DAILY ANALYSIS .. with OnThePunt's Tennis
expert
Updated 11:23 AM AEST, Sunday 9 June
FINAL (-6 units):
Albert Costa ESP (20) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (11) - Ferrero's demolition of Safin in the semi final was impressive, but
it was clear the Russian had his head elsewhere. The 'Mosquito' picked up
his serve in that match and if he can do the same today in winning those
free points, he'll be hard to toss. He faces a different style of opponent
in the final but it's fair to say you won't see too many net approaches by
these two clay-court specialists. Costa, five years his senior, did win a
three-setter against Ferrero on clay in Germany last month, and should
settle down in a patient style of play, but when the match is there to be
won, Costa looks most vulnerable. Ferrero in four
or five sets.
Ferrero in
four sets (3 units at 3.75 - Sportodds; Blue Square; Bet365)
-3
Ferrero in
five sets (3 units at 7.00 - Bet365)
-3
SEMI FINAL
PLAY (-4 units):
Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (11) vs. Marat Safin RUS (2)
- The
Spaniard has played some great tennis to reach his third successive semi
final at Roland Garros, but this won't be easy. Marat Safin is the most
consistent performer in Grand Slams in recent times and judging by his
comments regarding Ferrero yesterday - "I always play well against him.
I like his game. I feel comfortable against him" - his coming into this
brimming with confidence. If he can stay patient, he looks a big chance at
the odds-against.
Albert Costa ESP (20) vs. Alex Corretja 1.83 ESP (18)
- Good luck
trying to pick this with any confidence. Corretja has had the easier run through
the quarters, but don't read much into the way Costa finished off Canas - it
was more the case of the exhausted Argentinean hitting the wall. Costa said
yesterday, "Maybe I'm mentally stronger than before" - well I'm
not so sure. Should the match go the distance, he has a terrible five-set
record and having never been at this stage of a Grand Slam before, the edge
has to be with his more experienced compatriot.
QUARTER FINALS - NO PLAYS
Juan Carlos
Ferrero ESP (11) vs. Andre Agassi USA (4)
(2.20 Eurobet
vs. 1.80 Global; Centrebet)
- Should be a
classic encounter but can't pick the winner with any confidence. The
Spaniard, going for his third successive semi final appearance at Roland
Garros, has the clay court pedigree, but expect the 32 year-old Agassi come
into this very well prepared. He'll target the Ferrero backhand and be ultra
patient from the back of the court and you have to give Agassi has the
mental and tactical edge, but will it be enough?
Sebastien
Grosjean FRA (10) vs. Marat Safin RUS (2)
(2.30
Centrebet vs 1.65 Global)
-
On paper and form, the Russian looks the goods, but strange things can
happen at this end of a Grand Slam, and in front of the Parisian crowd, the
Frenchman must be rated a chance today. Still not convinced of Safin's
mental state at certain times, but having said that, if he can perform to
the best of his ability he should advance.
Guillermo Canas ARG (15) vs. Albert Costa ESP (20)
(2.20
Centrebet vs. 1.75 Global)
- Very tough!
It's fair to say that these two could be in for a lengthy battle today. Both
classic clay courters could go at it for a very long time, but given their
path through this week, the fitness edge might be with Costa should the
match become a marathon.
Andrei Pavel
ROM (22) vs. Alex Corretja ESP (18)
(3.10
Centrebet vs. 1.47 Sportodds)
- The
Romanian is in uncharted waters by making the quarters of his 1st Grand Slam
tourney. The edge must be with last year's runner-up Corretja, but the
Spaniard will have to careful not to take this one too easily.
MONDAY 4TH
ROUND PLAYS (-8 units):
Gaston Gaudio ARG (31) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (11)
- With a 4-1
head-to-head advantage, the Argentinean will give himself a big chance to
join his compatriot Canas in the quarter finals today. Whether the
Spaniard's ankle will be a problem or not, Gaudio has been playing the
better tennis this year and will have the fitness edge should the match go
the distance.
