Sports Blog 02/06/2015: Tournament Preview – French Open 2015 Quarter Finals, Tuesday 2nd & Wednesday 3rd June 2015

The French Open is hotting up, with Tuesday and Wednesday seeing this year’s quarter-finals.

Spreadex is offering Outright Index spreads on both the men’s and women’s single tournaments, where the winner receives 60 points, the runner-up receives 40 points, the losing semi-finalists 20 a piece and the losing quarter finalists 10 each.

So far there have been very few upsets in the men’s side of the French Open this year; however, this has led to some interesting pairings for the quarter finals. Tuesday sees Kei Nishikori face home-favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nishikori has had a relatively easy time of it, winning every game in straight sets, and skipping the third round after Benjamin Becker withdrew because of a shoulder injury, reaching the his furthest point in a French Open and an Outright Index spread of 25-28.

Tsonga, who reached a French Open semi-final in 2013, out-performed Tomas Berdych, who is ranked higher than Nishikori, in the fourth round, leaving him at an Outright Index spread of 14-16. However, given his recent form, the Japanese player has the advantage, at a Nishikori/Tsonga Match Supremacy spread betting quote of 9-12.



Tuesday’s other game is an all-Swiss affair, as Stan Wawrinka takes on Roger Federer. Wawrinka reached the quarter finals here back in 2013, so has equalled his best performance in Paris this year after breezing past Gilles Simon in the last round. This leaves the world no.9 at an Outright Index spread of 16.5-19.5.

Federer, for all his many, many accolades over the years, has only won the French Open once, back in 2009. Whilst this makes him the only player to break Nadal’s grip on the Roland Garros in the past decade, the tennis legend will want to add a least one more before he eventually hangs up his rackets. After beating Gael Monfils in the fourth round Federer has an Outright Index spread of 23-26 and has the advantage at a Federer/Wawrinka Match Supremacy spread betting quote of 6.5-9.5.

Britain’s finest takes to the courts on Wednesday, as Andy Murray faces the Spaniard David Ferrer. Murray has dropped sets against both Joao Sousa in the second round, and Jeremy Chardy in the fourth, but has largely looked comfortable in the tournament so far, leaving him at an Outright Index spread of 19-22. He will be aiming for his first French Open final after reaching the semi-finals in 2011 and 2014, losing to Nadal, who could be his potential semi-final opponent this year, in both.

Ferrer, for what it’s worth, knocked out world no. 10 Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach the quarter finals after being pushed to 5 by Simone Bolelli in the previous round. Yet his only ever Grand Slam final came in the French Open 2 years ago, meaning he does have form at the tournament; he sits at an Outright Index spread of 14-16.

The biggest game, be it in the men’s or women’s draw, comes on Wednesday as world no. 1 Novak Djokovic faces the man who has main Roland Garros his own, Rafael Nadal. The French Open is the only major title that has eluded Djokovic his very successful career, but is looking in fine form this year, failing to drop a set and easing past Richard Gasquet in the fourth round. The Serb is at an Outright Index spread of 39-42.

Despite sitting at only 7th in the world, Nadal is the King of the French Open. The Spaniard turns 29 on Wednesday, so beating Djokovic would be the perfect birthday present as Nadal aims for his 10th French Open title in the last 11 years. He had a minor wobble in the fourth round against Jack Sock, dropping his first set of the tournament, but recovered quickly, putting him at an Outright Index spread of 19.5-22.5.

Unlike the men’s draw, there has been a fair few upsets in the women’s side of the tournament. Tuesday’s first quarter final sees Ana Ivanovic face Elina Svitolina. Ivanovic knocked out world no. 9 Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round, and has won the French open once before, back in 2008. She sits at an Outright Index spread of 23.5-26.5.

Her opponent, Svitolina, bested Alize Cornet in the fourth round, who herself had knocked out world no. 3 Simona Halep, to reach her furthest point ever in a Grand Slam tournament and an Outright Index spread of 15-18. However, the more experienced player has the advantage here, with Spreadex offering an Ivanovic/Svitolina Match Supremacy spread betting quote of 5.5-8.5.

Tuesday’s other quarter final sees Garbine Muguruza battle Lucie Safarova. Muguruza has now matched her performance from last year, where she lost to the eventual champion Maria Sharapova in the quarter finals. Yet 2015 has seen the Spaniard break the top 20 for the first time, giving her an Outright Index spread of 22-25.

Her opponent, however, is responsible for the biggest upset of the tournament so far, impressively knocking out Sharapova in straight sets after already having bested Sabine Lisicki in the previous round. This means Safarova is also at her furthest ever progress in the French Open, and second only to her semi-final appearance at Wimbledon 2014 in terms of a Grand Slam tournament performance, leaving her at a very similar Outright Index spread of 20.5-22.5. Our Spreadex traders have deemed this match to close to call, offering a choice Muguruza/Safarova Supremacy spread betting of -1.5-1.5.



Wednesday then sees an interesting pair of matches. Either winner of the Timea Bacsinkzky/Alison van Uytvanck quarter final would be reaching their first Grand Slam tournament semi-final ever. Bacsinkzy, second only to Safarova in the upset stakes, knocked out 2 time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the fourth round, and sits at an Outright Index spread of 20.5-23.5.

Uytvanck, on the other hand, has only dropped one set so far this tournament, against Zarina Diyas, and saw off Andreea Mitu in the fourth round. However, Bacsinkzky’s achievements in the tournament are slightly more impressive, leaving Uytvanck with a lesser Outright Index spread of 12-14.

Finally, perhaps the biggest women’s quarter final sees Serena Williams take on Sara Errani. Errani has had a strong tournament, knocking out 10th ranked Andrea Petkovic in straight sets in the third round, before breezing past Julia Gorges in the fourth. She is at an Outright Index spread of 12.5-14.5.

Yet she faces a formidable opponent. Ranked world no. 1, the French Open is Williams’ least successful Grand Slam tournament, with only 2 wins compared to 6 at the Australian and US Opens and 5 at Wimbledon. A controversial victory against Victoria Azarenka led to a fourth round against Sloane Stephens, who she eventually beat after losing the first set. Regardless, she is Serena Williams, and sits at an Outright Index spread of 44-47
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Make sure to check Spreadex throughout the tournament for the latest’s fixed odds and spread betting French Open opportunities.