The French Open has reached its quarter final stages at Roland Garros – our tennis expert CHRIS QUINN is in good shape with his sole outright bet Ferrer (see tournament preview) and now previews each of the 1/4 finals with recommendations on the BETDAQ match and set score markets.
Tommy Robredo (32) vs David Ferrer (4)
Perhaps the story of Roland Garros so far is that of Tommy Robredo. Four times a French Open quarter finalist, the likelihood of a fifth such appearance looked very slim when the Spaniard was languishing at 471 in the ATP World Tour rankings just over twelve months ago. The last year has seen quite an upturn in fortune for Robredo as he’s started to piece a few decent wins together. It’s hard to gauge just what sort of expectations Robredo will have had prior to the tournament. After all, he found himself seeded for the event. That said, to become the first player to come back from two sets to love down THREE matches running is quite something. Admittedly Igor Sijsling isn’t a household name, Gael Monfils could barely walk after their clash, and Nicolas Almagro succumbed from a seemingly impossible position to advance to the last eight stage. Robredo’s opponent in the quarter finals is compatriot and pre-tournament selection David Ferrer and I get the distinct feeling he won’t be distracted by the romance of Robredo’s route through.
Ferrer is absolutely relentless on the dirt and after a slow start against Marinko Matosevic in round one, Ferrer has advanced to the last eight with relative ease. Yet to drop a set, Albert Montanes, Feliciano Lopez, and Kevin Anderson have all felt the full force of Ferrer this past week and I fear that for Robredo fans, he may suffer the same fate. This will be Ferrer’s third match of the tournament against a fellow Spaniard and I fully expect the result to be in Ferrer’s favour. The pair have met twice in the last twelve months (both on clay), with Ferrer securing wins on both occasions. I genuinely can’t see Ferrer taking his foot off the gas for the duration of the match and it’s questionable how much Robredo will have left in the tank. For me, this looks like a straight sets win for Ferrer.
Selection: David Ferrer
Score: 3-0
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6) vs Roger Federer (2)
The second semi final sees the last remaining home hope in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga take on second seed Roger Federer in a match that is bound to split the crowd. Federer is adored by the French public and this was clear to be seen in his previous match against another home favourite Gilles Simon. After a comfortable first set, Federer took a tumble on the clay after losing his footing and it seemed to knock him off his stride for a couple of sets. Class eventually told however as Federer came back from two sets to one down to seal his place in the last eight. Tsonga on the other hand is yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament and has looked at the top of his game. The introduction of Roger Rasheed to his coaching team appears to be paying dividends and it’s refreshing to see Tsonga show what he can do on a tennis court, whilst maintaining the smile that endears him to many fans around the world. In two previous meetings on the dirt, Federer has beaten Tsonga in straight sets but I’m anticipating a closer match on Tuesday. Federer still retains enough ability to reach the latter stages of these big tournaments. Whether he retains quite enough ability to win more Grand Slams is a debate for another day but for now, I think we’ll see a competitive match between the pair. Tsonga should be good enough for a set at least and possibly two if Federer’s level drops enough. I’ll take Federer to progress in four sets.
Selection: Roger Federer
Score: 3-1
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Tommy Haas (12)
Top seed and tournament second favourite Novak Djokovic takes on twelfth seed Tommy Haas in what looks to be the most intriguing quarter final of the four. Albeit on a faster hard court, Haas defeated Djokovic in Miami earlier this year in a surprisingly dominant performance and should come into their meeting on Wednesday full of confidence. Enjoying some of the best form of his career, Haas looks at peace on a tennis court in his later years and this approach has certainly seen an improvement in his results. To be seeded 12th at any major tournament at the age of 35 is an amazing feat but Haas isn’t here to merely make up the numbers. An epic match against John Isner may have taken quite a bit out of Haas and would have been a cause for concern heading into his match against Djokovic. That said, a swift defeat of Mikhail Youzhny in his subsequent match kept Haas’ court time to a minimum and would have been a welcome relief to the veteran German. He should be fresh enough come-Wednesday.
Djokovic seemed to struggle early on against Philipp Kohlschreiber in their last sixteen match. I guess this was hardly surprising as he was undoubtedly struggling with the news of the passing of his former coach. Kohlschreiber was also playing some terrific tennis in the first set, before Djokovic grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck, ultimately coming through in four tight sets. I think the Haas/Djokovic match could play out similar to that of the Kohlschreiber/Djokovic match in the sense that Haas will come out of the blocks fast and try to catch Djokovic off guard. I expect the Serbian’s class to tell over the course of the match and should see off the German to the loss of one set.
Selection: Novak Djokovic
Set Betting: 3-1
Rafael Nadal (3) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (9)
The final quarter final sees tournament favourite Rafael Nadal take on Swiss number two Stanislas Wawrinka in what could develop into the highest quality match of the quartet. Nadal’s passage through to the last eight has been uninspiring to say the least with uncharacteristic sets lost when perhaps they wouldn’t have been in previous years. Conditions haven’t been in the Spaniard’s favour and you can bet he’ll be praying for warm temperatures between now and the weekend. Rafa seems to struggle somewhat in the heavier conditions in which the ball moves slightly slower and appears to nullify the threat he carries on a clay court. An improvement in conditions on Monday saw him defeat Kei Nishikori in a manner befitting of the great Roland Garros champion and if the weather comes up on the warm side on Wednesday, you have to fancy Nadal to come through this one.
Wawrinka was involved in a pulsating last sixteen match against Richard Gasquet on Monday evening which lasted well over four hours and it would take a monumental effort for him to pinch a set off the Spaniard, never mind winning the match. The Swiss appeared to struggle mid-way through his match against Gasquet with a thigh problem and a gruelling four-hour match probably wasn’t what he was after before facing off against Nadal. I still think he’ll give Nadal a match and more of a match than Gasquet would’ve done. I expect the set scores to be kept quite close but at the business end, Nadal will have the edge and should see off Stan in three close sets.
Selection: Rafael Nadal
Set Betting: 3-0
Follow Chris on Twitter @cdquinn86
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