhill from there for Davydenko as he lost that match in four sets, went on to suffer a wrist injury that cost him most of his 2010 season and has never really recaptured his best tennis since.

For certain, there appears to be more life in Davydenko's game right now then there has been for most of the last couple of seasons. He has two recent wins against Top 20 players in the last little while with a victory over David Ferrer at Doha and a win over Stanislas Wawrinka back at ATP Basel 2012. However Davydenko's best was rarely good enough to beat Federer's even when Davydenko was a Top 5 or Top 10 player. For that reason it's hard to see the Swiss Maestro losing in the second round at Melbourne Park and he will not likely allow Davydenko to surprise him.

Match time: 7pm Melbourne Time (Rod Laver Arena)

2013 Australian Open: Novak Djokovic vs Ryan Harrison Preview

Novak Djokovic and Ryan Harrison both won their opening round matches on Monday at the 2013 Australian Open in Melbourne Park. Neither player seemed all that troubled with his first round opponent however Harrison did drop a set to Santiago Giraldo before settling down. The wins from Day 1 set up a second round match between the two players with the World No. 1 the heavy favorite (ie. 1/50 with BetVictor).

Djokovic and Harrison have met a couple times before with the Serb taking both sets away from the American. In their two matches, Harrison failed to take a set away and he has not yet extended Djokovic to a tiebreaker. One of their matches was on the hard court surface (Cincinnati 2011) while the other one was a second round Grand Slam match (Wimbledon 2012).

Harrison, who is still just 20 years old, remains a growing talent and he is currently ranked as the World No. 62. He has started the 2013 season off strong with a quarterfinal placement at ATP Sydney that went through 13th ranked John Isner. Tennis fans can probably expect Harrison to crack the Top 40 this season and he even has a chance to earn a seed by the 2013 US Open.

However a win over Djokovic in the second round of this year's Australian Open would be shocking. Djokovic's results at Melbourne Park are distinguished and it is hard to picture anyone knocking him out of the tournament ahead of the final. A straight sets victory for the Serb seems to be in order with Harrison overachieving if he can force a fourth set.

2013 Australian Open: Roger Federer vs Benoit Paire Preview

Roger Federer, the four-time Australian Open champion, will face France's Benoit Paire in the first round of this year's event at the Grand Slam in Melbourne Park. The draw is not a lucky one for the Swiss Maestro since Paire is a growing player that is currently ranked inside the Top 50. Usually in the first rounds of Grand Slams you would like to see the player your backing face a fringe player so that the match might be over as quickly as possible. In Paire, Federer picks up a player that might be able to keep him on court for a fourth set.

Paire's 2012 season saw him make great strides which included a run to the final of ATP Belgrade. He has also gotten off to a good start in 2013 as the Frenchman made the ATP Chennai semifinals, a run that included a victory over World No. 15 Marin Cilic. However Paire has not yet proven himself against a Top 5 player, not has he proven himself in a Grand Slam. Entering the 2013 Australian Open he's never defeated anyone ranked in the Top 5 and as of yet he has not won a third round match in a major.

Federer and Paire have met just one time but it was a recent match as they met late in 2012 at ATP Basel. Federer had no problem with the French player and the Swiss Maestro won their match in easy straight sets with just four games lost in the match.

There are definitely much weaker players in the field that Federer could have drawn but even so Paire cannot be expected to do much. Look for the Swiss Maestro to advance in straight sets with the match scheduled to be the third match of the day in Rod Laver Arena.

2013 Australian Open Men's Singles Tennis Results

The 2013 Australian Open started on Monday with matches played by Novak Djokovic, Ryan Harrison, Tomas Berdych and many others. Here are the results that are know with more coming as the updates come (men's singles only):

Day 1 - First round matches

Djokovic's Quarter

Novak Djokovic d. Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-4, 7-5

Ryan Harrison d. Santiago Giraldo 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4

Stanislas Wawrinka (15) d. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-2, 6-4, 6-3

Xavier Malisse d. Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-1, 6-2

Guillaume Rufin d. Julian Reister 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2
Tomas Berdych (5) d. Michael Russell 6-3, 7-5, 6-3
Jurgen Melzer (26) d. Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-1, 6-2
Fernando Verdasco (22) d. David Goffin 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Tobias Kamke d. Flavio Cipolla 6-1, 6-4, 6-1

Ferrer's Quarter

Julien Benneteau (32) d. Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

Daniel Gimeno-Traver d. Lukasz Kubot 6-7, 6-4, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4

Nicolas Almagro (10) d. Steve Johnson 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2

Kei Nishikori (16) d. Victor Hanescu 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3

Carlos Berlocq d. Maxime Authom 1-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2

Evgeny Donskoy d. Adrian Ungur 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
Edouard Roger-Vasselin d. Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 7-5, 11-9
Somdev Devvarman d. Bjorn Phau 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Tim Smyczek d. Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6, 7-5
Mikhail Youzhny d. Matthew Ebden (5 sets)
Janko Tipsarevic (8) d. Lleyton Hewitt (3 sets)

All results: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/index.html