French Open: Italian duo can rattle the favourites in women’s draw
Published:The women’s French Open crown has been passed around in recent years, with five different winners since Justine Henin won three of her four titles between 2005 and 2007.
With this in mind it may be worth looking away from the supposed favourites to find real value in the market.
Italian Sara Errani looks a great option at 25/1 to win her maiden Roland Garros title.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a fantastic 18 months after bursting on to the scene with a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open in 2012.
However, it is on the clay where she is most at home, emerging the victor in 33 of her preceding 36 matches on the red stuff. This impressive run included an appearance in the final inParis, as well as four titles on the surface.
Errani has already started her season on the dust, unlike the majority of the more fancied competitors, and boasts five successes from her six outings, making her an interesting option at 25/1 to come out on top.
Fellow compatriot and doubles partner Roberta Vinci is also worth some attention for those looking for an outside hope.
The 80/1 shot for glory also has real pedigree at Roland Garros and each-way backers should pay attention to the veteran’s chances
It was inParislast year that she and Errani secured the doubles title, and while she has never advanced beyond the third round here, she has never arrived in such a great vein of form.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a strong 12 months in which she has risen to the brink of the world’s top 10.
Currently ranked at number 12 she has made a strong start on the dust this year, mirroring Errani’s record of five victories and a single defeat. In this period she has already secured her first title, defeating world number eight Petra Kvitova in the final inKatowice.
Her Fed Cup exploits helpedItalyto a fifth final in the last eight years just last week, and it was her decisive triumph over Lucie Safarova that confirmed their place in the showpiece.
Maria Sharapova took home the tile in 2012 and the rangy Russian has developed a strong clay court game that saw her also make the semi-finals here in 2011.
The 7/2 priced world number two won three of the four tournaments she competed in on the surface last year, and despite not making her clay debut in 2013, she has been impressive on a hard court, emerging the victor in 19 of her 23 clashes.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
