Tennis fans will also be very interested as the second Grand Slam of the season gets underway and it looks like a tournament that could be pretty open.
Carlos Alcaraz has made a statement ahead of the defence of his title and looks the right favourite, while Aryna Sabalenka can say the same in the women's tournament.
The poor form of Iga Swiatek, nicknamed the Queen of Clay, has opened the door for a potential new Champion here and the World Number 1 looks best placed to take advantage. There will be plenty of people raising an eyebrow about the form of Swiatek, especially as she has not looked the same since a failed drugs test at the end of last season.
Some will say it is the mental burden of having to prove herself as someone who has not been cheating, but sceptics may say that the Pole had not been playing clean before popping and the poor form underlines their feelings about the former World Number 1.
It does look like a Grand Slam where the two favourites can come out on top, but the French Open is a tough event to negotiate. Clay matches can end up going a lot longer than expected and there are players like Jannik Sinner, Mirra Andreeva, Coco Gauff, and Novak Djokovic who should not be ruled out.
Novak Djokovic has been struggling with his form, but has put some wins on the board in Geneva to restore confidence and is only a few months on from winning the Olympic Gold Medal right here in Roland Garros. His previous performances at the French Open makes the veteran a dangerous player in the draw and the hope is that the next two weeks are a lot of fun for the fans and organisers.
The French Open is another Grand Slam that has moved to the Sunday start time with the First Round of the tournament split over three days.
We have a solid looking schedule on Day 1 of the tournament and the Picks can be read below.
After a decent Australian Open and strong results over much of the last four months, the Season Totals remain in a good spot, but with more than half o the season to go.
In recent years, the French Open has perhaps been the most consistent of the Grand Slam tournaments in terms of the profit/loss and laying a strong foundation for success through the first week of the event is the ambition. The shortlisting of selections have worked out pretty well so far in 2025 after a really disappointing 2024 and it is all about the continued positive momentum as the main clay court season comes to a conclusion.
Peyton Stearns - 3.5 games v Eva Lys: The clay courts might not always be the favoured surface of those playing out of the United States, but Peyton Stearns has enjoyed a really good couple of months on the red dirt. Not only has she reached a career high World Ranking ahead of the French Open, but Stearns will enter the tournament as one of the top thirty-two Seeds and she could, or perhaps should, be targeting a result to match her Third Round run from last year.
The key is to make sure she is focused after piling up the wins in Madrid and Rome- Peyton Stearns reached the Fourth Round in the Spanish capital before surpassing all expectations to make it through to the Rome Semi Final.
Peyton Stearns has had to battle through some of the matches, but credit has to be given to the 23 year old for finding a way to put the wins together. Some may feel she has benefited from kind draws, but that has not been the case for Stearns who has wins over four players that were Ranked higher than herself and losses to Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini are hardly surprises.
The expectation is that Peyton Stearns can get off to a strong start in the French capital with a First Round match against Eva Lys, even if the latter is an experienced clay court player.
Much like Peyton Stearns, Eva Lys is playing at a career best World Ranking mark, but she is just inside the top 60 and has not had the same kind of consistent results as the American. While Eva Lys has a 6-5 record on the clay courts in the lead up to the French Open, that becomes 1-4 when only considering matches against players Ranked higher than herself and a vulnerable serve has been exploited by the stronger players faced.
Some of the losses that have been handed to Eva Lys have been pretty one-sided and Peyton Stearns looks to be playing well enough to secure a relatively comfortable victory of her own.
As long as she gets enough first serves in play, Stearns should be able to have considerable success on the return and that should see her move through to the Second Round with two solid sets under the belt.
Diana Shnaider - 6.5 games v Anastasiia Sobolieva: There are some clear favourites who will be expecting to challenge for the second Grand Slam of the season, but someone like Diana Shnaider could prove to be a dangerous 'underdog'. The World Number 11 continues to improve as a player on the Tour and the young player looked to be in good form when reaching the Rome Quarter Final earlier this month.
She has reached the Third Round in three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, but Diana Shnaider has yet to have the kind of impact at this level that her Ranking may suggest. However, she is getting closer having put together a run into the second week at the US Open last year and her all-around tennis ability means Diana Shnaider is a threat on all surfaces.
Over the last couple of seasons, Diana Shnaider has developed into a consistent player on the clay courts and it will feel like a real disappointment if she is not to reach the Third Round, at least, for the first time in Paris this week.
The serve has been effective and Diana Shnaider is a strong returner, which should give her the edge over a Qualifier in the First Round.
Both of these players are 21 years old, but Anastasiia Sobolieva is outside of the top 200 of the World Rankings, although set for a boost having won three Qualifiers to earn a spot in the main draw. She only dropped a single set in those Qualifying matches and that will give Sobolieva confidence, even if she will accept that this is a considerable step upwards compared to the usual level of opponent she will face.
The real test for Anastasiia Sobolieva is going to be trying to protect the second serve and too many looks at that shot should give one of the Seeds an opportunity to get on top of the rally from the outset.
Diana Shnaider will be aware of this opponent being in the same age bracket- their sole previous match was back in November 2021 on the clay courts and Shnaider was outside of the top 1000 and almost 500 Ranking places below Anastasiia Sobolieva.
However, that did not stop Shnaider winning 6-4, 6-1 and the World Number 11 has progressed and developed to a level where she should be a relatively comfortable winner again.
MY PICKS: Peyton Stearns - 3.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)
Diana Shnaider - 6.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (1 Unit)
2025 Season: 85-61, + 17.66 Units (184 Units Staked, + 9.60% Yield)
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