SELECT SCORE:
The clay swing is here, and the tennis action is on center stage on the European clay courts. Many European players grew up on clay and it is their favorite surface. The clay swing culminates at Roland Garros, the French Open.
Let’s take a look at the best ways to wager on the premier clay court sporting event in the world at the top sportsbooks.
1. Rome Is the Most Predictive Surface to Roland Garros Results
After the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), the clay court swing begins. First, there are 250s all across the globe, and then the action heats up at the Monte Carlos Masters, a 1000-point tournament. Following that, we have smaller tournaments such as the Barcelona Open, the Romanian Open and the BMW Open. Then we have two more 1000 tournaments back to back, the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.
The results of the Italian Open are much more predictive of how the action will go at Roland Garros. Roland Garros is the slowest playing surface on the European clay court swing.
The Madrid Open, due to its altitude, plays much quicker than Roland Garros will. The Italian Open is traditionally the second slowest surface. Therefore the results of the Italian Open are much more predictive than those of the Madrid Open or the Monte Carlo Masters.
This doesn’t mean that the winner of the Italian Open will automatically win Roland Garros, but it is the most predictive tournament going into the French Open in order to properly judge the player’s form.
2. Target Underdog Clay Court Specialists Against Big Name Players
Clay court specialists abound in the tennis world. More than half of the world’s tournaments are on clay and if you choose to play a clay court dominant schedule, you can have over half of your tournaments entered on clay.
This has led to a rise in clay court specialists, players who drive a majority of their ranking points and prize money from playing on the clay. Then at Roland Garros, they will be matched up against a big-name player, oftentimes from North America who has not grown up on the surface. The American style of the big serve and forehand doesn’t play as well on the clay, where more rally tolerance and strategy are needed to win.
Oftentimes you can get a virtually unknown clay court player at great underdog odds against a big-name American player. Although the American player is better overall, on the slow clay, the clay specialist will have the advantage.
Target these underdog prices and target clay court specialists against players who have grown up on the hard courts for winning big money payout at underdog odds.
3. In Grand Slams There Are More Upsets on the Women’s Side Than the Men’s
One of my favorite things to do when betting tennis is to target underdogs on the money line for lucrative payouts.
I especially target the women’s side for underdogs. On the men’s side, in a grand slam, they are playing best of five not best of three. This extra time on the court means an inferior player has to be better for longer in order to score the upset.
Therefore, it is much more likely for an upset to happen on the women’s side as a player needs to only be at an elite level for two sets, rather than three. Because of this, the WTA is especially attractive when looking for underdog moneyline bets.
4. Use Totals to Your Advantage
Oftentimes you can get a better price on playing an under rather than laying the spread on a favorite, or you can take an over rather than taking the plus games with an underdog.
Make sure you are comparing these prices, as often the total is the safer way to approach the bet. Especially on the men’s side, where one blowout set can ruin your close competitive match that you predicted correctly.
When targeting underdogs, betting the over can be better than taking the spread of plus games, and playing an under can be better than laying games with a favorite.
5. Don’t Get Discouraged
Tennis has widely varied results. The gap between the top players and the players ranked between 50-100 is smaller than ever. Therefore, results can vary widely. A player can go on a hot streak and play well above his level, as well as a player playing some of the worst tennis of the year. Keep an eye on these players, keep an eye on their form and don’t get discouraged if the early rounds don’t go well.
Develop a system in which you scout a match. Try to ascertain things through your tape studies such as, how this player handles deep balls, how they handle pressure on serve, how they react to an aggressive player rather than a defensive player. All these things will help you, and sometimes a losing wager can end up giving you the knowledge about a player that will help you win many more wagers than the one you lost to gain the knowledge.
Don’t get discouraged if you lose a bet, see what went wrong, take notes and make adjustments so you continue to learn about the great sport of tennis.
The French Open is a great tournament full of pomp and circumstance. Use these five tips to make sure that you’re profitable by the end of the fortnight.
