Azarenka enters fold hoping to impress

 

The first round matches of the French Open 2013 draw to a conclusion on Tuesday, and Abelson Info take a closer look at those in action...

 

World number three Victoria Azarenka opens her account in Paris on Tuesday, and will be hoping to produce an impressive performance after all her main rivals breezed through the opening round.

 

The Belarusian enjoyed a run to the final in Rome almost a fortnight ago, and will be hoping to extend that good form on clay in the French capital.

 

Having won the first Grand Slam event of the year in Australia back in January, she will be eyeing another big tournament win, and is unlikely to face many problems when she takes on Elena Vesnina in her opening match. She has yet to drop a set in four wins against the Russian, and will be focused on avoiding any slip-ups.

 

Seventh seed Petra Kvitova is also in action, and although the home crowd will be pulling for Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, the Czech is a strong favourite to progress. As is Sam Stosur, who is an outside bet to win the tournament in the eyes of some tennis aficionados, and the Australian is expected to prevail against Kimiko Date-Krumm with little difficulty.

 

Value can be had elsewhere though, as several underdogs will be hoping to join that leading trio in the second round.

 

British star Heather Watson will be among that group, and she takes on world number 56 Stefanie Voegele. However, after two months out with glandular fever, there are question marks over exactly how fit she is. Laura Robson exited the tournament on Monday, and it is difficult to see her going further. Odds of 3.1 suggest she'll be tumbling out of Roland Garros at the first hurdle.

 

In contrast, two women who are in form are Alize Cornet and Kaia Kanepi. The duo won tournaments in Strasbourg and Brussels respectively in the build-up to the main clay event, and should be in confident mood. Expect both to wrap up wins in straight sets against Maria Joao Koehler and Klara Zakopalova.

 

The dominance doesn't end there either, as Jelena Jankovic will be hoping to make short work of Daniela Hantuchova. The latter fell in the first round in Strasbourg against a little-known opponent, while Jankovic was clinical in her quarter-final run at the Foro Italico just over a week ago.

 

A straight sets victory is definitely worthy of a small investment, as Hantuchova is no longer the threat she once was and Jankovic has proven she can still advance to the business end of tournaments.

 

Belgian star Yanina Wickmayer will fancy her chances when she takes on Anna Schmiedlova. Her opponent loiters outside the top 100 in the world, and at 1.7 Wickmayer is worth backing even in the set betting market.

 

While the chances of any major upsets are far and few between on Tuesday, there is certainly room to manoeuvre in the set betting markets as the field starts to thin out.

 

Recommended Bets

Back Voegele to beat Watson 2-0 @ 2.2

Back Kanepi to beat Zakopalova 2-0 @ 1.79

Back Jankovic to beat Hantuchova 2-0 @ 1.86

 

Bet HERE

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