(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Paris, France – On any given Sunday during the annual ATP World Tour tennis calendar a player is welcomed into the champion’s circle. As we are in the fifth month of the season naturally there have been numerous champions already; but with respect to the “Big Four” – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic – Nadal has dominated.
Nadal has already won five titles, four of which were major titles at the Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters, Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters as well as the Barcelona Open.
Murray comes in second with three titles so far this season – one major title at the Miami Masters and the other two coming in Doha and Rotterdam.
Djokovic follows with two titles which he picked up in Dubai and Belgrade.
However, no Sunday was as important or significant as last Sunday at the Madrid Masters wherein Roger Federer picked up his first title on the season, beating Rafael Nadal in the final.
After last Sunday’s developments in Madrid the mood in the tennis betting market shifted and set the stage for what is now arguably the most anticipated French Open in recent history. Had Federer not won in Madrid last week, beating the King of Clay no less, he would have entered the French Open with a big fat ZERO for titles won this season and his value in the marketplace would have slipped further. But just like that, there has been an upswing in his value.
Every sports fanatic wants to see the best rivalry of their chosen sport on display in a championship match and so it is with the tennis betting public who are clamouring for a Nadal-Federer sequel in a fortnight's time.
Federer’s victory over Nadal has left many pondering the ever-drawing-nearer French Open. For many, the big question of course is whether the win increases Federer’s chances of lifting the elusive French Open crown.
However, this question hinges on the presumption that Federer will reach a fourth consecutive final in Paris. Keeping in mind the fact that apart from the Australian Open final this season, Federer had not reached the final of a tournament until last Sunday, doesn’t the aforementioned question put the cart before the horse? Would not the better question be whether Federer is a lock to reach the final?
So is Federer a lock to reach the French Open Final and to set up another battle against Nadal?
Prior to last Sunday there was valid reason to believe such a final would not materialise, rather a Nadal-Djokovic final (depending on the draw of course) was what most believed would be on the cards. In the run-up to the French Open this season Djokovic proved he was the second best player on clay – reaching back-to-back finals in Monte Carlo and Rome. At both turns his path to the title ran through Nadal - to no avail.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete