LOOKING for some bets on the French Open? Tennis trader Mark Stinchcombe (@markstinchcombe) is on the case!
Borna Coric v Sam Querrey | Monday 13.30
Rising star Borna Coric makes his debut at Roland Garros taking on big-serving Sam Querrey. Undoubtedly the hotshot of men's tennis at the moment with wins already over Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, at the age of just 18 he is the youngest player in the ATP top 100.
Ranked 248th in the world a year ago, he now sits 53rd and is only set to continue to rise. With runs to the latter stages of Nice and Estoril on European clay under his belt it should bode him well over the night fortnight.
Sam Querrey made the final of Houston but on a much faster surface than Paris and has suffered early exits in Nice, Rome and Madrid. He also has five first round exits and has made the third round just once in his eight visits to Roland Garros.
With the better all-round clay-court game and unless Querrey serves unbelievably well and restricts Borna's chances, I expect him to win.
Luca Vanni v Bernard Tomic | Monday 11.30
These two met just three weeks ago in the first round of Madrid with Luca Vanni winning a tight match in a fairly comfortable tie-breaker in the decider (7-1).
Bernard Tomic has lost his last five matches on the red stuff and has always struggled on clay going just 3-13 since the beginning of 2013. He is also struggling with the flu at the moment, although he has confirmed he will play.
With Vanni winning three qualifiers to get this far, I expect him to take advantage of both Bernard's form and health. With Tomic retiring after losing the first set in Nice last week, it may be worth ensuring you place your bet with a bookmaker who will payout if a similar scenario occurs.
Dominic Thiem v Aljaz Bedene | Monday 12.00
My last bet is another rising star of the mens game in Dominic Thiem who collected his first ATP title on Saturday in Nice. Hopefully you're all following @WeLoveBettingUK on Twitter and have all backed him to win his quarter at 33/1 following his tournament win.
These two actually met on the hard courts of the Iving Challenger with Aljaz Bedene victorious in both the match and the tournament but since then he's stayed on the challenger tour in-contrast to Thiem who's recorded victories against Giles Simon, John Isner and Fabio Fognini, all in straight sets on the dirt, as well as making the quarters of Dubai and taking a set off Andy Murray.
Thiem has played a lot of tie-breaks on the clay swing (9 of his last 11 matches), suggesting he may take his time to work his way into the match, but even if that is the case, I expect him to grind Bedene down significantly enough to take the other sets by at least a break of serve.
Best Bets
Borna Coric v Sam Querrey – Borna Coric to win (6/5 Bet365)
Luca Vanni v Bernard Tomic – Luca Vanni to win (7/5 Betway)
Dominic Thiem v Aljaz Bedene – Dominic Thiem -4.5 games (1/1 BetVictor)