Xavier
Malisse BEL vs. Sebastien Grosjean FRA (10)
- The
Frenchman continues to play through a groin injury that will surely be
tested by the confident Belgian. Malisse has impressed in his last two
matches and if he can hold it together mentally, must be rated a huge chance
to get past Grosjean and the raucous centre court crowd.
Paul-Henri
Mathieu FRA vs. Andre Agassi 1.10 USA (4)
- The French
wild card won the junior tournament here in '98, but not even the parochial
Parisian crowd will help him get past a workman like performance from
Agassi.
Arnaud Di
Pasquale FRA vs. Marat Safin 1.23 RUS (2)
- The
comeback King's run will surely come to an end today. The Frenchman will
struggle to match the power back court game of the Russian who really looked
to hit some form towards the end of his match against Nalbandian.
SUNDAY 4TH
ROUND PLAYS (+8.75 units):
Lleyton
Hewitt AUS (1) vs. Guillermo Canas ARG (15)
- If the
Argentinean can recover from his four-hour marathon against Moya on Friday,
he'll be right in this. It was at the same stage of the tournament last year
when Canas found himself two sets to love up, only to come back the next day
and blow the advantage. While both have improved their game immeasurably
since, the Aussie will have to lift his game from what he has produced so
far this week.
Canas (5
units at 2.75 - Victor Chandler)
+8.75
Other Matches (Selections in Bold):
Albert
Costa 2.75 ESP (20) vs. Gustavo Kuerten BRA (7)
- It's hard
to part with the hard earned against a guy that has won and 17 consecutive
matches at Roland Garros and the last six encounters between these two. But
as they say, records are made to be broken, and on current form and anticipated
fitness requirements, this looks to be the Spaniards best chance.
Tommy Haas
GER (3) vs. Andrei Pavel 3.10 ROM (22)
- The German
came out victorious in a tight match between the two in Munich a month ago,
but Pavel has impressed in his last two and will surely test Haas'
troublesome shoulder.
Alex
Corretja 1.50 ESP (18) vs. Mariano Zabaleta ARG
- Corretja
can consider himself lucky to be alive at Roland Garros thanks to Arnaud
Clement missing one of the easiest volley's you are going to see on one of
his four match points in the last match. He looks to be finding some touch
after starting the year slowly, but there's no value in this price.
SATURDAY 3RD ROUND
PLAYS (-1.72 units):
David
Nalbandian ARG (29) vs. Marat Safin RUS (2)
- The
talented Argentinean youngster certainly has what it takes to get past the
Russian today. Safin still looked to be troubled by a back injury in his
five-set win over Olivier Rochus and will face another stern test today.
- The gutsy Moroccan
has turned his poor run of form around nicely at Roland Garros, not dropping
a set to date, but this will be much tougher. Gaudio, fresh from two
tournament wins in April, is one of the best up and comers going around and
looks very hard to beat.
Xavier
Malisse 1.57 BEL vs. Albert Portas ESP
- The
Spaniard has turned around his dreadful form of the past few months with
wins over Ilie and Mamiit. This will be much tougher against one of the most
improved players on the circuit. Malisse has shown a better mental attitude
in recent times as evidenced by a solid win over Henman on Thursday.
Guillermo
Coria ARG vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero 1.36 ESP (11)
- Nicolas
Coutelot certainly wasn't convinced of the extent of Ferrero's 'ankle
injury' and either am I. From being carted off in an ambulance, to running
full speed across the court for five sets in the space of 24 hours was a bit
hard to fathom. One to avoid for mine.
Jiri Novak
1.25 CZE (14) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA
- The Czech
is in arguably the best form of his career and will give the wild card a
much tougher test.
Tommy Robredo
ESP (25) vs. Andre Agassi 1.22 USA (4)
- Robredo,
Spain's brightest prospects has been in solid touch over the last few weeks,
but Agassi looks sharp this week and will be very hard to toss.
Vincent
Spadea USA vs. Sebastien Grosjean 1.20 FRA (10)
- The
American has survived two five-set matches to reach the third round, but
looks to be significantly outclassed by his good friend and home town
favourite today.
