LOOKING for some bets on the opening day of the French Open? Mark Stinchcombe (@markstinchcombe) on the case!
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni v Lauren Davis | Sunday 10:00
Lauren Davis has won all three previous meetings between the two including both on the clay (one last year in Rome).
Lucic-Baroni has suffered 1st round defeats in Rome, Madrid, Prague and Charleston and hasn't been past the 1st round here in her last four visits without even winning a set.
Davis' form hasn't been great either but she made the quarters of Charleston with decent results against Eugenie Bouchard and Mona Barthel. I just think when push comes to shove, Davis' better ability should see her through.
Bojana Jovanovski v Lesia Tsurenko | Sunday 12:30
I was impressed with Jovanovski in Rome. She beat Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia before losing to Maria Sharapova. The 23 year old played well against Maria, backing herself to make a lot of her shots which should stand her in good stead.
We can probably ignore her 1st round exit last week in Nurnberg after her five back-to-back matches in Rome.
Tsurenko isn't the greatest on clay, failing to make the main draw in both Rome and Madrid. Having never made it past the 1st round here in five attempts and Jovanovski having won their only previous meeting, I think the Serbian is a decent bet.
Ernests Gulbis v Igor Sijsling | Sunday 14:00
I mentioned Gulbis' poor year in my outright preview (won 2 lost 12) and he could be worth taking on again on Sunday. He's only won once in six on the clay and half of his defeats have come as favourite.
Igor Sijsling hasn't had much to write home about this year but has come through three qualifying matches here to get to the main draw, including a 3/1 win against Alexander Zverev.
Best Bets
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni v Lauren Davis – Lauren Davis to win (5/6 Sportingbet)
Bojana Jovanovski v Lesia Tsurenko – Bojana Jovanovski to win (Evens William Hill)
Ernests Gulbis v Igor Sijsling – Igor Sijsling to win (5/2 BetVictor)
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