Rafael Nadal once again reigned supreme in Paris as he defeated 25/1 column selection David Ferrer in straight sets to win a record-breaking eighth Roland Garros crown.
Ferrer went into Sunday’s final as the underdog and was always playing catch up from the minute he fell a break of serve behind in the first set. A few half chances came Ferrer’s way but there was always a sense of inevitability about the occasion and Nadal’s experience (or Ferrer’s inexperience) shone through as third seed Nadal cruised to the title in 2 hours and 16 minutes. It was a terrific tournament for both players and a successful one from a punting perspective, considering Ferrer traded around a third of his pre-tournament price.
The French Open was a 15-day spectacle in its own right but in addition serves to whet the appetite ahead of Wimbledon that starts in a fortnight’s time. Before then however, the seamless change from red to green occurs and it’s our first glimpse of the relatively short grass court season over the next seven days in the traditional curtain-raising events at Queen’s and Halle.
ATP London (Queen’s)
The 2012 Aegon Championships in London ended in perhaps the most bizarre fashion ever seen on a tennis court. David Nalbandian was leading 7-6 3-4* against Croatian Marin Cilic when the Argentine lost his temper at having his serve broken and gave the advertising board situated next to a line judge a kicking that David Beckham in his prime would have been proud of. Unfortunately for Nalbandian, the board injured the same line judge and when blood was seen seeping from the poor gentleman’s leg, there was only one likely result and that was a disqualification. What this all meant was 12/1 column pick walked away with the title for the most fortuitous winner of the entire 2012 season! Something similar this year with slightly less controversy would be most welcome.
Quite a few players are making a comeback of sorts in London this week. Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro both skipped Paris for differing injury reasons, whereas Tomas Berdych makes a comeback from a surprising early exit at Roland Garros. Other players to take their place in the draw at the prestigious Queen’s Club are French Open semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, defending champion Marin Cilic, as well as 2010 champion Sam Querrey. The likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer may be missing but this looks to be the strongest field to be assembled in London for many a year, if ever. Indeed Halle which is a tournament being played simultaneous to this one can only boast Federer of the aforementioned trio so this looks to be the event of the week.
Andy Murray will be looking for a third title here (champion in 2009 and 2011) and few would bet against him. With no French Open campaign on the agenda, Murray was able to get plenty of grass court preparation ahead of Queen’s and was photographed practising with Tim Henman just last week. He therefore won’t be lacking for exposure on the grass and could be dangerous this week on the comeback trail. Murray probably boasts the best grass court form after his Wimbledon 2012 final appearance and gold medal-winning performance at London 2012, making him a worthy favourite for the title. At 2/1 though, he looks short enough in a stellar field and I’ll look elsewhere for a spot of value.
Quarter-finalist in 2012, Kevin Anderson could be a dangerous proposition on the grass this year. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I’ve seen from the South African this year and having shown some decent form on the slower clay, he’s bound to benefit from the increased court speed in London, his draw could also have been a worse one. For example, one particular quarter contains all of Sam Querrey, Grigor Dimitrov, Jarkko Nieminen, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Frankly speaking, good luck if you’re planning on picking the quarter winner from that section! Anderson may have to see off a couple of French players in Benoit Paire and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the latter stages of the event but on the basis Paire can blow hot or cold and Tsonga may be slightly fatigued from his exerts in Paris, I’ll take a chance on Anderson to prove a difficult nut to crack. If he can get that serve ramped up to the maximum, he could be incredibly difficult to break on this surface and I think at 40/1 is a cracking price, since he fits a similar mould to past champions Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic.
Selection: Kevin Anderson
ATP Halle
Although perhaps not taking centre stage this week as the main event, Halle is by no means a second-rate tournament. Any tournament that can name Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, and Milos Raonic as three of the their top four seeds deserves to be taken seriously and there’ll be a few pointers on show this week as we head towards Wimbledon. Defending champion Tommy Haas returns in arguably better form than this time last year and should make a decent fist of attempting to hold onto his Halle crown.
Roger Federer is still more than a match for most players on a grass court and could quite easily win a sixth title in Germany. However, it’s the bottom half of the draw I’ll be making a selection from. The top half really is a bit of a minefield with Federer, Jerzy Janowicz, Tommy Haas, Ernests Gulbis, Gael Monfils, and Milos Raonic all vying for a place in next weekend’s final.
By contrast, the opposite side of the draw looks a little more straightforward with possibly only Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mikhail Youzhny, Kei Nishikori, or Richard Gasquet good enough to advance to the final. Youzhny is a little hit and miss for my liking and possibly has his best days behind him. Nishikori is yet to really prove himself on grass and could face Youzhny in round two, leaving only Kohlschreiber and Gasquet. At the likely prices, Kohlschreiber appeals most at almost twice the price of Frenchman Gasquet. World number 19 Kohlschreiber has an impressive 22-7 record at Halle and having won the title in 2011, has proven he can get the job done here. A beaten finalist in 2008 and two semi final appearances in 2007 and 2009 show that he is nothing if not consistent and I fancy him to capitalise on a pleasant-looking draw. 10/1 is a more than fair price and I’d be hopeful we’d get a nice run for our money.
Selection: Philipp Kohlschreiber
Follow Chris on Twitter @cdquinn86
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