Arnaud Di
Pasquale 1.44 FRA vs. Paradorn Srichaphan THA
- It's been a
stunning return from injury for the Frenchman and he'll be right in this
given the Thai players lack of experience on the dirt.
FRIDAY 3RD ROUND
PLAYS (-0.14 units):
Lleyton
Hewitt AUS (1) vs. Sjeng Schalken NED (30)
- The Aussie
looks worth opposing today after a couple of less than convincing wins. He
made hard work of Sa in the 1st round and looked gone for all money when a
set and 0-5 down against Stoliarov. Schalken, no mug on the dirt and with
conditions likely to suit, is yet to drop a set this week and looks a
genuine chance for an upset in the first match on Court Chatrier.
- The Chilean
Gonzalez, already a tournament winner on the dirt this year, is playing with
great confidence and must be rated a huge chance against the out of sorts
defending champion. It's fair to say he was fortunate to get past
Sanguinetti, but thing's don't look like getting any easier today in the
warmer and faster conditions.
Carlos Moya
1.50 ESP (17) vs. Guillermo Canas ARG (15)
- The
Spaniard can think himself a little lucky to get past a resurgent Philippoussis
in three sets on Wednesday, while Canas only dropped three games after
losing the first set to Calatrava. Hard to take at this price.
Tommy Haas
GER (3) vs. Jarkko Nieminen 3.15 FIN
- Tough call,
but with lingering injury concerns over the German, the Finn is slightly
over the odds for mine.
Andrei Pavel
1.65 ROM (22) vs. Albert Montanes ESP
- Pavel
looked very sharp in his win over Kratochvil in the last round and should
have too much experience for the gutsy Spaniard.
Fernando
Vicente ESP vs. Mariano Zabaleta 1.73 ARG
- A tough
match-up, but Zabaleta does hold a 4-1 advantage in the head-to-head record.
THURSDAY 2ND ROUND
PLAYS (-13 units):
Albert Portas
ESP vs. Cecil Mamiit USA
- Mamiit has
stepped up from Challenger Tour level for a nice win over Mirnyi in the 1st
Round while Portas got past an out of sorts Ilie to turn around a terrible
0-6 run. While the Spaniard has gone down to some very well credentialed
clay courters in recent times, Mamiit looks capable of providing a stern
test today.
- It's not
going to be easy for the Aussie to back-up after such a big win over Roddick,
but he looks comfortable on the surface and will only be advantaged by the
forecast clearing and faster conditions today. The Frenchman will have the
crowd support, but can he deal with the Arthurs serve?
Arthurs (5
units at 1.82 - Centrebet) -5
MULTI:
Irakli
Labadze GEO vs. Gaston Gaudio 1.22 ARG (31)
- The draw
has opened up nicely for the Argentinean and with a comfortable win under
his belt, will be very hard to beat here. Labadze will surely fell the
effects of his marathon 4.5 hour match with Boutter.
Adrian Voinea
1.42
ROM vs. Vincent Spadea USA
- Spadea had
a five-set win over veteran Frenchman Pioline int he 1st round, while Voinea
had a tight win over the fancied Chela. Spadea has been performing well at
Challenger level, but the gutsy Romanian looks to have a significant edge
here.
Paradorn
Srichaphan THA vs. Thomas Enqvist 1.25 SWE (19)
- The Swede
had a nice comeback after finding himself two sets down against Massa, but
this will be easier.
(5 units
at 2.17) -5
Other Matches (Selections in Bold):
Hicham Arazi MAR vs. Mariano Puerta 2.40 ARG
- Arazi found
conditions to his liking with a stunning upset of Federer in the 1st round.
He should have the edge here, but the gritty Moroccan does have ongoing
injury problems so I'll be in no rush to take this price.
Rainer
Schuettler GER (24) vs. Guillermo Coria 1.72 ARG
- You can't
read too much into his win over Sargsian, but Coria must be favoured to win
this. The German has had some great results this year but will struggle against
the Argentinean youngster.
