How is Rafael Nadal not the 2017 French Open favourite?

January 30, 2017 1:55 pm.by Staff Writer

WE’RE not saying put your house and your car on Rafael Nadal to win the 2017 French Open, but how on Earth is he not the favourite to win the 2017 title after his remarkable run in the Australian Open?

The Spanish superstar – who will be gunning for a remarkable 10th title at Roland Garros in May, was last night beaten in the Australian Open final by the legendary Roger Federer in a match many are calling the greatest seen on these shores.

Happy, healthy and in devastating form, it took five sets for the greatest tennis player ever to walk the Earth to put away Rafa.

But he is only on the second line of betting at $3.75 with Sportsbet.com.au to win the French Open and we reckon that is highway robbery.

Default favourite Novak Djokovic is the $2.63 favourite with the online bookmaker and, while he is still in the top two tennis players in the world, his second round exit at the hands of Denis Istomin, coupled with some unrest in the Serb’s camp, mean that cracks might just be starting to appear.

The early departures Djokovic and World Number One Andy Murray paved the way for the dream final everyone wanted and it did not disappoint, the Swiss legend adding an 18th grand slam title to his record haul with a 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 win.

If you’re not sold on Nadal, Djokovic or Murray ($4.50), then maybe baby Fed Grigor Dimitrov is worth a tiny drink at $67.

He pushed Nadal to five sets in the Aus Open semi final and finally looks primed to make his ascension up the rankings, after years of battling Federer comparisons.

If not him, then maybe the clay court specialists. This is about the only time of year the likes of Juan-Martin Del Potro ($34), David Ferrer ($101) and Feliciano Lopez ($301) should be considered.

On the Aussie front, Nick Kyrgios – despite his implosion at the Aus Open – is the most highly rated at $34, with big serving Thanasi Kokkinakis next best at $301.

It shows just how lowly-rated Bernard Tomic is on clay – neither of William Hill, nor Sportsbet is offering a market on him to win the French Open.

In the women’s draw, it is hard to go past Serena Williams after her dominant run in Melbourne.

The American superstar jagged title number 23 by going through the entire Australian Open tournament without dropping a set.

She played her sister, Venus, who, in the end, did not stand a chance against her younger sibling, dropping a break in both sets to go down 6-4 6-4 in the final.

Williams is $3 with WilliamHill.com.au to go all the way in Paris, trailed by Spanish clay court darling Garbine Muguruza, who is $5.50.

They are the only two players under double figures, with Simona Halep next best at $11 and deposed World Number One Angelique Kerber at $13.

Two players to keep your eye on might be beaten Melbourne Park semi finalists CoCo Vandeweghe and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

CoCo, who beat Aussie Daria Gavrilova on the way to exiting the tournament despite pushing Venus to three sets is $46 to win with Sportsbet.com.au, while Lucic-Baroni, despatched by Serena in 50 minutes in the semi, is way out at $276.

She might just be a sneaky one, given that she was a junior prodigy whose career was wrecked by an abusive home life. She might be the wrong side of 30, but she has all the tools to forge something special, late in her career.

Curiously, neither player is quoted at William Hill.

On the Aussie front, Sam Stosur is $67 with WilliamHill.com.au but we can’t quite comprehend why, given her meek first round dismissal in Melbourne.

We get that she made it all the way to the semi final last year, beaten at the hands of eventual champion Muguruza, but she has done nothing since to engender hope that she is still a capable tennis player.

If we were betting men (lol) we would be looking more to the likes of Daria Gavrilova or Ash Barty for our patriotic bets. Not to win it, but to maybe pull of a few surprises.

Neither have odds, but if you’re looking elsewhere outside the top couple, maybe Brit Johanna Konta is worth a look at $67.

The former Aussie, who was deemed not to have enough talent for funding by Tennis Australia at 14 years of age, relocated to England and now has future World Number written all over her.

French Open 2017 men’s winners market

N Djokovic ($2.63)
Rafael Nadal ($3.75)
Andy Murray ($4.50)
Stan Wawrinka ($9)
Roger Federer ($21)
Dominic Thiem ($23)
Kei Nishikori ($31)
Juan Martin Del Potro ($34)
Nick Kyrgios ($34)
Milos Raonic ($41)
Andy Zverev ($51)
David Goffin ($67)
Grigor Dimitrov ($67)
Gael Monfils ($67)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ($81)
Tomas Berdych ($101)
David Ferrer ($101)
Richard Gasquet ($101)
Marin Cilic ($101)
Fabio Fognini ($151)
John Isner ($151)
Gilles Simon ($176)
Ernests Gulbis ($201)
Benoit Paire ($226)
Fernando Verdasco ($226)
Kevin Anderson ($251)
Thanasi Kokkinakis ($301)
Feliciano Lopez ($301)

Odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au

French Open 2017 women’s winners market

Serena Williams ($3)
Garbine Muguruza ($5.50)
Simona Halep ($11)
Angelique Kerber ($13)
Petra Kvitova ($19)
Belinda Bencic ($21)
Karolina Pliskova ($23)
Madison Keys ($26)
Agnieszka Radwanska ($34)
Timea Bacsinszky ($34)
Lucie Safarova ($34)
Eugenie Bouchard ($41)
Sloane Stephens ($41)
Irina Begu ($51)
Carla Suarez Navarro ($51)
Daria Kasatkina ($51)
Caroline Wozniacki ($51)
Svetlana Kuznetsova ($67)
Dominika Cibulkova ($67)
Johanna Konta ($67)
Ekaterina Makarova ($67)
Sam Stosur ($67)
Ana Ivanovic ($81)
Venus Williams ($81)
Elina Svitolina ($81)
Roberta Vinci ($101)
Sabine Lisicki ($101)
Kristina Mladenovic ($101)
Ana Konjuh ($101)
Caroline Garcia ($101)
Jelena Ostapenko ($101)
Monica Puig ($101)
Sara Errani ($151)