2015 French Open Odds, Free Picks and Predictions – Favorites, Dark Horses and Sleepers: The 2015 French Open will begin Sunday at Roland Garros, and the second major tournament of the year might also be the trickiest thanks in large part to the red clay surface of the courts. Not only does the clay slow down the speed of the ball and cause unpredictable bounces, but it also makes moving around the court a bit of challenge. Not surprisingly, it takes a special combination of agility, balance and stamina for a player to succeed at Roland Garros, and some of the best players in tennis history have never fully figured out how to handle the clay.
2015 French Open Odds, Free Picks and Predictions
The Favorites
Although he enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed with five losses on clay already this season, writing off Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros would be ridiculous. After all, we are talking about the five-time defending winner of the event, and he has won the French open in nine of the last 10 years. Perhaps more impressively, he has a 66-1 record in matches at Roland Garros. Until someone can outlast Nadal in the French Open, he is the man to beat.
There is only one major standing between Novak Djokovic and a career Grand Slam, and it is the French Open. Of course, he has come close plenty of times, reaching the semifinals in four straight years and losing the finals in two of the last three seasons. Not to mention the fact that Djokovic has reached at least the semifinals in 18 of the last 19 majors. He brings a 22-match winning streak into Roland Garros, and while he is 0-6 against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, this looks like his best chance to take the title.
The Contenders
He has bowed out of a few majors early than normal lately, but Roger Federer is still one of the premier players in the world. He has also looked solid in the clay court tune-up tournaments, and he couldn’t have asked for a more favorable draw, dodging both Rafael Nadal and Novak in his quarter of the bracket. Federer may have one or two major titles left in him, and the pieces could be falling into place at Roland Garros.
It certainly seems like Andy Murray has returned healthy in 2015. He reached title match at the Australian Open earlier in the year, and he picked up his first tournament win on clay during the tune-up stretch for Roland Garros. With Nadal hurting and Federer not getting any younger, a strong argument can be made that Murray is the best equipped, at least physically, of the “Big Four” next to Djokovic. He could make some real noise at the French Open.
Sleeper Specials
He is just 20 years old, but Nick Kyrgios is showing signs of becoming a future star. After all, he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last season and did the same at the Australian Open earlier this year. Perhaps more importantly, he reached the title match in one of the clay court warm-up tournaments and even knocked of Federer in Madrid. The youngster should only improve with experience, and he could break out at any time.
While he has yet to put it all together, Fabio Fognini has shown plenty of promise in the clay court tournaments in recent weeks. In fact, he has defeated Nadal twice, and despite Nadal not playing his best, the victories still speak to Fognini’s potential. He is young, fearless and has proven he can beat the best in the world when he is on top of his game. At some point, he is going to play several excellent matches in a row, and it could happen at Roland Garros.
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