The second leg of tennis' Grand Slam begins when the 2016 French Open kicks off May 22. Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams[1] will look to defend their titles, while contenders Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are looking strong on the men's side, and Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys could take home the title in the women's bracket. Take a look at the important viewing information for the event along with odds and predictions for the tournament's top contenders. Only the players with top-10 odds are featured. You can view the odds for all players here[2]. Where: Roland Garros in Paris, France When: May 22 to June 5 Network: NBC, NBC Sports Network Livestream: NBCSports.com VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com Djokovic is atop the ATP[3] rankings and is 33-2 this year, including an Australian Open win in January, but can he win his first French Open? The title has eluded him throughout his illustrious career, as three times he has finished runner-up, including last year to Wawrinka. The field could set up well for Djokovic to finally win at Roland Garros. He has looked great throughout this year, and he is in top form as he is set to take on Andy Murray at the Italian Open final Sunday. Djokovic beat Murray last week to win the Madrid Open, and he took down Nadal on his way to the Italian final. This gives the Serb positive vibes heading into the French Open, per BBC's David Law: 'Winning against Nadal the ultimate challenge in sport. He is in form, so this gives me confidence for the French Open' - Djokovic on Sky Nadal played Djokovic extremely tough, according to FiveThirtyEight's Carl Bialik: Djokovic's set scores against Nadal since 2014 French Open Nadal also has a strong history on clay and at the French Open, having won the event nine times in his career. However, Djokovic has Nadal's number of late, having won seven straight over the Spaniard, per the ATP[7]. This recent dominance and the thirst to finally win a French Open title could very well lead to a Djokovic win should the two meet in Paris. According to ESPN's Greg Garber[8], Roger Federer[9] is dealing with a back injury that could hinder his performance or take him out of the tournament completely. This puts him at a severe disadvantage heading into the French Open, no matter how great the 34-year-old has been in his career. Wawrinka is also struggling. He was recently upset and has not looked strong on clay, per New York Times freelancer Ben Rothenberg: Defending French Open champ Stan Wawrinka is 3-3 on clay. Falls 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to #114 Juan Monaco, who entered Rome on protected ranking. These circumstances, along with his dominant 23-9 career record against Murray, bode well for Djokovic to win the 2016 French Open. Williams has to be the favorite here. The defending champion has won three times at Roland Garros and looks to be in good form as she will face Keys in the Italian Open final Sunday. Her play in Rome is giving the impression that she will be a force in Paris, according to Law: By the way, you know how Serena Williams is massively undercooked on clay and can't win the French Open? Yeah, well scratch that. Williams lost out the Australian Open to Kerber and lost her last three tournaments before the Italian, per the WTA[12], but her Rome performance is encouraging and should again put the world's top-ranked women's player in the driver's seat at the French Open. Kerber has faltered a bit since her Australian win. According to ESPN.com's Peter Bodo[13], she has one match win since. Kerber has also never been past the second round at the French Open. Keys also struggles on clay, per Rothenberg[14], which makes it tough to bet on her to beat Williams in the French Open. However, if she can put together a strong showing in the Italian final, she could look to be more of a threat. Expect Williams to display her typical dominance and earn her 22nd major title. 
Viewing Details
Player Odds Novak Djokovic 8-11 Rafael Nadal 3-1 Andy Murray 8-1 Stan Wawrinka 10-1 Kei Nishikori 20-1 Roger Federer 22-1 Dominic Thiem 25-1 Gael Monfils 40-1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 50-1 Milos Raonic 50-1 Player Odds Serena Williams 9-4 Victoria Azarenka 9-2 Simona Halep 8-1 Garbine Muguruza 13-1 Angelique Kerber 14-1 Petra Kvitova 18-1 Lucie Safarova 25-1 Belinda Bencic 33-1 Carla Suarez Navarro 33-1 Caroline Wozniacki 33-1 Men's Predictions
6-3 6-3 7-5 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-1 6-2 7-6 6-2 7-5https://t.co/auMyUIq5ug[5]
Women's Predictions
References
- ^ Serena Williams (bleacherreport.com)
- ^ here (www.vegasinsider.com)
- ^ ATP (www.atpworldtour.com)
- ^ May 13, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ https://t.co/auMyUIq5ug (t.co)
- ^ May 13, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ ATP (www.atpworldtour.com)
- ^ Greg Garber (espn.go.com)
- ^ Roger Federer (bleacherreport.com)
- ^ May 12, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ May 13, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ WTA (www.wtatennis.com)
- ^ Peter Bodo (espn.go.com)
- ^ Rothenberg (www.nytimes.com)
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