Nadal French Open Odds
The king of clay was deposed in a bloodless coup Wednesday in Paris, as Novak Djokovic pounded nine-time clay-court champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to hand the Spaniard his second-ever loss at the event and just the second loss ever in a best-of-five clay-court match. Djokovic’s win only advances him to the semifinals though, where he’ll face the winner of the Andy Murray and David Ferrer match.
- Rafel Nadal has the best odds to win the French Open at -143. The King of Clay has dominated at Roland-Garros, winning 12 of the last 15 French Opens — including three in a row. Next on the French.
- Bovada French Open Betting. US players looking to be part of the French Open action can place their bets on Nadal, Djokovic, Thiem, and Tsitsipas. But when it comes to the two players most likely to win the French Open trophy, all eyes are on the French and the Serbian. At Bovada.lv, Nadal has +130 odds compared to +135 for Djokovic.
Top 2020 French Open men's final predictions. Calvert likes the Set 1 score to be 6-4, a wager that's +240 at William Hill. In the last 12 sets that Djokovic and Nadal have played at major.
The loss drops Nadal to a still-remarkable 70-2 lifetime at Roland Garros and 93-2 in those best-of-five matches. It halted his 39-match winning streak at Roland Garros and will move him outside the top 10 for the first time in a decade. But it was hardly an upset, as Djokovic was heavily favored to win and extend his current winning streak to 27, thus becoming the first man to ever defeat Nadal at all four majors.
The end came quickly for Nadal, a tennis version of a guillotine, if you will. He was down 0-4 to open the match, then stormed back to tie the set at 4-4, eventually saving five set points before dumping a nine-point service game at 5-6. With Djokovic complaining to the chair umpire about the condition of the courts, the two traded service games in the second until Djokovic broke in a lengthy game at 4-3, essentially ending the match. Nadal had never been down two sets at the French Open before and there was little doubt that a loss was quick to come. That was confirmed when Djokovic broke Rafa in his first two service games in the third, turning the must-see match into a must-flee. Never before has Nadal looked so lost on clay (his forehand was basically non-existent) and never before has Djokovic looked so dominant (his defense was even more spectacular than usual).
In four days, Djokovic might want to thank Nadal in his acceptance speech, should he end up winning the tournament to cap the career Grand Slam. Nadal’s quick loss will help Djokovic conserve energy for his semifinal and final matches. The last thing either man needed was to win one of their patented marathon matches that went for four-and-a-half hours. With this match coming in at well under three hours, Djokovic will be thrilled to savor the win for 24 hours before playing in Friday’s semis.
But will Djokovic win it all? He’s going to need to readjust his expectations to do so. Ever since the draw was released, all eyes were on Nadal and this match on Wednesday. Heck, Djokovic has been probably thinking about beating Nadal at the French Open for three years, when he first came close in 2012 then did so again in both 2013 and 2014. Though Djokovic surely knows he still has work to do to cap the career Slam, there has to be some feeling that the biggest win came today with his easy defeat of Nadal. A future letdown is hardly out of the question. On the other hand, the fact that he beat Nadal so easily can only be a boon. Djokovic, who isn’t exactly a wallflower, will be brimming with confidence and it’ll be impossible for the other players not to notice the scoreline.
Those discussions of career Slams and getting halfway to the yearly Slam (he’d be the first man to do so since Jim Courier in 1992) are for the weekend. Today is about the end of the reign of the greatest clay-court player in history. Though Nadal still has plenty of years left to extend French Open lead, you can’t help but feel that Wednesday changed the trajectory of his career. Just 16 months ago, Nadal looked like he’d cruise to an Australian Open title to get his 14th Slam and then earn his 15th at Roland Garros, putting Roger Federer and his 17 majors directly in his sights. But Nadal stunningly lost that match to Stan Wawrinka, still won the French, and now stays stuck at 14 majors. Getting three to tie Federer, especially given Nadal’s struggles on all surfaces, seems unthinkable now.
But to count him out would be foolish. Though Nadal’s career seems to be spinning out of control, tennis has the tendency to turn on a dime. We’ll count out Nadal today, then he’ll stun us all with a deep run at Wimbledon. We’ll say he’s no longer dominant on his favored surface, until Nadal reemerges next year as the rightful heir to the throne he abdicated on a cool Paris day to Novak Djokovic, the new king of clay.
Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal
Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 9:00 AM (French Open)
The Line: Rafael Nadal -158 / Novak Djokovic +138 -- Over/Under: 41 Click Here for the Latest Odds
Nadal French Open 2020 Odds
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet in the final of the 2020 tennis French Open.
Novak Djokovic is coming off a five sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas that took 56 games to decide. In the victory, Djokovic won 73 percent of his first serve points and 47 percent of his second serve points. Djokovic won 64 percent of his total service points and converted on eight of his 22 break points. Djokovic got 67 percent of his first serves in play and saved 11 of his 15 break points. Djokovic cruised in the first two sets and then allowed things to get away from him, forcing him to play five sets and nearly four hours. It’s going to be interesting to see how Djokovic recovers from possible fatigue. Djokovic hopes to win his second French Open title and his 18th grand slam title overall. Djokovic is 1-3 in final appearances at the French Open, but he’s won each of his last five grand slam final appearances overall. Djokovic has won 15 straight matches on clay court.
Nadal French Open Odds
Rafael Nadal is coming off a straight sets win over Diego Schwartzman that took 31 games to decide. In the victory, Nadal won 68 percent of his first serve points and 53 percent of his second serve points. Nadal won 63 percent of his total service points and converted on six of his nine break points. Nadal got 69 percent of his first serves in play and saved nine of his 12 break points. Nadal still has yet to drop a set this tournament and he’s won his two tiebreaks by a combined score of 14-4. Nadal hopes to win his 13th French Open title and his 20th grand slam title overall. Nadal is 13-0 in French Open final appearances and has won nine of his last 12 grand slam final appearances overall. Nadal has won eight of his last nine matches on clay court.
These two have played 55 times and Djokovic has won 29 of those matches, including the most recent match this year in the ATP Cup. Djokovic has won 11 of the last 14 matches against Nadal. However, Nadal has won eight of the last 13 matches on clay against Djokovic. Nadal is also 9-6 against Djokovic in grand slam matches.
Nadal To Win French Open Odds
Djokovic didn’t do himself any favors by having to play extra tennis to get this point, as he’s going to do a ton of running to have a chance in this one. Either way, Nadal has to be the pick here, as this is his tournament, winning the title 13 times and not losing a single final appearance. Also, Nadal has been the sharper, better player, not even dropping a set up to this point. We don’t get Djokovic as an underdog often, so I can see the case there, but that’s about the only edge you have there.
Nadal wins his 20th grand slam title.