Italian Open
The Italian Open is underway, and the top stars of ATP and WTA are once again ready to conquer Rome in hopes of getting the momentum ahead of the French Open at Roland Garros.
While there are plenty of storylines to watch out for, the focus of betting sites and online sports betting is on Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki who are both determined to regain the World No.1 spot from their rivals.
However, as what we learned in Madrid, the tennis tour is always unpredictable and even the giants of the game fall at times.
Talking Points
After a brilliant start to the clay season that saw him win Monte Carlo and Barcelona for the 11th time, Nadal fell short in the Madrid Open and lost in straight sets to Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.
While the result isn’t a blow to Nadal’s legacy, the defeat caused him to drop to number two in the world rankings behind rival Roger Federer—this, despite the fact that the Fed Express has not played since March after opting to sit out the clay season.
Rafa can swiftly reclaim his seat at the summit in Rome, but he must avoid another collapse in a tournament that features plenty of big hitters like Thiem.
On the other hand, Wozniacki is one to watch in the women’s category. She’s not a heavy favourite to win the contest, but with the No.1 ranking and the top seed for the French Open at stake, the 27-year-old Dane has every reason to step up and go all out.
Simona Halep currently holds the No.1 spot and is defending 585 points in the competition. If the Romanian makes it to the quarter-final, Wozniacki needs to at least reach the finals to get hold of the coveted rank.
Wozniacki, however, has a tough task at hand considering that she has not played in Rome since 2015. Not to mention that she failed to crack into the last eight of the Madrid Open after falling to eventual finalist Kiki Bertens in the Round of 16.
History
Three different players won the Rome title in the past three years, both in the men and women’s tour—a fact which tells a lot about the tournament’s unpredictability.
Novak Djokovic won back-to-back Italian Open trophies in 2014 and 2015, but he hasn’t won since then despite reaching the final in 2016 and 2017.
In the WTA, Serena Williams won two straight in 2013 and 2014 before winning again in 2016. Unfortunately, the American tennis legend withdrew from the competition after saying that she needs time to return to fitness following her pregnancy.
World No.3 Alexander Zverev is the defending champion in Rome and will hope to replicate his Madrid Open feat that saw him win the title without dropping a set.
Women’s champ Elina Svitolina, in contrast, will hope to avoid another early collapse as she tries to secure back-to-back glory at Foro Italico.
What are the odds?
We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again, Nadal is the King of Clay. And as long as you have the label of “King” of something, you’ll always be favoured in that area whether you are coming from a defeat or injury.
Nadal is the odds-on favourite on online gambling sites to win at 1.40 and for a good reason: he has won the Italian Open seven times and another victory would allow him to extend his record for the most Masters 1000 titles. He has 31 as of the moment.
To give you an idea how lopsided the odds are, Zverev is the second favourite to win but at a far-off 7.00. Meanwhile, the big-hitting Thiem is at 9.00, thanks in large part to his surprise run in Madrid.
Despite making it to the Italian Open finals in the last four years, Djokovic is at 13.00; while another exceptional server, Juan Martin del Potro, is at 15.00.
In the women’s event, online bookmakers pegged Halep with odds of 6.00. However, while the World No.1 is expected to dominate, there are those who would still exercise caution given the Romanian’s history of choking in big moments.
Karolina Pliskova, with her powerful and accurate serves that are just perfect for clay, is at 8.50 to lift the trophy this weekend. Defending champion Svitolina isn’t too far-off at 9.00.
While Wozniacki will be determined to make a statement and get that No.1, she’s only at 13.00 to win the top award.
As we all know, the women’s contest is more wide open than the men’s. Hence, the likes of Jelena Ostapenko (15.00), Maria Sharapova (17.00), Sloane Stephens (19.00) and Madison Keys (26.00) shouldn’t be counted out as well.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