Nicolas
Coutelot 8.00 FRA vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (11)
- This won't
be easy for the Spaniard - even if he does manage to hit the court. An ankle
injury sustained in training might be enough to keep him out. Watch for
'ball served' books and get some on.
Jiri Novak
1.13 CZE (14) vs. Jens Knippschild GER
- Clear edge
in class, but slight injury concern for the Czech with last week's withdrawal
from St Polten.
Paul-Henri
Mathieu 2.75 FRA vs. Fabrice Santoro FRA (23)
- Very tough.
Santoro had not tasted victory since March prior to his 1st round win over
Norman. The wild card Mathieu finished strongly over Ferreira and must be
rated a chance here.
Tommy Robredo
1.08 ESP (25) vs. Oleg Ogorodov UZB
- Ogorodov
gave it his all to get past Hipfl in five, but not this time.
David Sanchez
8.00 ESP vs. Andre Agassi USA (4)
- The
Spaniard impressed with a straight sets win over Acasuso in the opening
round and looks a point or two over the odds for mine.
Tim Henman
1.52 GBR (6) vs. Xavier Malisse BEL
- The Brit is
looking more comfortable on the dirt in recent times and looks to be
travelling a little better than the fragile Belgian.
James Blake
USA vs. Sebastien Grosjean 1.38 FRA (10)
- The up and
comer is yet to prove himself on the dirt and while not in the greatest
form, the Frenchman will be very hard to beat in front of a parochial crowd
on Court Chatrier.
David
Nalbandian 1.40 ARG (29) vs. Flavio Saretta BRA
- The
Brazilian has some decent form behind him, so this won't be as easy for the
young Argentinean as one might expect.
Olivier
Rochus BEL vs. Marat Safin 1.16 RUS (2)
- Have to
favour the Russian, but this does look a fraction skinny.
WEDNESDAY 2ND ROUND PLAYS (+4.05 units):
Thomas
Johansson SWE (9) vs. Arnaud Clement FRA
- Clement had
no trouble with the lowly ranked French wild card in the 1st round, but is a
huge chance to continue his trend of never getting past the 2nd round at
Roland Garros. Don't forget Johansson is one of the most improved players of
the last year and Clement always plays his best tennis off the dirt.
Johansson
(8 units at 1.95 - Centrebet) -8
Mariano
Zabaleta ARG vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov RUS (5)
- The out of
form Russian looked to be heading for a most embarrassing defeat to the
German qualifier Behrend before quickly taking control in the final set
yesterday. This will be much tougher against an Argentinean that has
defeated him at Roland Garros before.
Carlos
Moya 1.20 ESP (17) vs. Mark Philippoussis AUS
- Pou made a
nice comeback against the French qualifier in the 1st round. He does have a
3-0 head-to-head record over the Spaniard, but all have been on the
hardcourt - this will be very different.
Nikolay
Davydenko RUS vs. Albert Costa 1.17 ESP (20)
- You would
expect the Spaniard to cruise through this.
Amir Hadad
ISR vs. Jarkko Nieminen 1.22 FIN
- As
predicted, the Finn cleaned up last weeks St Polten winner in the 1st round
and shouldn't have any problems here against the Israeli qualifier.
Todd Martin
USA vs. Alex Corretja 1.22 ESP (18)
- The old man
was very fortunate to get past our Argentinean qualifier on Monday, mainly
thanks to a very timely rain delay. The Spaniard was very impressive in the
1st round and shouldn't have any problems today.
(5 units
at 2.09) +5.45
Other Matches (Selections in Bold):
Lleyton Hewitt 1.08 AUS (1) vs. Andrei Stoliarov RUS
- The Aussie
won't have things all his own way and did look to be doing it a little tough
in his opening encounter.
Sebastien De Chaunac FRA vs.
Sjeng Schalken 1.22 NED (30)
- The French
wild card will find this much tougher than the ageing Chang.
Alex
Calatrava ESP vs. Guillermo Canas 1.17 ARG (15)
- Canas did
look to get better as his match against Kucera went on and should be good
for another win today.
