French Open Tennis Day 15 Picks 2017- Men's Final (June 11th)

Men's Final- Stan Wawrinka vs Rafael Nadal

This is arguably the Final most would have hoped for at the beginning of the French Open as Stan Wawrinka looks for a fourth Grand Slam title which amazingly would see him surpass Andy Murray's number.

Wawrinka has never lost a Grand Slam Final in his previous three occasions being in the Final, but he has to take on Rafael Nadal who is looking for a simply ridiculous TENTH title at the French Open. The Spaniard has won all nine previous Roland Garros Finals and this looks an interesting match between the stand out players of the last fortnight.

Rafael Nadal - 6.5 games v Stan Wawrinka: Once Stan Wawrinka blew the third set of his Semi Final against Andy Murray, I was not convinced he would have the fortitude to bounce back and win that match. To my surprise Wawrinka took a tight tie-breaker in the fourth set before running away with the fifth, although I have questions as to how much he invested both physically and mentally into the Semi Final.

You would have to be foolish to completely ignore it, although I can't have Wawrinka using fatigue as a complete excuse considering the straight sets wins he has had all week. Against most players the Semi Final success wouldn't really be a big factor for me considering how strong Wawrinka is, but the fact he is playing Rafael Nadal in what looks to be peak form does make that a bigger factor than normal.

Wawrinka has chances in this one with the way he has been returning, and he has beaten Nadal on the clay courts before. However there are a lot of 'ifs' around the Wawrinka game which makes it tough to really believe he can cause what would be a big upset in my mind.

If Wawrinka serves at his best and if he is able to recover from Friday's Semi Final and if Wawrinka is able to penetrate the Nadal defences with winner after winner, the Swiss star can win this match. However that feels like a lot of things needing to go right and also Nadal to slip off a level of complete and utter dominance that he has produced for basically the entire clay court season.

Forget about sets, Nadal is barely losing games at the moment and it may be a demoralising experience for Wawrinka if he is not able to get in front early on. The first set feels more important than usual for Wawrinka who might just lose some heart if Nadal is able to take his best shots, while the physical pain may also be revealed at that point.

Nadal has been returning so well and putting constant pressure on his opponents which has seen them crack. He looks focused and I think Wawrinka's run of successes at the Grand Slam Final level will come to an end here.

After a tight first set, I can see Nadal beginning to wear down Wawrinka who tries to hit the ball harder and harder to keep up with what the Spaniard is producing. It has been over twelve months since Nadal and Wawrinka last met, but both will be familiar with what the other is going to do against them.

I will be expecting Nadal to try and blunt Wawrinka early before pulling away with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 kind of win.

MY PICKS: Rafael Nadal - 6.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

US Open Tennis Day 14 Pick- Men's Final 2016 (September 11th)

Before we get on with the pick, I have to say I can't believe it has been fifteen years since 9/11 which is a remarkable length of time.

None of the heroes of that day in New York City will ever be forgotten and I imagine there will be some huge moments of reflection ahead of the sporting events on Sunday.


Angelique Kerber has won the women's title in Flushing Meadows to underline her position as the new World Number 1 with two Grand Slam titles under her belt in 2016. I am not going to call it a changing of the guard at the top of the WTA, but Kerber will likely be a lot closer to the favouritism that Serena Williams has in any event they both enter and looks to be the player to beat in the WTA Championships in a few weeks time.


The picks from the US Open have had a decent return already but one more winner could help put a serious dent in the season totals to perhaps give 2016 the strong ending I have wanted after a poor first six months.


Stan Wawrinka + 4.5 games v Novak Djokovic: The doubts about Novak Djokovic continue to linger after he once again had to call the trainer in his win over Gael Monfils in the Semi Final on Friday. Djokovic is either pulling the wool over the eyes of every player on the Tour by asking for the trainer to keep himself looking vulnerable, or he is clearly not at 100% which means Stan Wawrinka has every chance of upsetting the odds for the third time he has reached a Grand Slam Final.

Wawrinka brings in the confidence of having won 10 Finals in a row and he did beat Novak Djokovic at the French Open last year in the Final. I am a little concerned that Wawrinka has spent a lot more time on the court than Djokovic on the way through to the Final, but the day of rest between matches should mean that is not a concern.

He should have a better level than Djokovic in terms of what he can produce on the field and I think it is very important that Wawrinka has beaten him in big Grand Slam matches. That means Wawrinka is not feeling overawed by the challenge in front of him and I think he can win this match outright let alone with the games in hand.

I have a lot of respect for Djokovic, but I think this is the first player he has faced who will believe he can win the match from the second he walks onto the court. I don't think either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Gael Monfils really believed that and that saw them give Djokovic a lead and make the climb to the top of the mountain feel that much bigger.

Djokovic won't give up the chance for a third Grand Slam title in 2016 easily, but my gut feeling is that Stan Wawrinka will dig deep enough to keep this very competitive and perhaps win his third Grand Slam title. I will back Wawrinka with the games in this one.

