French Open Betting 
/ Sean Calvert / 21 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
"In contrast to Verdasco, Monaco warmed up nicely with some fine displays in Dusseldorf this week and he has to be backed as the underdog here."
On the eve of the French Open, Sean Calvert selects five matches in which punters could find the first round value...
Marcos Baghdatis [1.8] v Frederico Gil [2.2]
After suffering a bout of flu a few months ago, Marcos's form has really taken a dive, with just two wins from 11 matches and six losses as odds-on favourite.
The Cypriot lost in the first round in his warm-up event in Nice to Julien Benneteau in straight sets and he hasn't won a set on the dirt since beating Alejandro Falla in Madrid.
His record at Roland Garros is also poor, with three first round losses from six starts and Baggy has never beaten anyone ranked higher than number 62 in the world at the tournament.
In two of his last three visits to the French Open, he's lost in straight sets in the first round and he was also beaten by Gil the last time they met.
That match was on Baggy's favoured hard-courts, so this one has upset written all over it with Gil posting wins over Gael Monfils and Florian Mayer already in 2011. Back the Portuguese at around [2.2]
Fernando Verdasco [1.78] v Juan Monaco [2.3]
Verdasco has had a really poor year so far and has dropped down to number 17 in the world rankings from being inside the top-10 this time last year.
And just when it looked like he was finding a bit of form in Rome, he blew three consecutive match points on his own serve against Robin Soderling and went on to lose the match.
His already brittle confidence must be shot now and what he doesn't want first up here is a match with Monaco, who has won five of their last six meetings and seven out of nine overall.
The Argentine has won all but one of their clay meetings and also won the only one at Roland Garros in 2006.
In contrast to Verdasco, Monaco warmed up nicely with some fine displays in Dusseldorf this week and he has to be backed as the underdog here.
Richard Gasquet v Radek Stepanek
By rights, Gasquet should be brimming with confidence after beating Roger Federer in Rome after being a set and a break down, but I won't be going anywhere near the [1.25] about him beating Steps in the first round here.
The Gasman's record at Roland Garros is atrocious, with four first round losses from seven starts and a solitary last 32 place his best result in Paris.
Gasquet has always struggled with the weight of expectancy and beating Federer win won't help in that regard.
The inconsistency is still there, with his first round loss against Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Madrid when around the same price as this one being a prime example.
Steps is not the force of old, but he does well here, with the last 16 being his best and he has just one first round loss from his seven visits to Roland Garros.
He loves an upset and stunned Fernando Gonzalez here in straight sets in 2007 when Gonzo was world number five, as well as beating Tommy Robredo in 2008.
The Czech's recent form is good, with a run to the semis in Munich before retiring with a leg injury, which is a concern, but he's still worth a punt at a handy price.
Daniel Gimeno-Traver [1.75] v Robin Haase [2.3]
This one should be tough for Gimeno-Traver against a big match, big occasion player such as Haase.
The Dutchman has only been beaten in the main draw of Slams by current or former top-10 players and the Spaniard is surely only favourite for this because he finally found some form in Madrid recently.
Prior to that run to the last 16 in Spain, he had lost 13 of 15 matches in 2011 and he's never beaten anyone ranked inside the top-90 in the world at Roland Garros.
GT's overall career record is 40 wins and 72 losses, which is hardly inspiring, but it's his record after losing the first set that leads me to question his temperament.
The Spaniard has won just seven of 70 matches when he's gone a set down and Haase rarely goes down without a fight in Slams, as his last three results show.
A four set loss to Andy Roddick in Melbourne followed a five set loss to Nadal at Wimbledon and another five setter at Roland Garros to Nico Almagro.
Haase was also a regular winner on clay on the Challenger circuit last year and has a win over Nikolay Davydenko on dirt this season, so all-in-all I think he could be value in this one.
Lleyton Hewitt [3.0] v Albert Montanes [1.5]
Hewitt makes his comeback after foot surgery at Roland Garros this week after three months out and Tony Roche is sure to have the former world number one spot on for this.
The Aussie's record at Roland Garros is very respectable, with only Rafa Nadal (four times!) David Ferrer, Gaston Gaudio, Tommy Robredo, Guillermo Canas and Juan Carlos Ferrero beating Hewitt here since 2001.
Montanes, despite being the higher ranked and being generally regarded as more proficient on the dirt, has been below par lately on the clay, with early losses in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome - the latter two in the first round.
The calibre of opponent that he's been losing to is a concern for Montanes backers, with Sergiy Stakhovsky, Pablo Andujar, and Feliciano Lopez all besting him on his favourite surface.
The pair have met twice before with Hewitt winning both and with their similar grinding styles, this could come down to mental strength with Hewitt likely to come out on top.
It's day one at Roland Garros and Ben Caudell is here to select the best bets and find the value that could give you a winning start......
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