Andrea
Gaudenzi 1.45 ITA vs. Jack Brasington USA
- The Yank
continued his fine run through qualifying with a straight sets win over
Luzzi. This will be much tougher with experience likely to get the Italian
veteran through. Too skinny for mine however.
Fernando
Meligeni 2.50 BRA vs. Fernando Gonzalez CHI
- As
predicted, the Brazilian did the job for us against Escude and he looks over
the odds to advance to the 3rd round in Paris.
Davide
Sanguinetti ITA vs. Gustavo Kuerten 1.08 BRA
(7)
- It was only
the 1st round, but Guga looked better and better as his match against
Heuberger went on. If he can stay fit, looks the deserving favourite for
what would be a remarkable successful title defence.
Tommy Haas
GER (3) vs. Feliciano Lopez 5.10 ESP ?
- Lopez came
through for us in five sets and may well be a threat in this one if the
heavy conditions continue. I certainly won't be touching the German with the
cold weather not likely to be doing great things for that troublesome
shoulder.
Andrei Pavel
ROM (22) vs. Michel Kratochvil 2.63 SUI
- Apart from
a 2nd set lapse, Kratochvil did impress in his opening encounter against
Hrbaty and looks to be up to his eyeballs in this one.
Albert
Montanes ESP vs. Younes El Aynaoui 1.40 MAR (16)
- The Moroccan
did it the hard way against Gambill in the 1st round, but he should have few
such problems today. Montanes has produced some decent results in recent
times, but lacks the experience and class to win this one.
Fernando
Vicente ESP vs. Alberto Martin 1.70 ESP ?
- As
predicted, Vicente backed up from last week's final with a win over Ljubicic,
albeit in five sets. He faces a touger challenge here, facing a 3-6 H-H
record (all on clay), and a player who looks to be running into some nice
form.
TUESDAY 1ST ROUND PLAYS (-10 units):
Jiri Novak
CZE (14) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS
- A very
dangerous match for the Czech who withdrew from last week's St Polten
tourney with a right wrist injury. He has been in great form this year
dating back to his semi at the Aus Open, but the young Russian has been in
some form of his own in the last month or two, with three set losses to
Agassi, El Aynaoui and Moya a positive sign.
- The German
was first-up for '02 in qualifying and did have three wins, but this will be
much tougher. Lee has shown glimpses of solid form this year and should have
too much in his first match at Roland Garros.
Lee (6
units at 2.00 - Centrebet) -6
David Sanchez
ESP vs. Jose Acasuso ARG
- Acasuso
played some solid tennis in the 'Mickey Mouse' event in Dusseldorf last week
but expect this to be a lot different. Sanchez will have pleasant memories
of his defeat of Moya here last year and has been quite impressive in recent
times. Only question mark surrounds the 'stomach problem' that forced him to
retire against Rochus last week, so I'll take the evens at Hills with the
incomplete/void rule.
- The wild
card Frenchman won a clay Challenger event in Slovenia earlier this month
with a win over Ballcells in the final. It must be remembered that
Russell gave Kuerten a five set scare in the round of 16 here last year, so
I'm thinking he'll be right in this.
- Aging
qualifier should find Hipfl an insurmountable challenge.
Sargis
Sargsian ARM vs. Guillermo Coria 1.20 ARG
- The young
Argentinean has taken some time to find his feet since returning to the
tour, but this should be a formality. Sargsian, returning from hip surgery
in April, has had an unfortunate lead-up and was awful in his 1st round loss
to Melzer in St Polten last week.
Raemon
Sluiter 1.50 NED vs. Paradorn Srichaphan THA
- The
Dutchman won a clay Challenger in Tunisia last month and will have too much
for the Thai who looks lost on the dirt.
Alexander
Popp GER vs. Xavier Malisse 1.33 BEL
- The German
looks to have had an easy run through qualifying and on recent form it's
easy to see him out in the 1st round for a third successive year.
