Djokovic, Federer Two Clear Favourites To Win

Published on May 25th, 2014 3:38 pm EST
In the Men's French Open, there is Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and then everybody else.

Despite the fact that Rafael Nadal is currently the world's #1 men's tennis player, and despite the fact that Rafael Nadal is nearly unbeatable on clay, oddsmakers have Novak Djokovic as the slight favourite to win the Men's French Open this year. Here are the current betting odds for both Djokovic and Nadal to win:

Novak Djokovic, 2.37
Rafael Nadal, 2.50

So, according to these odds, a successful €100 wager on Djokovic to win the title would yield a total profit of €137, while a successful €100 wager on Rafael Nadal would yield a total return of €150.

As of this moment, Nadal is the world's #1 ranked tennis player with a total of 12,500 points so far this year, while Djokovic trails slightly behind by 650 points. It is worth noting, however, that Nadal has played one more tournament than Nadal so far this season.

The last meeting between Nadal and Djokovic occurred in the finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome, when Djokovic topped Nadal in a thrilling three set battle. Bookmakers are likely looking at this result when they give Djokovic the edge in the French Open, as it's pretty clear that Nadal is the better player on clay.

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Here are the current betting odds for a number of other notable players. As you can see, they trail far behind the likes of Djokovic and Nadal:

Stan Wawrinka, 11.00
Roger Federer, 17.00
David Ferrer, 19.00
Andy Murray, 23.00
Kei Nishikori, 29.00
Tomas Berdych, 51.00
Milos Raonic, 101.00

Stan Wawrinka has underperformed expectations since his victory in the Australian Open earlier this year. Roger Federer, on the other hand, has been on a bit of a hot streak that has seen him leap up the ladder of the ranked players.

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In the end, hoping for the likes of Wawrinka or Federer to win the title is likely misguided unless both Djokovic and Nadal fall early in the tournament. Djokovic and Nadal are just so much better than everybody else, especially on clay, that betting on a Federer or Murray type of player is almost certainly going to be a misguided venture.

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