MY PICKS: Stan Wawrinka + 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

US Open Update: 40-37, + 11.84 Units (146 Units Staked, + 8.11% Yield)

French Open Day 15 Picks 2015- Men's Final: Novak Djokovic v Stan Wawrinka (June 7th)

The women's Final is in the books and Serena Williams has reached Number 20 in terms of Grand Slams won which is a remarkable achievement. For a long time it had looked like the Final would be a fairly straight-forward one for Williams, but the American got nervous and Lucie Safarova maintained control of her emotions to come back from a double break down in the second set and broke serve once again when Serena Williams served for the match at 6-5.

Safarova impressively broke, won the tie-breaker and was then 2-0 up in the decider, but Williams once again discovered her form and won the final six games to take home the title for a third time in Paris.

The season Grand Slam is on, which would help Serena Williams match Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam titles, although other players will feel they can 'get her' early in the next two Grand Slam tournaments.

Personally it is hard to see how Serena Williams is going to be stopped in her two favourite Slams, especially if she can go into Wimbledon and the US Open healthy, but she will be a very short price to win those, too short for me in all likelihood.


So the final day at the French Open is when Novak Djokovic, who eventually saw off Andy Murray in their delayed Semi Final on Saturday, and Stan Wawrinka go for their first French Open title.

Serena Williams might have every chance to win the season Grand Slam, but Novak Djokovic might be a strong favourite to do the same if he takes the title home on Sunday. This is the one he has coveted more than any other as Djokovic could join an elite list of players who have won the career Grand Slam.

Not many would oppose Novak Djokovic in the next two Slams either, although Andy Murray showed he is getting closer and prefers Wimbledon and the US Open where he has won his two Slams and could be the big threat to Djokovic going forward.

First things first, Djokovic has to hold off Stan Wawrinka who is a surprise Finalist here and had a full day of rest going into the Final while the World Number 1 was toiling against Murray on Saturday. The Final could be a good one if Wawrinka can bring in the form that has troubled Novak Djokovic in the past, but he will have to serve better than he did in the Semi Final to make this a classic for the fans.


Novak Djokovic-Stan Wawrinka Over 3.5 Sets: If you had watched the two men's Semi Finals from start to finish, you would have noticed that Stan Wawrinka had given up a host of chances for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to break serve in the last three sets which may have changed the entire direction of the match if the Frenchman could have taken his chances.

On the other hand, Novak Djokovic created a lot of chances on the Andy Murray serve, but wasn't effective enough during sets three and four to make that an easier day in the office. However, the World Number 1 has to be happy with his serving having only given up break points in three games during the entire five set match, although Murray raised his game at those times to break every time an opportunity presented itself.

I said on Friday that Wawrinka would have a really hard time winning the French Open if he doesn't improve his serving because Tsonga is a fairly limited returner, yet was creating chances at will. Now he takes on Djokovic, likely a top five returner of all time, who will keep the Swiss Number 2 on the backfoot on his own service games if Wawrinka is not hitting his marks.

Blisters on his hands are a concern too, but the fact that Djokovic had to come out on Saturday may help Wawrinka feel he can physically compete. The other element that has made Wawrinka a dangerous opponent is his shot-making off both wings off the ground and he will need all of that to hit through Djokovic who defends as good as anybody in the World.

That power can cause Djokovic some problems even when he is serving though as Wawrinka will look to attack the serve and I do think the latter can have some success. There will be nerves on Djokovic's side of the court knowing how close he is to achieving his dream and matches between these two have been gruelling affairs at the highest level in recent years.

What do I mean? Well about the fact their last four Grand Slam matches have all gone to five sets and they have also met in a Davis Cup tie which also needed five sets to separate them. Novak Djokovic has gotten the best of the majority of these five setters as his fitness has seen him outlast Wawrinka, but don't discount the latter who was beaten 12-10 at the Australian Open in the fifth set in 2013 only to return the favour in a 9-7 final set in 2014 at the same venue.

I do think Novak Djokovic is going to be too strong for Stan Wawrinka, but even a World Number 1 can get nervous when closing on history as Serena Williams showed on Saturday. That will give Wawrinka a chance to make this a competitive match if he can start well and I think the layers are taking a chance on this match seeing both players win at least one set.

If Novak Djokovic returns well it could be tough for Wawrinka and it won't be super hot on Sunday which suits the Serb just fine. However, the latter will believe in his game being competitive and that can see him take a set and it would be beyond stunning if the Swiss man was to win this in straight sets.

At odds against, I will look for this match to last at least four sets between two players who have played some epic Grand Slam matches over the last two and a half years.

MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic-Stan Wawrinka Over 3.5 Sets @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

French Open Update: 46-33, + 19.70 Units (155 Units Staked, + 12.71% Yield)