Cecil Mamiit
USA vs. Max Mirnyi 1.28 BLR (26)
- Mamiit has
troubled Mirnyi in the past on the hardcourt but this should be a different
story. Wins over Sampras, Moya, Zabaleta, and Boutter in Hamburg will have
the Belarusian brimming with confidence for this.
(2 units
at 4.16) -2
Other Matches (Selections in Bold):
Roger Federer 1.14 SUI (8) vs. Hicham Arazi MAR
- Expect a
big fortnight from Roger.
Kristian
Pless DEN vs. Mariano Puerta 1.61 ARG
- The
Argentinean has had a nice run through qualifying and should have too much
experience for the Dane.
Irakli
Labadze GEO vs. Julien Boutter 1.36 FRA
- The 20
year-old Labadze is playing his first match at Roland Garros and did stretch
last weeks eventual St Polten winner Lapentti, but Boutter has had some good
wins over quality players recently.
Juan Balcells
ESP vs. Gaston Gaudio 1.14 ARG (31)
- Would have
liked to see the Argentinean play another lead up tourney, but with
successive wins in Spain in April looks a class above the Spaniard.
Rainer
Schuettler 1.45 GER (24) vs. Stefano Galvani ITA
- The German
has never passed the 1st round here in three attempts, but is arguably in
the best form of his career this year. Galvani, a lucky loser, will find
this very tough.
Nicolas
Coutelot 2.63 FRA vs. Stefan Koubek AUT
- Tough match
up. The clay specialist Frenchman had a couple of wins here last year.
Koubek will get plenty of balls back but looks under the odds for mine.
Jean-Rene
Lisnard FRA vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero 1.06
ESP (11)
- Nice
warm-up against the French wild card.
Paul-Henri
Mathieu FRA vs. Wayne Ferreira 1.45 RSA
- The young
Frenchman can fight, but might lack the experience to get past the veteran
South African.
Magnus Norman
SWE vs. Fabrice Santoro 1.70 FRA (23)
- Tough one.
Norman leads the head-to-head 4-1, inc. a win here in the R64 of '00. The
Swede is taking time to find some form since returning, while Santoro has
not won a match since Indian Wells in March.
Tommy Robredo
1.10 ESP (25) vs. Harel Levy ISR
- Reached the
4th round here last year, but the 1/10 is way too short for me.
Eric Prodon
FRA vs. Andre Agassi 1.01 USA (4)
Tim Henman
1.35 GBR (6) vs. Galo Blanco ESP
- The Brit
has a tough 1st rnd match here against a form quarter finalist. May go the
distance.
Andrew Ilie
AUS vs. Albert Portas 1.48 ESP
- An
oddsmakers nightmare! Portas has not won a match since March, while Ilie is
0-7 on the ATP Tour for year.
Juan Ignacio
Chela 1.28 ARG (21) vs. Adrian Voinea ROM
- Voinea can
be dangerous and did beat Henman a couple of weeks ago.
Vincent
Spadea USA vs. Cedric Pioline 1.36 FRA
-
Spadea did reach the final of a clay challenger last month, but the old man
will be hard to knock over today.
James Blake
1.22 USA vs. Lars Burgsmuller GER
- The German
really looks to have been struggling in the last few months.
Francisco
Clavet 3.75 ESP vs. Sebastien Grosjean FRA (10)
- The Veteran
must be rated some chance of defeating last year's semi finalist. He has not
been overly impressive in recent times, but the anticipated heavy conditions
on Court Chatrier may be in his favour.
Andy Roddick
1.17 USA (13) vs. Wayne Arthurs AUS
- The Yank
was forced to withdraw from Dusseldorf last week citing knee tendonitis and
a wrist problem. With that in mind, this looks like one to avoid.
Edgardo Massa
ARG vs. Thomas Enqvist 1.33 SWE (19)
- Massa
impressed with three easy wins to qualify for his first French Open, but the
Swede had a nice tune-up last week and will be right for this.
David
Nalbandian ARG (29) vs. Agustin Calleri 2.10 ARG
- Very tough
to pick.
Nalbandian has been a little disappointing in the last few weeks in will be
playing his first match at Roland Garros, while Calleri has been in solid
touch and has a little more experience in the Grand Slam environment.
Flavio
Saretta 1.28 BRA vs. Oliver Marach AUT
- Marach made
it through to the main draw for the first time with three three set qualifier
wins. Saretta is also in his 1st start here, but as long as his blisters
don't cause any problems, he has the form to win this comfortably.
Olivier
Rochus 1.53 BEL vs. Attila Savolt HUN
-
Rochus had a few confidence building wins at St Polten last week while Savolt,
forced to retire with a sinus infection at the same tourney, hasn't overly
impressed recnetly.
Michael
Llodra FRA vs. Marat Safin 1.14 RUS (2)
- Should win
comfortably, but will the back hold up?
MONDAY 1ST ROUND PLAYS (+20.1 units):
Feliciano
Lopez ESP vs. Didac Perez ESP
- Perez defeated Lopez in the third round of the qualifying
competition here 6/7 6/4 7/5 with Lopez a lucky loser replacing Mantilla.
Must be rated a huge chance of reversing the result in the five-setter.
Lopez (6
units at 1.80 - Sportodds) +4.8
Nicolas
Escude FRA (27) vs. Fernando Meligeni BRA
- Meligeni is
a former semi-finalist at Roland Garros. He has not been in the greatest
form - respectable losses to Sanchez and Lapentti - but must be rated a huge
chance here. Escude has never played his best at the French, going out in
the first round in his past two attempts and did not look all that
convincing last week in Dusseldorf.
- The young
Argentinean qualifier won the Challenger event in Rome recently and must be
rated a huge chance to get past the veteran Yank.
Vassallo Arguello
(2 units at 4.00 - William
Hill) -2
Ivan Ljubicic
CRO (32) vs. Fernando Vicente ESP
- Last week's
St Polten finalist must be favoured to defeat Ljubicic, who apart from a win
against Ferrero in Rome, has been out of sorts over the last few months.
Vicente (4
units at 1.85 - Centrebet) +3.4
Alex
Calatrava ESP vs. Nicolas Kiefer GER
- The German
leads the head-to-head 3-0, but has been in a shocking form slump and has
never been past the second round in five appearances at Roland Garros.
Calatrava reached a semi in a challenger last start and should be too strong
over the five sets today.
Calatrava (4 units at 2.00 - Sportodds) +4
MULTI:
Richard
Gasquet FRA vs. Albert Costa 1.16 ESP (20)
- Not this
time for the 15-year old.
Fernando
Gonzalez 1.14 CHI vs. Scott Draper AUS
- The Aussie
can fight, but this will be very tough.
Andrei Pavel
1.08 ROM (22) vs. Martin Lee GBR
- Not here
for the Brit.
Jan-Michael
Gambill USA vs. Younes El Aynaoui 1.20 MAR (16)
- The in-form
Moroccan to have too much on the dirt.
Jan Vacek CZE
vs. Mariano Zabaleta 1.22 ARG
- The Czech
is struggling to win a game at the moment.
(5 units
at 2.10)
+5.5
Other Matches (Selections in Bold):
Lleyton
Hewitt 1.05 AUS (1) vs. Andre Sa BRA
-
Uncertainty over a side strain injury that came up in Hamburg make the 20's
on untouchable.
Andrei
Stoliarov 2.75 RUS vs. Jonas Bjorkman SWE
- The 7/4
about the Russian does look tempting. He has been struggling at Challenger
Tour level, but did have a few wins in the qualies here before getting into
the main draw as a lucky loser. Bjorkman has gone out in the 1st round four
years in a row here and has not won a match on the dirt all year.
Pete Sampras
USA (12) vs. Andrea Gaudenzi 2.62 ITA
- The Yank
can't play
on the dirt but can't be totally written off in this one.
Sebastien De
Chaunac FRA vs. Michael Chang 1.36 USA
- Past French
Winner Chang is not getting any younger, but he might be good for a win here
up against the French wild card.
Ivan Miranda
PER vs. Sjeng Schalken 1.28 NED (30)
- Schalken
hasn't been in the greatest form in recent times, but should have enough for
the Peruvian, who had an easy run through the qualifying tourney.
Carlos Moya
1.05 ESP (17) vs. Ramon Delgado PAR
- Ramon had
his best Grand Slam result with a 4th round here in 1998, but Moya is primed
for this one.
Mark
Philippoussis 1.22 AUS vs. Julien Varlet FRA
- The
Frenchman had three good matches in qualifying inc. a win over Galvani, but
the Aussie will have too much power.
Karol Kucera
SVK vs. Guillermo Canas 1.22 ARG (15)
- Canas
reached the 4th round here last year and will need to be right on his game.
Kucera does have a questionable preparation.
Federico
Luzzi ITA vs. Jack Brasington 2.37 USA
- The Yank
cruised through qualifying without dropping a set in his first appearance at
Roland Garros and does look a touch over the odds against the young Italian.
Giorgio
Galimberti ITA vs. Nikolay Davydenko 1.48 RUS
- The young
Russian should have too much, but
Galimberti has three matches under his belt this week and has had some handy
results on the dirt.
Julian Knowle
AUT vs. Davide Sanguinetti 1.53 ITA
- Very tough
match to pick, slight lean towards the Italian.
Ivo Heuberger
SUI vs. Gustavo Kuerten 1.04 BRA (7)
- Form is a
concern, but hard to go against three-time champ here.
Tommy Haas
1.14 GER (3) vs. Michal Tabara CZE
- Should be a
formality but the shoulder injury remains a concern for the German. One to
oppose later in the week.
Christophe
Rochus 1.52 BEL vs. Amir Hadad ISR
- Someone has
to win this, but who? Very tough!
Jarkko
Nieminen 2.37 FIN vs. Nicolas Lapentti ECU (28)
- One might
expect somewhat of a letdown for Lapentti after last week's win at St Polten.
The young Fin is yet to win a Grand Slam match, but must be rated a big
chance today.
Michel
Kratochvil SUI vs. Dominik Hrbaty 1.72 SVK
- Kratochvil
is not in the greatest form at the moment and will find it very tough up
against a past French Open semi-finalist in Hrbaty.
Albert
Montanes ESP vs. Anthony Dupuis 2.70 FRA
- The Frenchman
does look overs the odds against the inconsistent Spaniard.
Thomas
Johansson SWE (9) vs. Franco Squillari 2.10
ARG
- Very Tough.
The Argentinean will need to hit some form quickly to be assured of getting
past the Aussie Open champ today.
Julien
Benneteau 5.50 FRA vs. Arnaud Clement FRA
- Clement
plays his best tennis on the hardcourt as evidenced by the fact that he has
never been past the second round here in Paris. The wildcard for a boilover.
Bohdan
Ulihrach CZE vs. Alex Corretja 1.38 ESP (18)
- Not the
easiest 1st round match for the Spaniard. Ulihrach has never been defeated
in the first round in seven appearances at Roland Garros.
Robby Ginepri
USA vs. Alberto Martin 1.22 ESP
- Too much
for the qualifier.
Tomas Behrend
GER vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1.22 RUS (5)
- Not the
easiest 1st round for the hopelessly out of form Russian.
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FUTURES
GOLF
2012 US MASTERS
Mickelson, Phil 6.00
Mcilroy, Rory 7.00
Woods, Tiger 8.50
Westwood, Lee 21.00
Donald, Luke 21.00
Watney, Nick 26.00
Kaymer, Martin 34.00
Johnson, Dustin 34.00
Scott, Adam 34.00
Schwartzel, C 34.00
Day, Jason 34.00
Mahan, Hunter 36.00
Garcia, Sergio 36.00
Mcdowell, Graeme 36.00
Watson, Bubba 36.00
Kim, Anthony 36.00
Ogilvy, Geoff 36.00
Fowler, Rickie 36.00
Harrington, P 41.00
Stricker, Steve 41.00
Poulter, Ian 41.00
Cabrera, Angel 41.00
Kuchar, Matt 41.00
Simpson, Webb 41.00